Part of the curriculum at the conservatory I am currently attending includes an improv class that everyone is required to take during the summer semester.

When I had read that, I was terrified.

I have been afraid of improv for years. I love watching it. I think being able to think on the spot and create art is beautiful, powerful, and brave. For me, it was taking part in improv that was frightening.

I started to wonder why in 2017, it is still such a struggle for performers of color (POC) to be cast on major stages. With the high profile shows of Hamilton casting the majority of their actors specifically and intentionally with POC, and with large Asian casts in the formerly running The King and I and currently running Miss Saigon, it appears as if the general landscape of casts on the stage has changed. This is misleading.  This is not to say that Hamilton has not opened doors for actors and audiences as well, but the casting of Hamilton has not changed how other shows are cast. In addition, the roles for predominantly Asian casts often perpetuate negative stereotypes. In short, the numbers for POC in Broadway shows have gone up in the last couple of years, but mainly due to The King and I and Miss Saigon. The problem of real diversity on stage still exists.

Much has been made now of David Mamet’s displeasure with the Outvisible Theatre Company in Detroit, and their desire to hold a talkback of Oleanna following their production of it. He even threatened to issue a $25,000 fine on such theaters who attempt to stage any sort of post-show discussion of his work. Awhile ago, our Editor-in-Chief – Chris Peterson – wrote extensively on this site questioning the merits of this decision, and months later, it’s a topic that other playwrights – as well as other news outlets such as the Guardian – are still debating and discussing.

It's safe to say that one issue this blog has been consistent on throughout the years is that when dealing with roles of color, those roles must be cast racially correct. 

Whether it's authorial intent or the fact that the character identifies themselves as a certain race, those are choices that must be respected and followed, unless permission is granted otherwise. 

However what I have been seeing over and over again is that when a local theatre can't seem to find the performers of color (POC's) they need, somehow replacing them with a white actor "made up" to resemble that race, is the next best option.

At the time in which I am writing this column, we are now around the time of the season in which many local theatre productions have just opened, or perhaps are approaching opening night within the next week or so. As always, there tends to be a mixture of both excitement and anxiety among all those involved. I know I’m not alone when I say that I’ve have experienced these feelings in the lead-up to shows, on many occasions.

One of the Artistic Director’s challenges at any theater company is navigating the choppy waters of selecting a season of productions.  There are so many variables to juggle that, in the end, the choices can almost seem arbitrary.  But of course nothing that takes so much time and research and consideration and negotiation can be arbitrary.  Budgets aside, it is really all about who we are trying to please, including ourselves.

Soulpepper on 42nd Street is Soulpepper's US debut - a Festival of 12 Canadian productions, including original concerts. From July 1-29, the company is programming the entire Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd St in New York, just off-Broadway. 

Onstage Blog Canadian Contributor Damon Jang had a chance to attend Opening Night on Canada 150 on July 1st during his vacation in New York. Here is some facts about Soulpepper and the festival.

Spotify just made me a “summer jams” playlist based on my listening habits that includes, no joke, the entr’acte from “Pippin”, so it probably won't surprise you to learn that I didn’t participate in sports as a child. Like, at all. 

However, I don't think I'm any worse off for fulfilling this nerd stereotype, because my high school sport was community theater. Every value and life skill that kids get from team athletics, I got from the stage.

Every theatergoer knows this moment: Act one ends. The ushers emerge from the darkness. The air fills with static as hundreds of people rise with a single purpose.

The intermission restroom stampede is about to begin.

More than once, I've been swept away on a tide of patrons racing to relieve themselves before act two. I'd like to avoid the chaos, but sometimes staying in my seat just isn't an option. Sometimes I need to make the most of those sweet fifteen minutes myself.

I've been thinking about how to navigate the throngs. How about you? What are your strategies for having a good bathroom experience at a Broadway show?

On occasion, I have been approached by people I have never had anything to do with, who seem to think I may have a higher level of involvement then perhaps I actually do, or are possibly a little inexperienced in the way things actually work. The most common request I get from complete strangers who have an interest in acting is that I let them know of anything that might be appropriate for them to do.

“Please keep me in mind if anything comes you think I might be suited for.”