Open Forum

I recently saw this show done by a group of actors from 15-20 years old. The lack of ethnic diversity was jarring. They even split up twin brothers to have one as a Shark and one as a Jet. There were approximately 3 Latinx students in the production, and 6 or so of any ethnicity other than Caucasian. The forced accents pulled the audience out of the story. Then I found out that they were having their Sharks “spray tan” throughout the rehearsal process. There were many cancelled season tickets after this production.


“Even when the dark comes crashing through-
when you need a friend to carry you-
when you’re broken on the ground-
you will be found.”
-“Dear Evan Hansen."

Disario, Jodi
Drama/English teacher and Director
Willow Glen High School
jdisario@sjusd.org
www.msd.school


Original Message------

Hi all,

Any thoughts concerning producing West Side Story? I am fully aware that MTI states that casting the show should be sensitive to diversity. Can/should this show still be produced in venues where the student population is less diverse? The piece is a great teaching tool for understanding through performance.

---

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The sensitivity with which a show like West Side Story is approached seems to be the key. Any show that calls for racial diversity amongst it's characters demands that the director be aware and sensitive to messages, both intended and unintentional, that their production will convey. Certain productions of WSS may emphasize a gang of white kids versus a gang of Puerto Ricans in 1950's New York, while other productions will take a more thematic approach, emphasizing two conflicting groups learning the hard way that they aren't really all that different. A theme that many of us need to hear these days. Racial accuracy in casting should not prohibit show selection, but...

Spray tanning and enhancing Puerto Rican accents is not being sensitive about such things. I do believe, however, that educational theatre can and should rise above the constraints of racially "accurate" casting. Hamilton helps us understand this, (although casting people of color to play characters who are "supposed" to be white is an entirely different dynamic than casting caucasians as people of color). What matters, in my opinion - and I am fully aware of the sensitivity and concern about this - is the humanity of the characters rather than their racial identity. West Side Story can either be a show about Puerto Ricans and Whites, or it can be a show about the Jets and the Sharks. Without enough LatinX actors to fill the roles (and BTW it seems entirely inappropriate to limit the casting of students of color as Sharks and Puerto Ricans. What if a Hispanic male is best for the role of Tony?), we should be open to our students portraying other cultures and races as long as the process includes sensitivity, conversation, understanding, and dialogue on all that is at play in doing so. 

We plan on producing West Side Story at my school next year. Ours is a predominantly white student body. I have been having conversations with our diversity director, our Diversity and Inclusion Club members and officers, theatre students, and colleagues who I know have a heart for justice, inclusion, racial awareness, and diversity. Some were uncomfortable with this show for our campus until they got a sense of my concern for doing it right and doing it with sensibility toward these valid concerns. After our conversations, every person I talked to encouraged me to do this show, and is hopeful for the opportunity for important conversations because of the show. 

The sensitivities of such casting choices cannot be ignored and must be handled in caring wisdom, but our job as artists and educators of artists must allow for us to produce such important works as West Side Story, no matter who is in our talent pool. Much of the content in our EdTA conference ("The Changing Face of Theatre Education" - Las Vegas, 2016) made this abundantly clear to me.

------------------------------
Keith Burns
Theatre Arts Director
Phoenix Country Day School
Paradise Valley AZ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-03-2019 14:12
From: Jodi Disario
Subject: West Side Story

I recently saw this show done by a group of actors from 15-20 years old. The lack of ethnic diversity was jarring. They even split up twin brothers to have one as a Shark and one as a Jet. There were approximately 3 Latinx students in the production, and 6 or so of any ethnicity other than Caucasian. The forced accents pulled the audience out of the story. Then I found out that they were having their Sharks "spray tan" throughout the rehearsal process. There were many cancelled season tickets after this production.


"Even when the dark comes crashing through-
when you need a friend to carry you-
when you're broken on the ground-
you will be found."
-"Dear Evan Hansen."

Disario, Jodi
Drama/English teacher and Director
Willow Glen High School
jdisario@sjusd.org
www.msd.school


Original Message------

Hi all,

Any thoughts concerning producing West Side Story? I am fully aware that MTI states that casting the show should be sensitive to diversity. Can/should this show still be produced in venues where the student population is less diverse? The piece is a great teaching tool for understanding through performance.

---

This email is intended only for the use of the party to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer.

