Race and Representation in Chicago Theater—Playing Race—Victory Gardens—Thurs Jan 31 2013
Channel: HowlRound Theatre Commons
Date: 11/01/2017

Victor,y Gardens Theater, The League of Chicago Theatres, Silk Road Rising and Lifeline Theatre are collaborating on a new conversation series, Race and Representation in Chicago Theater, that will discuss the issues of race and representation in Chicago’s theatre community.  The series, featuring panelists to include actors, playwrights, and directors, will focus on the importance of cultivating, developing, and producing work that “looks like Chicago,” and will frame for both artists and audiences the importance of accurate representations in the work we experience together.

Playing Race, was hosted at Victory Gardens on Thursday, January 31 at 7:20pm PST (San Francisco) / 9:20pm CST (Chicago) / 10:20pm EST (New York). 

Alarms went off in a recent La Jolla Playhouse production of Nightingale when white actors played Asian characters. In Chicago, the issue was raised with Oak Park's Circle Theatre's Bollywood treatment of Pippin. Where do we stand on nontraditional casting? Is this a form of minstrelsy or is this harmless cultural appropriation? Join us for an important town hall conversation on playing race in American theatre.

Panelists include E. Faye Butler (Actor and singer), Sharon Jensen (of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts), Erica Daniels (Steppenwolf Theatre), Kamal Hans (Rasaka Theatre), and moderator David Finer (Albany Park Theatre Project).

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