Australian musical theatre needs to embrace more diverse casting, taking a lead from the diversity rules announced last week for the Academy Awards, says director and composer Matthew Frank
, says Australian theatre is at least 20 years behind the US, where even the most recent Billy Bigelow was black."Until we can all be on an even playing field, we’ll be behind," Frank says.
Director Richard Carroll said it was the Endowment's "job to initiate outreach and headhunt talent... please acknowledge the unconscious bias we all carry".On Wednesday RGE issued a statement saying it accepted "unreservedly that the leadership committee should have done more to ensure that contestants in the competition were drawn from a much more diverse cross section of emerging theatre performers".
"I had to work harder than my peers, who came from caucasian backgrounds, to be seen and taken seriously," he said.Performer Melanie Bird would prefer to focus on her exceptional voice and promising career but says lately she’s been thinking more about her Thai heritage."It wasn’t until I entered the world of musical theatre that I became much more aware of it.
"It makes me upset for my friends who are even more ethnic than I am and I’d love the situation to change. I feel the audience suspends disbelief in the theatre anyway and it’s the producers’ responsibility to cast people of colour in a variety of roles, in the way that"Musical theatre in Australia needs to catch up with Broadway. The attitude here of just being defensive is not the way to go.
Australian theatre producer Damien Hewitt notes that Broadway and the West End also have issues to overcome regarding race.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What you need to know about the Apple launch and why Spotify isn't happyIn its virtual launch last night, Apple announced a new fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions. But Spotify is calling on competition authorities to intervene over what it says is Apple's 'anti-competitive behaviour'.
Read more »
'You can't be held down': Why a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely in AustraliaPrime Minister Scott Morrison caused a stir when he suggested a COVID-19 vaccine would be as mandatory as you can possibly make it. What power does the Government have to make vaccines mandatory?
Read more »
Why a vaccine can provide better immunity than an actual infectionA good vaccine that improves upon natural immunity requires us to first understand our natural immune response to the virus, writes Maitreyi Shivkumar.
Read more »
Assange defence questions why Obama didn't seek to prosecute himAssange is facing 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act for encouraging former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into defence systems.
Read more »
Why going to a party could cost you $1000With warm weather finally upon us and people beginning to look towards their Christmas celebrations, police have announced a crackdown on private gatherings.
Read more »
'Too tough for his own good': Why we worry about Boyd CordnerThe Roosters captain has been cleared to resume training despite slamming his head into the ground against the Knights. But should he return to action against the Sharks this weekend?
Read more »