As a Japanese- Hungarian-Irish woman who type casts as Mexican, I am so very torn on the issue of ethnically-specific casting versus blind casting.
I think, in terms of the bigger picture, if a theater company wants to expand and diversify their membership, then perhaps ethnic characters are a good way to do that. If the play calls for ethnically specific roles, which our group cannot satisfy, then it is a perfect opportunity to reach out to a theater community who might not be as aware of our company.
But that means I can’t play the Mexican. And that is almost all I play.
Read full post here at the Diversity at NOTE blog