“I don’t ever want to be cast because I’m black, I just want to go into a room and have the same chance as everyone else,” actor Alex Taylor said in response to the new Academy guidelines. “I want to say I like it in theory, but having it be a box checking thing is dangerous.” There’s no perfect method and trying something is better than trying nothing, but it’s a slippery slope.”

The Academy’s new diversity requirements, Academy Aperture 2025, provides criteria that films must meet in order to be considered for a Best Picture Nomination. The guidelines provide a quota for the representation of marginalized groups in four categories; on screen representation, creative/leadership team, industry access and opportunities, audience development (marketing). Films must meet at least two out of four of these standards. The requirements don’t go into effect until 2024 and only apply to Best Picture nominees. 

            “I think that I personally deal with more tokenization than being shut out of things,” Taylor said. “I feel like [I am] a good safe option to be the one black person in the play, because I have things on my resume, because I grew up upper middle class, because I went to private school, because I seem safe.”

            Critics say quotas attempt to increase representation without addressing larger issues of access. Taylor believes  that classical theatre is often made less accessible to people of color. This experience, which Taylor refers to as “gate-keeping,” was reflected in a video produced by the organization Broadway for Racial Justice (BFRJ) during which actors read anonymous submissions from actors of color.

“Coming up as a young artist, the first piece I learned was Macbeth’s ‘tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow’ soliloquy,” an actor said, sharing an anonymous reflection during the BFRJ video. “It was given to me by my director at an incredible youth program during our Shakespeare portion of learning. After that day, I took the same monologue to another program, and was told that I didn’t need to worry about doing Shakespeare; that I should stick to pieces that I’d be in, like Fences and Raisin In The Sun.”             

One aspect of the Academy’s new guidelines that actors say feel promising are the measures outlined in Standard C: “Industry Access and Opportunities.” It requires the distribution or financing company of the film to offer paid internships and training opportunities to; women, racial or ethnic groups, LGBTQ+, and people with cognitive or physical disabilities. BFRJ is making similar efforts with their paid 9-week Casting Directive Program for theatre artists of color. 

             “It’s a very specific thing, of being a non-white person in a predominantly white space because you just feel like there’s always a little bit of a disconnect between you and everyone around you,’ said Toronto-based actor Ziye Hu. “Inclusion is not an afterthought, it needs to be built into whatever project you’re working on, that is what I want white people who have the power to assume.”

Initiatives like BFRJ and the Academy’s industry access guidelines seek to increase access for marginalized groups and reconstruct the historically white/male system of power at the heart of Hollywood and Broadway, by providing more training and growth opportunities for people of color.

Meanwhile actors of color are finding strength in their communities by processing their experiences and moving forward more confidently in spite of the discrimination they’ve faced in this industry. 

“I’m so passionate about being an actor, especially now, despite its challenges,” Hu said. “The challenge of being an actor with this aesthetic actually makes me want to do it more.  I’m not going into these rooms being afraid of who I am. It takes a lot of self-love and self-affirmation to be exactly who you are and go into these rooms, knowing that you’re worth it, and if they don’t want you, that’s ok. I’m untarnished.”

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For many students, after-school theatre club is a place of refuge. They become stage managers and costume designers; they are lead actresses and featured dancers. It’s an activity that lets them relieve stress, form friendships, and can lead to better grades.

But thousands of students across New York State don’t have access to these opportunities. Their schools don’t even have art classrooms, let alone space for a theatre. Budgets can barely cover classroom supplies – costuming and staging a production is out of the question. While arts funding is actually slightly increasing, a lot of New York City students won’t see any changes.

“I constantly bemoan the state of arts in the schools,” said Judy Tate, a professor at New York University. “For as long as I’ve been in arts education, I feel like the resources have been shrinking and shrinking and shrinking.”

Tate is a teaching artist who works with Manhattan Theatre Club. It’s one of many organizations that works to make sure that students across the city get the opportunity to study and practice theatre.

With the help of these organizations, students from schools across the city get the chance to go backstage at best-selling Broadway shows, learn from professional actors, and bring theatre into the classroom.

A Neighborhood-Specific Crisis

While arts funding is slowly improving, the majority of schools are still at a disadvantage, especially in lower-income neighborhoods.

“People want to come to school when they’re going to stay for the after-school drama club, or when they’re going to play music,” said Tate. “Arts is one of the things that helps people stay in school, and that people in charge don’t recognize that – it’s really disheartening.”

While the amount of hours mandated varies based on grade, the state requires that students spend between 93 hours and 186 hours per academic year on arts education, taught by a certified arts teacher. High school students must complete a certain amount of arts education hours to graduate – at least on paper.

But according to a 2014 report released by the office of the city comptroller, 28 percent of schools in New York City do not have a full-time certified arts teacher, while an additional 20 percent of schools have neither a full- nor part-time certified arts teacher. More than 42 percent of schools without these teachers are located in the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, despite these neighborhoods only having 31 percent of all NYC schools.

