Toronto Theatre Community Expresses Outrage on Social Media After Canadian Stage Announces 2016-2017 Season Lacking Diversity on Creative Teams

The Toronto theatre community came together on Tuesday to express outrage on social media over the lack of diversity on the announced creative teams for productions in Canadian Stage's 2016-2017 season.

In a press release sent out Tuesday morning, Canadian Stage announced "18 genre-defying productions." The release continues that "under the artistic and general direction of Matthew Jocelyn, Canadian Stage continues to push the boundaries of contemporary Canadian performance practice with an ambitious lineup of productions."

Derrick Chua, an entertainment lawyer, producer, and prominent member of the Toronto theatre community turned to Facebook to express disappointment at the lack of diversity on the creative teams for the upcoming productions. "Some fabulous artists..." his post began, "but is there any Canadian involved as a writer, director, translator, (or) choreographer in Canadian Stage's season that's not white?"

Immediately members of the Toronto theatre community began to comment on the post. At the time of writing the post has 43 comments, 16 shares, and 159 likes.

Canadian Stage representatives were not immediately available for comment at press time. However, artistic director Matthew Jocelyn addressed concerns regarding a lack of diversity on the creative teams to J. Kelly Nestruck in a Globe and Mail article published Tuesday - saying "I think you'll see a lot of the diversity of our casting."

In a comment posted later, Chua responds with "I'm sure there will be diversity on stage - High Park always has diverse performers - Concord Floral had some - I'm sure other shows will have. But it has to start with the writers, directors, and choreographers! I'm extremely disappointed right now..."

One Toronto based actor and playwright wrote "So casting makes up for this? How? I'd really like to hear that rationale."

Another Toronto based actress wrote "So disappointed. Did not renew (my) subscription because of this."

In another comment, a Toronto based actress, singer, and writer noted that "One bright side is that there is a slew of killer female artists!"

Toronto based performer Ryan G. Hinds wrote "I'm at a loss for words (for once). Disappointing but not surprising. A healthy season does not choose between either female or culturally diverse voices. A healthy season chooses both and more. If Canadian Stage Company is going to live up to its name, both artists and audiences deserve nothing less."

A Toronto based actress, writer, and producer wrote "At the core of every piece of the theatre is the writer, what they are saying about the world around them, and what their perspective is. If we don't get more female writers of all ages, (and) people of colour of all ages and backgrounds - we are just seeing the same perspectives, and essentially the same plays over and over and over again."

This conversation surrounding diversity in the arts is especially timely, with #OscarsSoWhite currently bringing similar conversations on social media to international attention.

If the season will include diverse casts, as promised by Jocelyn - why don't the creative teams responsible for the productions they will be performing in reflect the diversity on stage?

The theatre is often associated with the stereotype that it's created for rich, white patrons. This stereotype isn't unfounded. Though I'm not aware of any demographic data for Toronto theatres, a report published by The Broadway League notes the average age of a Broadway theatre goer is 44 years old and that 80% of all tickets were purchased by Caucasian theatre goers in 2013-2014.

The current Broadway season, however, is the most diverse on record. This year New York audiences have had the opportunity to see shows celebrating diversity such as Hamilton, The Color Purple, Allegiance, Amazing Grace, and On Your Feet! - with a revival of Shuffle Along (a revival of the 1920's Broadway musical with an African-American composer, lyricist, and book writer) scheduled to begin performances mid March. Each of these productions feature both a diverse cast and creative team.

Commercial theatre in Toronto is nowhere near as diverse - and actors who are not Caucasian often offer anecdotes about not being seen for parts that were originally portrayed by white actors. One of the principal performers in Kinky Boots, for example, posted shortly before opening night on social media that composer Cyndi Lauper (who was not involved in casting the Toronto production) "was hilariously surprised" that she was black. The part she plays was originated by an actress of Spanish, Filipino, and Swedish descent.

Canada is hardly a country of only Caucasians; 47% of all Toronto residents (the primary market served by Canadian Stage) identified themselves as being part of a visible minority in the last census. One of the final comments on Chua's Facebook post concludes "Disgraceful. That stage doesn't represent Canada at all."

It's evident that much of the theatre community agrees with that sentiment.

The Canadian Stage 2016-2017 season is outlined below:

The season will open with Concord Floral, a re-imagining of the medieval allegory "The Decameron" by Jordan Tannahill at the Bluma Appel Theatre.

All But Gone, a new work juxtaposing the imagery of Samuel Beckett's short plays with contemporary operatic music will be directed by Jennifer Tarver. The production will star Kristina Szabó, Shannon Mercer, and Jonathon Young.

Dancer/choreographer Bill Coleman and playwright/performer Daniel MacIvor bring their most recent solo works to the Berkeley Street Theatre in Fall 2016. Coleman confronts a series of almost biblical challenges in his cataclysmic new piece Dollhouse, featuring an experimental sound installation by celebrated instrumentalist Gordon Monahan. Daniel MacIvor will channel legendary monologist Spalding Gray in Who Killed Spalding Gray?, directed by long-time collaborator Daniel Brooks.

In November, Constellations by British playwright Nick Payne comes to the Bluma Appel Theatre in a new production directed by Peter Hinton and co-produced with Montreal's Centaur Theatre Company

Plays by Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón and German author Nino Haratischwili will also be debuted this season. For its second year in residency at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Theatre Smash will join forces with the Actors Repertory Company and Canadian Stage to present Calderón's KISS - an exploration of cultural boundaries set in war-torn Syria.

Canadian Stage Artistic and General Director Matthew Jocelyn will stage the North American premiere translation of Haratischwili's suspense-drama Liv Stein at the Bluma Appel in January 2017.

Canadian Stage's Saison du Québec will showcase prominent artistic voices from French-Canada, kicking off with a premiere work by Quebec's Marie Chouinard. In Jérôme Bosch: la creation, le paradis, le jardin, l'enfer (Jérôme Bosch: Creation, Heaven, Garden, and Hell), Chouinard and her ensemble of dancers explore the tantalizing imagery of 15th century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch on the 500th anniversary of his death.

In a collaboration with Théâtre français de Toronto, Canadian Stage will present a bilingual production of Five Faces for Evelyn Frost / Cinq visages pour Évelyne Frost by Quebec actor Guillaume Corbeil, and helmed by director Claude Poissant. Structured by the verbal architecture of social media, the production will have a bilingual cast of five perform for two weeks in English and one week in French.

The acrobats of Quebec circus troupe Cirque Éloize will take to the Bluma Appel stage in March with Cirkopolis, presented in partnership with the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Also at the Bluma Appel, Quebec theatre giant Robert Lepage will return to Canadian Stage for a third time, closing the Saison du Québec with his dazzling autobiographical creation 887.

The company's tribute to Canada's 150th concludes Spotlight Australia - Canadian Stage's fourth biennial Spotlight series. The six-week festival will highlight the work of five of Australia's most innovative and outstanding performing arts companies.

*Formatting of some social media posts were adjusted for clarity. Some common internet abbreviations were expanded for clarity. Photo: Matthew Joecelyn, Artistic Director - Canadian Stage.

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