Original Message------

The sensitivity with which a show like West Side Story is approached seems to be the key. Any show that calls for racial diversity amongst it's characters demands that the director be aware and sensitive to messages, both intended and unintentional, that their production will convey. Certain productions of WSS may emphasize a gang of white kids versus a gang of Puerto Ricans in 1950's New York, while other productions will take a more thematic approach, emphasizing two conflicting groups learning the hard way that they aren't really all that different. A theme that many of us need to hear these days. Racial accuracy in casting should not prohibit show selection, but...

Spray tanning and enhancing Puerto Rican accents is not being sensitive about such things. I do believe, however, that educational theatre can and should rise above the constraints of racially "accurate" casting. Hamilton helps us understand this, (although casting people of color to play characters who are "supposed" to be white is an entirely different dynamic than casting caucasians as people of color). What matters, in my opinion - and I am fully aware of the sensitivity and concern about this - is the humanity of the characters rather than their racial identity. West Side Story can either be a show about Puerto Ricans and Whites, or it can be a show about the Jets and the Sharks. Without enough LatinX actors to fill the roles (and BTW it seems entirely inappropriate to limit the casting of students of color as Sharks and Puerto Ricans. What if a Hispanic male is best for the role of Tony?), we should be open to our students portraying other cultures and races as long as the process includes sensitivity, conversation, understanding, and dialogue on all that is at play in doing so. 

We plan on producing West Side Story at my school next year. Ours is a predominantly white student body. I have been having conversations with our diversity director, our Diversity and Inclusion Club members and officers, theatre students, and colleagues who I know have a heart for justice, inclusion, racial awareness, and diversity. Some were uncomfortable with this show for our campus until they got a sense of my concern for doing it right and doing it with sensibility toward these valid concerns. After our conversations, every person I talked to encouraged me to do this show, and is hopeful for the opportunity for important conversations because of the show. 

The sensitivities of such casting choices cannot be ignored and must be handled in caring wisdom, but our job as artists and educators of artists must allow for us to produce such important works as West Side Story, no matter who is in our talent pool. Much of the content in our EdTA conference ("The Changing Face of Theatre Education" - Las Vegas, 2016) made this abundantly clear to me.

------------------------------
Keith Burns
Theatre Arts Director
Phoenix Country Day School
Paradise Valley AZ
------------------------------

To the last post ( you are not a wet blanket ) I completely agree.
Certainly there are shows that have flexibility in casting . However, shows that were written to specifically address race, in my opinion, are not flexible. The music, dialogue, actually everything about West Side story is about race . To whitewash it does a disservice to the students who are learning it, as they will think it's ok to ignore the intention of the work.
We have to remember that theatre education goes beyond directing a play. To the director choosing this play , this is a teachable moment to change your decision. 
Thanks for reading 
Jackie

------------------------------
Jackie Martino
Head of Performing Arts
King School
Stamford CT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-04-2019 03:13
From: Cassandra Shott-Hammond
Subject: West Side Story

I'm sorry to be the wet blanket on this one, but please consider another play. My troupe is primarily Latinx students and they were very upset with a version of West Side that we saw at the national level with low/invisible numbers of Latinx students. It was to the point that we left at intermission because two of my students were in tears. 

We performed West Side Story the following year and even though it presents an compelling story, it is better in my opinion to choose of the myriad stories where race does not matter or where you have a cast that fits the requirements. There are lines in the show where slur words for Latinx people are used and the use of this abusive language in a space without Latinx representation is not a good learning experience.

 I myself am not Latinx, so I cant speak for the experience and feelings of that group, however I do know well how upset my Latinx students were about the black wigs, fake accents, and spray tans. Please reconsider your show options, there are so many great shows out there that are great learning experiences for your students that dont come at the expense of the feeling of someone elses students. 

Original Message------

The sensitivity with which a show like West Side Story is approached seems to be the key. Any show that calls for racial diversity amongst it's characters demands that the director be aware and sensitive to messages, both intended and unintentional, that their production will convey. Certain productions of WSS may emphasize a gang of white kids versus a gang of Puerto Ricans in 1950's New York, while other productions will take a more thematic approach, emphasizing two conflicting groups learning the hard way that they aren't really all that different. A theme that many of us need to hear these days. Racial accuracy in casting should not prohibit show selection, but...

