Dear actors around the world,
Picture this: You go into an audition for your dream role in a musical. You read some audition sides, sing some harmonies, and perform your solo piece. You know you did everything well, and you go home waiting for the cast list to come out. You’re prepared to get your part, but when you see the cast list, you immediately notice someone else’s name – who you did way better than – right next to your dream character. Devastating, isn’t it? You go home once more, trying to figure out what you did wrong, and how you can do better… But sometimes, it isn’t even your fault.
As an actor, I have dealt with favoritism, lies, and inequality. Directors will say they want everyone to succeed, or their casting decisions are/were so hard to make. But in reality, some of these casting directors will have already made most of their decisions. They most likely didn’t base it off of skill or work ethic, but instead off of appearance and utmost loyalty to the program(s). Casting decisions could also be due to “typecasting,” which is where someone is cast mostly or solely based on their appearance or physical build. For example, people with disabilities have, in the past, only been cast as characters who are labeled with a disability. Katy Sullivan states, “I would love to see a world where even more performers with disabilities are utilized within characters who aren’t necessarily written as disabled.” These cruel realities, among other things, are a serious recurring problem in theater industries not only in the U.S., but around the whole world.
The corruption and lies fed within theater companies aren’t something that people have at the top of their list of ‘things to address.’ But even if it’s not talked about as much as other topics, it still has a major impact on peoples’ lives. In 2021, “Arts and Entertainment were identified among the most significant, detailed industry and occupational groups with the highest suicide death rates.” In 2022, deaths by suicide increased 2.6%, jumping from 48,183 (2021) to 49,449 estimated deaths (2022). This information speaks for itself about the impacts of casting corruption.
All I am asking you to do is to bring this inside dishonesty to the surface. Although this has already started happening in more recent years, we need your help to bring this information to light and let others know the hardships actors endure year after year, dream after crushed dream.
Sincerely,
A fellow theater lover
Works Cited
Bahr, Sarah. “At BroadwayCon, Diversity in Theater Takes Center Stage.” The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/
Squires, Sharon. Weblog post. Spotlighting Suicide Deaths in the Entertainment Industry, Wellbeing in Entertainment and Creative Arts, www.wellbeinginentertainment.
