In This Time...
Words matter. Anyone who knows me, and has had to endure a long-winded in-person or multi-character typewritten spiel on anything from breakfast that morning, to the minutiae of a Marvel movie, to the justification for an assignment (see below this post), knows that words matter to me greatly, and that it can take me a long time to find the right ones...especially on something as big as the things we are experiencing right now. And yet...they're failing me in my desire to find what feels like the 'right thing' to say about this moment where the myth of equal rights and protections in our country have been laid bare in a way that has resonated bigger and more intensely than it has in a very long time.
Ultimately I'm a small person in a small corner of the country's whitest major city. I have been, and remain, phenomenally privileged in my life in every way. I have had little to no practical exposure to bias, to bigotry, to hatred, or to violence directed to me; I have never had to fear my sons might be targeted by hate and bigotry. MY interactions with the police departments of this country and its officers have been uniformly positive, without exception good people doing everything in their power to selflessly do good and dangerous work...BUT that relationship and experience is NOT universal, to literally deadly consequences. Know that from here out my thoughts are my own and no grand pronouncement...they're not intended to be. I share them so that you know I take our moment here in history very seriously and am deeply and personally struggling with my part in it.
But...let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Here's what I think I have to contribute in my way: A point of connection, and a firm commitment to do my small part for my small community...the one place I might have some influence or control.
To my students of color and their families: I'm here in support of you and I hope you're ok. I don't know if there's any way, or any need, for my help, contact, actions or words on a personal level, but NEVER hesitate to reach out if there is. Never. This moment has somehow, where other like events have not, crystalized major problems in our country at every level that REQUIRE all of us who have had powerful and significant privilege to be a part of raising the tide for ALL...so that those do not get to experience the safety, respect for culture, and sense of benign normalcy me and mine get to experience every day. I vow to do my part as I can to bring about this reality.
To my community: Allow me to put words to necessary commitments in our work together, especially now.
-Wilson plays will always cast with a racial equity lens in play: If a script does not specify a character's race, ethnicity, or cultural heritage, or if a 'specified' race does not have bearing on the storytelling directly affecting the plot, then any role will be open to any actor that can do it...'color-blind casting', as it were; if a script does specify that heritage, and it is key to the plot, then that character's heritage will be respected and I will push to find the best representation for that role from among our community; if a script calls for particular racial or ethnic heritage in actors for the story to be properly told, and I don't have enough representation to fill those roles, I will move on from that script, unless the opportunities it provides for my underrepresented actors to play a role from their experience overwhelmingly outweighs that layer of cultural appropriation inherent in race-switching some characters (more on that in a moment); if a play is being commissioned or created, the roles available will reflect the racial and cultural diversity of our community.
-Wilson plays will seek to explore the wealth of contributions to the storytelling world of theatre from sources beyond white America and white Europe. We will look for stories, writers, artists, and styles from sources in black America, hispanic America, Asian America, native America, and further into the world to present on our stages and in my classes. We will seek diverse teaching artists to share their craft and insights with students and community, in concert with and expanding on our current programming. There are limitations to this, however, living in literally America's whitest major city and me being a guy raised and educated in the predominantly white suburbs. I will frequently fall short...see below.
-I will always seek for my classroom to be a place balanced on the knife edge between safety and growth. On one hand, students will always have my committed attention to their physical and emotional safety. Hate speech will not be tolerated; ignorant actions will be addressed and hopefully corrected. But we will not sanitize storytelling, presenting only stories of harmony...theatre is and must be as truthful a reflection of parts of our world as possible. We will talk about race and its impact on culture, on status and power dynamics; we will present stories that do not present cultures in their best light, including, but not exclusive to, white culture, as we are all human and prone to being less than perfect; we will not shy from conflict, but address it with intent to grow and to dismantle obstacles to understanding and empathy. Growth is painful, and we learn most permanently and transformatively outside our comfort zone. And yet, I will frequently fall short...see below.
-These will NOT always be successful...but I'll ALWAYS strive to improve. I have sought artists of color to contribute to our work, and have only occasionally been successful; I have sought diverse stories to present and ended up not having quite enough to properly do the storytelling justice in the casting, leading to white actors in traditionally (and explicitly) non-white roles...but was able to offer far more representative acting roles to those actors of color I did have; I have reached out for diverse input into the formation of our new works scripts, only to be able to convince very limited numbers to join the conversation; I have presented culturally-diverse stories in class only to find the limits of my own education and experience called out when I missed something ignorantly; I have sought to bring Wilson's racial affinity clubs into our work more impactfully...to mixed success. Know this: 1) The goal will ALWAYS be to diversify our stories told and faces presented on the stage and in the classroom, and 2) You are invited to call out when I miss the mark, so I can get better in my work...but that the error was 100% an error of ignorance or opportunity NOT an error of intent.
I don't know how much this means right now; there are far more immediate concerns. These are things I KNOW I can control, however...and in a world and in a moment out of control, what I know I can absolutely commit to. Beyond this? I'd be lying if I said I knew...but know that I'll do and offer my best always.
To those directly impacted by recent events, be well and safe
To those whose day-to-day involves well-earned skepticism and fear of the systems around us, stay strong and keep what faith remains
To those on the streets taking action for a more just world, be safe, strong, and aware
To those working with right intent to diffuse tension and provide safety to our communities, please do so with empathy, understanding, and humility...and if conflicted on what you may be asked to do in line with your duties, ask always how history will view your actions in this time
My love and best thoughts to all of you in this time. We will come out the other side as a better community and nation...I truly believe this.
j.
