Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Can I do Hairspray with only white kids?

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   http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4331

READ DAVID MC CALL's response about using "derivative" works or changing casting from what is indicated in the author's original script or need/intent for the play. It would be difficult to do without Black actors - but as someone pointed out contact the company that holds the rights to this play and see if they'd allow it or under what conditions a whites-only version could be done.

TonyDi

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TonyDi Celebrity Joined: 9/13/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 11/19/09 at 6:36am
	http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4331 READ DAVID MC CALL's response about using "derivative" works or changing casting from what is indicated in the author's original script or need/intent for the play. It would be difficult to do without Black actors - but as someone pointed out contact the company that holds the rights to this play and see if they'd allow it or under what conditions a whites-only version could be done. TonyDi
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jonplaywright Star Joined: 7/20/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 53	Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:39pm
	I'd be highly surprised if they'd allow it, unless the authors just want to take the money and run--but since they don't particularly need it, I'd be surprised if they'd abandon principle. Sure, there are other themes in the script--for example, the fact that Tracy, despite not looking like the other girls on the show, manages not only to get a part because of her talent but also to capture the heart of Link Larkin, speaks to not judging a book by its cover, looking on the inside, etc. But just because a play has more than one theme doesn't mean you can simply ignore the others, particularly when one of them is as central to the story and as important, pedagogically speaking, as race in America. It's akin to going to a restaurant, ordering the restaurant's signature dish, and then asking them to leave out a third of the ingredients. You're no longer eating their dish, just as here, without actors of color, you're no longer doing their play. Instead, why not use this as a teachable moment and have a discussion with the students about the importance of this particular theme and when and why certain elements of plays are too integral to be changed? Regards, Jon
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Topic: Can I do Hairspray with only white kids?( Topic Closed)
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