I believe I just experienced what all (or at least most) stage actors may dream about: I just co-produced a show, along with my husband Randy, that was a tailor-made project for both of us. Randy got to direct and I got to be on stage. No audition, no call-back. Just Randy and me deciding to do a show.
After struggling for years through countless auditions, and experiencing rejections for much of those times, I have learned a few things.
One of the things I have learned is that when you're an actor, you are in one of the only fields in the world where you can still be hired (or not hired) based on your gender, age, race and general appearance. Try rejecting a job applicant in any other job on that basis, and you'll find yourself in court on the losing end of a lawsuit.
But theatre (heck, television and film, too) is about "type" and image. It's also about what people think will "sell" and what constitutes entertainment and art. So, put that all together and you've got a lot of people who are not in demand on the average Pierce County stage.
Sure, I've gotten my share of interesting roles and opportunities over the years, so I can't complain. But I am guessing that I struggle to find reasonable opportunities in theatre more than the sought-after demographic: young, caucasian, male, good-looking...or any combination of that.
But, what bothers me the most about that is not that I won't be on stage as much as others whose types are "in demand." It's what this is saying about what American (or Pierce County) society thinks is important.
Our culture, ideas and values are passed on to the next generation, in part, by the stories we tell. If the stories that are told are mostly about young European-American culture and families, does this mean that Asian, Latino and African-American stories are NOT as important? Or stories of people of a certain age are insignificant? Or, are our stories important, but not "marketable"?
Either way, it's a sad commentary.
So, Java Tacoma: Episode 37 "Ashes to Ashes, Cup to Cup" is my small, modest way of telling the story of us "unmarketable" types. Imagine a play with a cast of 5. All middle-aged. Two of whom are non-white. The central characters are women.
Unmarketable? Not according to our audiences. Sure, the average audience member was middle-aged, but perhaps that tells us something. Stories about "US," whoever constitutes your "US," draws others who are like ourselves. If it's good art and good entertainment, it will also draw folks who are not like ourselves.
Java Tacoma was a success. It struck a chord, it gave our audiences a lot of belly laughs, too. And, it was a wonderful middle-aged comedy about people, regardless of race or age.
I can't wait to do the next episode. In a year, we'll do Episode 38. More middle-aged folks, and hopefully, even more ethnic folks. What a blast that will be.
Stay tuned.