Spray tanning and enhancing Puerto Rican accents is not being sensitive about such things. I do believe, however, that educational theatre can and should rise above the constraints of racially "accurate" casting. Hamilton helps us understand this, (although casting people of color to play characters who are "supposed" to be white is an entirely different dynamic than casting caucasians as people of color). What matters, in my opinion - and I am fully aware of the sensitivity and concern about this - is the humanity of the characters rather than their racial identity. West Side Story can either be a show about Puerto Ricans and Whites, or it can be a show about the Jets and the Sharks. Without enough LatinX actors to fill the roles (and BTW it seems entirely inappropriate to limit the casting of students of color as Sharks and Puerto Ricans. What if a Hispanic male is best for the role of Tony?), we should be open to our students portraying other cultures and races as long as the process includes sensitivity, conversation, understanding, and dialogue on all that is at play in doing so.

We plan on producing West Side Story at my school next year. Ours is a predominantly white student body. I have been having conversations with our diversity director, our Diversity and Inclusion Club members and officers, theatre students, and colleagues who I know have a heart for justice, inclusion, racial awareness, and diversity. Some were uncomfortable with this show for our campus until they got a sense of my concern for doing it right and doing it with sensibility toward these valid concerns. After our conversations, every person I talked to encouraged me to do this show, and is hopeful for the opportunity for important conversations because of the show.

The sensitivities of such casting choices cannot be ignored and must be handled in caring wisdom, but our job as artists and educators of artists must allow for us to produce such important works as West Side Story, no matter who is in our talent pool. Much of the content in our EdTA conference ("The Changing Face of Theatre Education" - Las Vegas, 2016) made this abundantly clear to me.

------------------------------
Keith Burns
Theatre Arts Director
Phoenix Country Day School
Paradise Valley AZ
------------------------------

I have seen it done in a high school level with an all female cast and with cast lacking Latinx representation. What made both of them work, I think, is not trying to transform the kids. The girls, although dressed as males, did not try to put on a macho persona. They stayed authentic. The latter version did a beautiful ballet/contemporary piece during “a place for us” that I think was an honest social commentary and brought to light what was lacking in casting.
At the same time, my school would never do hairspray because of the lack of African American representative so I totally see your point of view I’m sticking to the proper casting.

---------------------------------
Kelly Cardall
Theatre Arts
Health and PE Chair
Mount de Sales Academy
Baltimore, MD
---------------------------------



Original Message:
Sent: 05-05-2019
From: Jackie Martino
Subject: RE: West Side Story

To the last post ( you are not a wet blanket ) I completely agree.
Certainly there are shows that have flexibility in casting . However, shows that were written to specifically address race, in my opinion, are not flexible. The music, dialogue, actually everything about West Side story is about race . To whitewash it does a disservice to the students who are learning it, as they will think it's ok to ignore the intention of the work.
We have to remember that theatre education goes beyond directing a play. To the director choosing this play , this is a teachable moment to change your decision. 
Thanks for reading 
Jackie

------------------------------
Jackie Martino
Head of Performing Arts
King School
Stamford CT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-04-2019 03:13
From: Cassandra Shott-Hammond
Subject: West Side Story

I'm sorry to be the wet blanket on this one, but please consider another play. My troupe is primarily Latinx students and they were very upset with a version of West Side that we saw at the national level with low/invisible numbers of Latinx students. It was to the point that we left at intermission because two of my students were in tears. 

We performed West Side Story the following year and even though it presents an compelling story, it is better in my opinion to choose of the myriad stories where race does not matter or where you have a cast that fits the requirements. There are lines in the show where slur words for Latinx people are used and the use of this abusive language in a space without Latinx representation is not a good learning experience.

 I myself am not Latinx, so I cant speak for the experience and feelings of that group, however I do know well how upset my Latinx students were about the black wigs, fake accents, and spray tans. Please reconsider your show options, there are so many great shows out there that are great learning experiences for your students that dont come at the expense of the feeling of someone elses students. 

Original Message------

The sensitivity with which a show like West Side Story is approached seems to be the key. Any show that calls for racial diversity amongst it's characters demands that the director be aware and sensitive to messages, both intended and unintentional, that their production will convey. Certain productions of WSS may emphasize a gang of white kids versus a gang of Puerto Ricans in 1950's New York, while other productions will take a more thematic approach, emphasizing two conflicting groups learning the hard way that they aren't really all that different. A theme that many of us need to hear these days. Racial accuracy in casting should not prohibit show selection, but...

