JAN
29

Casting Without Stereotypes

Don’t Believe the Type! 

By Edith Weiss 

Edith Weiss is the author of several published children’s plays, including six with Pioneer Drama Service.  A lot of Edith’s writing time goes into her stand-up comedy routine, which has taken her all over the country and on three overseas military tours.  Besides writing, she also acts and directs in both children’s and adult theatre. 

We all know that fairy tales are loaded with stereotypes, many of which introduce morals we don’t necessarily want to teach.  For instance, in Disney’s Cinderella, the ugly stepsisters and the beautiful Cinderella reinforce the ridiculous notion that beauty is goodness; less pretty or plain is bad.  Why would we want to teach that to our kids?!

My solution?  Break these stereotypes and cast against type.  My play called Cinderella! Cinderella! (published by Pioneer Drama Service) features two petite, gorgeous stepsisters and a plain Cinderella whose feet are so big, they would’ve broken the traditional tiny glass slipper into shards!  Presenting a plain Cinderella and beautiful stepsisters clarifies an important dimension to the moral:  the play clearly becomes about kindness and goodness winning out, regardless of physical appearance.

Beyond fairy tales, another way of breaking stereotypes and altering the subtle messages in a play is by avoiding typecasting.  In a boy-meets-girl story, why can’t the girl be taller?  Overweight?  Wear glasses?  Likewise, not every hero has to be a candidate for a romance novel cover.  In the same way, villains can be beautiful, fair-haired girls.

Changing the gender of characters can also be seen as a way of casting against type.  If you’re reading a script for possible production and it doesn’t quite fit the boy/girl ratio you need, look at it again.  See if the single king could be a queen, or if the teachers or witches could be boys.  If the character has no romantic entanglements, then pirates, butchers, butlers, sheriffs and bullies can all be cast with girls — not with girls playing boys, but with girls simply acting their parts as if it were written for them.  Chances are you’ll be able to fit your casting needs better while also avoiding reinforcing unintended stereotypes.

But before making any changes, be severely cautioned:  It is NEVER safe to assume you have permission to make alterations to a script.  Pioneer Drama Service is very flexible about this and easily approves making small changes such as gender switching.  But be forewarned that it is against federal copyright law to change the gender of a character without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder unless the script specifically invites you to do so.

So, talk to your publisher (Pioneer really is the easiest to work with regarding this) and have fun seeing how a gender change impacts a play’s message.  Why couldn’t a Fairy Godmother be played by a male — not a male pretending to be a female, but a Fairy Godfather?  I did it this way once, and it gave a whole new look to a very old fairy tale.  And it certainly doesn’t have to be Marlon Brando’s “Godfather,” but perhaps a befuddled older man, as I did, or an earnest young man so eager to please he makes mistakes.

The next time you’re casting a play, don’t be afraid to think outside the box.  Cast against type, break stereotypes and see what wonderful new messages or lessons come to the surface.