(updated 4 June)
Words matter. Anyone who knows me, and has had to endure a long-winded in-person or multi-character typewritten spiel on anything from breakfast that morning, to the minutiae of a Marvel movie, to the justification for an assignment (see below this post), knows that words matter to me greatly, and that it can take me a long time to find the right ones...especially on something as big as the things we are experiencing right now. And yet...they're failing me in my desire to find what feels like the 'right thing' to say about this moment where the myth of equal rights and protections in our country have been laid bare in a way that has resonated bigger and more intensely than it has in a very long time.
Ultimately I'm a small person in a small corner of the country's whitest major city. I have been, and remain, phenomenally privileged in my life in every way. I have had little to no practical exposure to bias, to bigotry, to hatred, or to violence directed to me; I have never had to fear my sons might be targeted by hate and bigotry. MY interactions with the police departments of this country and its officers have been uniformly positive, without exception good people doing everything in their power to selflessly do good and dangerous work...BUT that relationship and experience is NOT universal, to literally deadly consequences. Know that from here out my thoughts are my own and no grand pronouncement...they're not intended to be. I share them so that you know I take our moment here in history very seriously and am deeply and personally struggling with my part in it.
But...let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Here's what I think I have to contribute in my way: A point of connection, and a firm commitment to do my small part for my small community...the one place I might have some influence or control.
To my students of color and their families: I'm here in support of you and I hope you're ok. I don't know if there's any way, or any need, for my help, contact, actions or words on a personal level, but NEVER hesitate to reach out if there is. Never. This moment has somehow, where other like events have not, crystalized major problems in our country at every level that REQUIRE all of us who have had powerful and significant privilege to be a part of raising the tide for ALL...so that those do not get to experience the safety, respect for culture, and sense of benign normalcy me and mine get to experience every day. I vow to do my part as I can to bring about this reality.
To my community: Allow me to put words to necessary commitments in our work together, especially now.
-Wilson plays will always cast with a racial equity lens in play: If a script does not specify a character's race, ethnicity, or cultural heritage, or if a 'specified' race does not have bearing on the storytelling directly affecting the plot, then any role will be open to any actor that can do it...'color-blind casting', as it were; if a script does specify that heritage, and it is key to the plot, then that character's heritage will be respected and I will push to find the best representation for that role from among our community; if a script calls for particular racial or ethnic heritage in actors for the story to be properly told, and I don't have enough representation to fill those roles, I will move on from that script, unless the opportunities it provides for my underrepresented actors to play a role from their experience overwhelmingly outweighs that layer of cultural appropriation inherent in race-switching some characters (more on that in a moment); if a play is being commissioned or created, the roles available will reflect the racial and cultural diversity of our community.
-Wilson plays will seek to explore the wealth of contributions to the storytelling world of theatre from sources beyond white America and white Europe. We will look for stories, writers, artists, and styles from sources in black America, hispanic America, Asian America, native America, and further into the world to present on our stages and in my classes. We will seek diverse teaching artists to share their craft and insights with students and community, in concert with and expanding on our current programming. There are limitations to this, however, living in literally America's whitest major city and me being a guy raised and educated in the predominantly white suburbs. I will frequently fall short...see below.
-I will always seek for my classroom to be a place balanced on the knife edge between safety and growth. On one hand, students will always have my committed attention to their physical and emotional safety. Hate speech will not be tolerated; ignorant actions will be addressed and hopefully corrected. But we will not sanitize storytelling, presenting only stories of harmony...theatre is and must be as truthful a reflection of parts of our world as possible. We will talk about race and its impact on culture, on status and power dynamics; we will present stories that do not present cultures in their best light, including, but not exclusive to, white culture, as we are all human and prone to being less than perfect; we will not shy from conflict, but address it with intent to grow and to dismantle obstacles to understanding and empathy. Growth is painful, and we learn most permanently and transformatively outside our comfort zone. And yet, I will frequently fall short...see below.
-These will NOT always be successful...but I'll ALWAYS strive to improve. I have sought artists of color to contribute to our work, and have only occasionally been successful; I have sought diverse stories to present and ended up not having quite enough to properly do the storytelling justice in the casting, leading to white actors in traditionally (and explicitly) non-white roles...but was able to offer far more representative acting roles to those actors of color I did have; I have reached out for diverse input into the formation of our new works scripts, only to be able to convince very limited numbers to join the conversation; I have presented culturally-diverse stories in class only to find the limits of my own education and experience called out when I missed something ignorantly; I have sought to bring Wilson's racial affinity clubs into our work more impactfully...to mixed success. Know this: 1) The goal will ALWAYS be to diversify our stories told and faces presented on the stage and in the classroom, and 2) You are invited to call out when I miss the mark, so I can get better in my work...but that the error was 100% an error of ignorance or opportunity NOT an error of intent.
I don't know how much this means right now; there are far more immediate concerns. These are things I KNOW I can control, however...and in a world and in a moment out of control, what I know I can absolutely commit to. Beyond this? I'd be lying if I said I knew...but know that I'll do and offer my best always.
To those directly impacted by recent events, be well and safe
To those whose day-to-day involves well-earned skepticism and fear of the systems around us, stay strong and keep what faith remains
To those on the streets taking action for a more just world, be safe, strong, and aware
To those working with right intent to diffuse tension and provide safety to our communities, please do so with empathy, understanding, and humility...and if conflicted on what you may be asked to do in line with your duties, ask always how history will view your actions in this time
My love and best thoughts to all of you in this time. We will come out the other side as a better community and nation...I truly believe this.
j.
(updated 4 June)
T3 Triple Threat Youth Mentors (T3). Whether a casual enthusiast or aspiring professional all are welcome and encouraged to join T3 Teaching Artist as we celebrate and pay homage to our favorite productions from the Great Bright Way. Best acting school junior theatre san Diego summer we’re seeking to bring together a diverse ensemble of talented young people. Youth from all backgrounds are encouraged to audition.
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