Spray tanning and enhancing Puerto Rican accents is not being sensitive about such things. I do believe, however, that educational theatre can and should rise above the constraints of racially "accurate" casting. Hamilton helps us understand this, (although casting people of color to play characters who are "supposed" to be white is an entirely different dynamic than casting caucasians as people of color). What matters, in my opinion - and I am fully aware of the sensitivity and concern about this - is the humanity of the characters rather than their racial identity. West Side Story can either be a show about Puerto Ricans and Whites, or it can be a show about the Jets and the Sharks. Without enough LatinX actors to fill the roles (and BTW it seems entirely inappropriate to limit the casting of students of color as Sharks and Puerto Ricans. What if a Hispanic male is best for the role of Tony?), we should be open to our students portraying other cultures and races as long as the process includes sensitivity, conversation, understanding, and dialogue on all that is at play in doing so.

We plan on producing West Side Story at my school next year. Ours is a predominantly white student body. I have been having conversations with our diversity director, our Diversity and Inclusion Club members and officers, theatre students, and colleagues who I know have a heart for justice, inclusion, racial awareness, and diversity. Some were uncomfortable with this show for our campus until they got a sense of my concern for doing it right and doing it with sensibility toward these valid concerns. After our conversations, every person I talked to encouraged me to do this show, and is hopeful for the opportunity for important conversations because of the show.

The sensitivities of such casting choices cannot be ignored and must be handled in caring wisdom, but our job as artists and educators of artists must allow for us to produce such important works as West Side Story, no matter who is in our talent pool. Much of the content in our EdTA conference ("The Changing Face of Theatre Education" - Las Vegas, 2016) made this abundantly clear to me.

------------------------------
Keith Burns
Theatre Arts Director
Phoenix Country Day School
Paradise Valley AZ
------------------------------

Hello.
What a great conversation regarding diversity and theatre. As a director who staged this show about 5 years ago with a cast of about 90 students, we had many conversations about some of the themes of the show. The students of course grasped the Romeo and Juliet parallel, but as a team we dove deeper into the themes of race, language, and the historical time period. As part of those discussions, we brought in some history teachers to talk about NYC in the 1950's. We had some faculty share their story about growing up in NYC during this time as well.

Regarding the diversity and language piece, both of my production assistants are also members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. We had several conversations about language, specifically the derogatory names used to describe the puerto ricans. We had the students make parallels to other racial and ethnic groups to help put this into perspective. With a predominantly white cast, we did not ask the students to spray tan or alter their appearance. Our Bernardo was a senior with jet black hair and from an italian family. In fact we asked him to speak with his grandfather about life in NYC when came over from Italy. These conversations created powerful character development for Bernardo (fighting for equality, acceptance, and respect). Furthermore with language and accents, one of my production assistants is near native Spanish speaker, and he helped the students with the language. There were good conversations about the language, culture, customs, as well as dialects. 

Above all else, we took a chance and created some real time scenarios for the students that created conversation. For example, we allowed the adults and the jets to use the front doors of the theatre, the sharks had to enter through the back of the theatre. We separated the team groups throughout the rehearsal process. Allowed the jets to take breaks and eat snacks during the rehearsal, while the sharks could not. The jets were allowed to leave early, sharks were not. The sharks were yelled at for various reasons (this was hard for me), and the jets were praised. After a few rehearsals, we took time to dissect these experiences with the students to understand what they were thinking and feeling. 

At the end of the day, we tried to create a connection for the students about race relations, divide, and inequities. We focused more on differences than worrying about the spray tans. Overall, the production was very much welcomed by the community and their standing ovations supported that. 

Good luck with your production.
Have a great day.

------------------------------
James Fry
Director of Student Life and the Malvern Theatre Society
Malvern, PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2019 14:52
From: Robert Putka
Subject: West Side Story

Hi all,

Any thoughts concerning producing West Side Story? I am fully aware that MTI states that casting the show should be sensitive to diversity. Can/should this show still be produced in venues where the student population is less diverse? The piece is a great teaching tool for understanding through performance.

---

This email is intended only for the use of the party to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer.