“Hamilton” summoned a casting call requesting actors that are were only people of color. Many white performers got upset over this request. The notion of colorblind casting is supposed to produce an even playing field when auditioning for a role. Colorblind casting asks that the casting director to ignore race and concentrate merely on the actors ability to perform. The second notion is to end the racist custom of white actors doing blackface. Although, race is sometimes essential to the role of a character, we have to figure out a few things about the script. Is the script racially specific or is there no reference to race at all. These two types of scripts are “contextually specific or contextually neutral.” Sometimes it is okay to cast by race only when a play is specifically examining concerns of race. However, in the case of “Hamilton” and other shows like it, even though an actor may not historically match the role they represent, actors should be able to represent historical figures from any era (Marcus). This conscious artistic decision behind this casting move for “Hamilton” was not to hurt anyone feelings. Lin-Manuel Miranda, notes that this was intentional, “the story [becomes] more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience … allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door” (Bennett). Because of Miranda’s “color-conscious” casting approach the characters they play oppose racism and nurtures better performances and productions due to performers stepping completely out of who they are. We learn how to tell stories without looking at ethnicity. And without people like Miranda we jeopardize the work
“Hamilton” summoned a casting call requesting actors that are were only people of color. Many white performers got upset over this request. The notion of colorblind casting is supposed to produce an even playing field when auditioning for a role. Colorblind casting asks that the casting director to ignore race and concentrate merely on the actors ability to perform. The second notion is to end the racist custom of white actors doing blackface. Although, race is sometimes essential to the role of a character, we have to figure out a few things about the script. Is the script racially specific or is there no reference to race at all. These two types of scripts are “contextually specific or contextually neutral.” Sometimes it is okay to cast by race only when a play is specifically examining concerns of race. However, in the case of “Hamilton” and other shows like it, even though an actor may not historically match the role they represent, actors should be able to represent historical figures from any era (Marcus). This conscious artistic decision behind this casting move for “Hamilton” was not to hurt anyone feelings. Lin-Manuel Miranda, notes that this was intentional, “the story [becomes] more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience … allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door” (Bennett). Because of Miranda’s “color-conscious” casting approach the characters they play oppose racism and nurtures better performances and productions due to performers stepping completely out of who they are. We learn how to tell stories without looking at ethnicity. And without people like Miranda we jeopardize the work