AAA Players Revived to Encourage Diversity

Any transition from the television screen to the silver screen will be subject to the usual scrutiny: how does a movie studio condense a long-running TV show into a two-hour film that does the original series justice? For the live-action films of “Dragonball Z” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” however, casting decisions have provoked another, more sensitive issue. In company with well-known comic artists Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, and many other fans and professionals worldwide, one writer at theasianeconomist.com addresses the casting of Caucasian actors in Asian roles by raising the question: “How can an Asian anime protagonist be played by a white man?”

The recent revival of the Asian American Association Players (AAA Players) at Harvard seems to confront the issue of whether actors are confined to their ethnic origins or whether characters are defined by their physical traits. The original Players, which was created under the umbrella of AAA in 1994, has served as a forum for those underrepresented in theater, including Asian American students. The AAA Players enjoyed initial success: their productions of David Henry Hwang’s “F.O.B.,” Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” and ABBA’s rock musical “Chess” attracted large crowds and received praise for their uncustomary casting decisions and unconventional portrayals of these well-known works.

A decade and a half after the creation of the original Players, whose activity on campus has been spotty over the years, Jason J. Wong ’10 has acted as the impetus behind its revival. Wong, who emphasizes the importance of diversity in productions--both ethnically and in terms of theater background--recreated the Players in part because of his experiences with Common Casting. The AAA Players poses itself as an alternative to this traditional option­­, which Wong believes could be more welcoming to minority students.

“We have three major goals,” Wong says. “One, expand the boundaries of the theatrical arts through new interpretations of conventional plays. Two, increase diversity in the theatrical arts, and three, explore what it means to have an ethnic and/or cultural identity.”



MORE LIKE ‘COMPETITIVE CASTING’

Wong, who graduated from the theater department of San Francisco’s School of the Arts High School, has had concerns about the lack of an Asian American presence on stage. In the fall of his freshman and sophomore years, Wong auditioned through Common Casting, a selection process implemented by the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC), which offers every production taking place that semester an opportunity to choose its own cast. In these two instances, Wong noticed that the demographic of the students who audition are not as diverse as the entire Harvard undergraduate population.

Thus Wong hopes that the AAA Players will be able to spread Asian American culture through the theater community and encourage students of Asian descent to participate in Common Casting, particularly because there are few mainstream plays that star Asian Americans. And while he appreciates its egalitarianism, Wong believes that Common Casting could be more inviting to Asian Americans and other minorities.

“Oftentimes, you find the same people appearing in the [Common Casting] plays. It almost becomes like a ‘group’ thing,” Wong says.

“It may seem like there is less of a minority presence in productions which, in turn, deters students of minority backgrounds,” adds Austin Chu ’10, the co-president of AAA and a contributor to the AAA Players’ revival effort.

In contrast, HRDC says that it implemented Common Casting in order to combat biased auditioning. “It’s encouraged to be as open and fair as possible,” says Elizabeth G. Shields ’10, President of HRDC. “It can be an intimidating process, but that’s the nature of the audition process.” Common Casting is known for being selective, simply because of the mass volume of students who audition for the few roles available every semester.

Some students involved with the AAA Players feel, however, that Common Casting is intimidating because of the largely non-minority presence that seems to dominate HRDC productions. “I feel like the rules for Common Casting were communicating typecasting. I like how [the AAA Players] is a low-key way of getting involved,” says Helen H. Tsim ’10, a participant in the first workshop, which took place March 7.

HRDC’s Campus Liaison Elizabeth J. Krane ’11, who also attended the AAA Players’ first workshop, disagrees with the claim that Common Casting typecasts. “In my opinion,” she says, “and we’ve definitely discussed it a lot—it’s a very fair process. Anyone can come audition, and anyone has an equal opportunity to be cast....[The individuals making the casting decisions] go into the show looking for the people they find the most talented. They want their cast to be the strongest possible. There is no other motive there.”

As an apparent resolution to this difference in opinions, the AAA Players would act as a medium through which inexperienced actors can develop their talents without having to go through Common Casting.



“FEAR NOT THE FUTURE...”

At the moment, the AAA Players’ main goal is to find people who will help make the organization independent of AAA, who currently funds the burgeoning theater group. Wong has plans for 10-minute, one act plays in various venues on campus, such as the University houses, that will serve as initial springboards for bigger productions. Future goals include inviting established artists and professionals to lead acting workshops, and present educational talks, lectures and panels.

While the AAA Players’ initiative to include inexperienced actors may raise questions about the stability of the organization or the caliber of its productions, Wong feels that opening theater to as many individuals as possible is hardly a detriment.

“[Theater is] less about having good acting—though of course we don’t want to diminish the value of quality acting—than it is about adding diversity,” Wong says. “Having a play with those who have less experience can be an artistic statement in and of itself.”

“A friend of one of my cast members [of ‘Laramie’] actually told me, ‘Theater is education disguised as entertainment,’” adds Wong. “Diversifying people is great in creating that lesson. Theater is valuable not only in the skills that it teaches, but also in forming relationships with each other.”

—Reporting contributed by Crystal Huang.