KERA News
Heart thumping. Palms sweating. Gut twisting. Adrenaline pumping.
That’s what it feels like to walk into an audition in a cold, dimly lit room with little fanfare and no audience. Long before the show you pay to watch, this is where key decisions that determine who gets a role begin. It’s where the challenges that lead to lack of representation onstage are front and center.
In some cases, auditions can make actors from marginalized groups question if there’s a space for them in the industry given the discrimination and exclusion they face.
Actors walk in to be judged by a few select people behind the casting table, which often includes the director, casting director and a producer. They have the power to hire an actor.
There’s often a lack of diversity among this group of decision-makers when it comes to race, sexuality, gender or physical disabilities.
In the 2018-19 season, 93% of directors on Broadway were white and 78% of people in director positions off-Broadway were white, according to a study by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition.