Casting--Equity Style--in the Year 1999

The following is not yet reality, but a dark Orwellian dream of the future, though the syntax exactly matches a story in The Times detailing a suit again s t the City of Alhambra for “biased hiring . “ I marched with Dr. King. I saw his dream distorted to quotas. As Orwell put it in “Animal Farm,” “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” I fear this is the future of the American theat e r. God help us all.

Actors’ Equity filed charges today against Gordon Davidson and the Los Angeles Center Theatre Group for casting discrimination against minorities. The action was taken after Davidson declined Equity’s recommendations to revamp his casting practices to expand casting of blacks, Latinos and Asians, particularly in leading roles.

Equity’s casting committee stated that, though Davidson had cast a black actor, Reuben Mantellan, as Othello (an Equity-designated black role) in his forthcoming production of the play, he had engaged an Arab actor as a standby for the part. “The title of the play is ‘Othello, the Moor of Venice,’ ” Davidson said. “The role has often been played as an Arab. Reuben is my choice for the part, but I have to have someone ready in case he gets sick!” The casting committee also expressed regret that Davidson had included in the program a photograph of Laurence Olivier, a Caucasian actor who played the part half a century ago, in blackface.

Davidson is not liable for criminal charges, since Equity’s casting guidelines are not yet federal law, though Sandra Good, spokesperson for Actors’ Equity’s Casting Committee, affirmed that it was Equity’s intent to include them in the omnibus bill now in the Congress expanding National Endowment for the Arts guidelines on artistic content. “Why limit legislation merely to subsidized art?” she said. “Minority actors deserve protected casting at every level of the commercial theater as well. This is top priority.”

Equity’s casting committee has further mandated that one of its members sit in on every audition Davidson conducts in the future, and also in any private meetings discussing casting. “Mr. Davidson is the most important producer/director in Los Angeles,” Good said. “He has to recognize that his casts must reflect the ethnic mix, not only in California, but in Equity. Quota casting is the new reality.” Davidson was unavailable for comment.

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