The above charts, taken from the NYC Department of Education, show median household income compared to the amount of arts teachers in the districts. Right: schools with no part-time or full-time certified arts teacher, focusing on the South Bronx. Left: schools with no full-time certified arts teacher, focusing on Central Brooklyn.

“There are instances, significant instances, of inequity, studies showing there’s a kind of correlation between high poverty areas and low arts in schools,” said David Shookhoff, Director of Education at Manhattan Theatre Club,. “There are problems, and we’re trying to adjust those problems.”

Filling the Gap

In the neighborhoods where these gaps exist, there’s no theaters or concert halls, not even off-off-off-Broadway spaces. There’s hardly any museums, and no art galleries. Instead, streets are lined with fast food restaurants, convenience stores and small businesses. As a result, many students don’t even have the chance to consider a career in the arts, let alone work towards one.

That deficit can be seen at The Academy of Applied Mathematics and Technology, or MS-343. Located in the Bronx, it’s among the schools that have no full- or part-time arts teachers, and while it’s highly ranked, according to the city’s Department of Education’s performance dashboard, it is located in one of the poorest Congressional districts in the country. In 2011, they were approached by Damian Bazadona, founder of the Situation Project.

“The school was missing something critical,” said Bazadona, “access to the extraordinary arts and cultural offerings of their city.”

Bazadona worked with MS-343 principal to secure 300 tickets to the then-running Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark. According to Bazadona, it was the first time many students had been on a field trip, let alone seen a Broadway show.

“Knowing what theatre meant to me as a young person, I think we have a responsibility to share our work with as many young people as we can,” said Seth Greenleaf, a producer at The Play That Goes Wrong, which the Situation Project recently brought students to. “Especially those without the means to attend on their own.”

The program has grown to include employee shadowing, artist talkbacks, on-site education seminars, and multiple shows. By the time a student whose school is involved with the Situation Project has graduated middle school, they’ve seen half a dozen shows.

“The biggest benefit our students have had is the opportunity to expand their cultural lens while also being given the chance to appreciate the arts,” said Tania Sanchez, an assistant principal at PS/MS 278, via an email with Bazadona. “Students have also made a personal and real connection to the performing arts especially through the opportunities to meet the cast and ask questions.”

The Situation Program can’t bring the arts directly into the classroom, but it makes sure that students at least have the chance to experience live theatre, and see the potential career paths ahead of them.

Meanwhile, Manhattan Theatre Club gives students a chance to write their own plays and see them staged by professional actors. MTC’s teaching artists also work alongside classroom teachers, blending theatre education with the existing curriculum.

In the past year, MTC has gone into 50 schools, working alongside 83 classroom teachers and impacting the lives of nearly 3,000 students.

“The work is designed as a collaboration between classroom artists and classroom teachers,” said Shookhoff. “Ideally, and i think in most cases in reality, the teacher and the teaching artist plan the work that’s going to take place in the classrooms, and collaborate in the classroom, and the expectation is that the classroom teacher is going to carry the work forward.”

The classroom work can include anything from learning about and preparing to see a play, learning how to write and stage plays of their own, and having the chance to see their work performed by professional actors. While MTC offers multiple programs, they all have a similar mission: ensuring that students across the city get a chance at a quality arts education.

“The idea is to bring [students] in contact with the power of live theatre, as a way to help them understand themselves and the world,” said Shookhoff. “What we’re doing is filling a gap. We’re making up a deficit.”  

Arts Leading to Increased Outcomes

Arts education leads to increased outcomes – but not just in academic terms. Students who are exposed to arts are more likely to go to college, to be civically engaged, and be better off socially.

“The crazy thing is, if you put [resources] into the arts, kids will tend to stay in school,” said Tate, who went on to explain that she has seen students become interested in, and eventually go to, colleges due to the increased opportunities for theatre there.

Bazadona said that in addition to seeing an increase in students wanting to go to college, many of them were specifically looking at performing arts schools.

“Before Situation Project, the number of kids in our founding school [MS-343] who applied to performing arts schools was about zero to two, out of a class of 100,” he said. “By the time the first Situation Project class was ready to graduate, 16 students had applied.”

Students involved with the Situation Project attended a performance of The Play That Goes Wrong. Photo courtesy of the Situation Project.

Both organizations agreed that while they don’t exist deliberately to lead students into theatrical careers, letting them see the potential careers that lie ahead of them is always a benefit.

“Our mission is not audience development, or talent development, per se,” said Shookhoff. “It’s about expressing aspects of humanity. That’s what we want our students to do, by coming to see our plays and preparing to see the plays. The plays that we ask them to write ultimately are ways for them to express what’s on their minds and in their hearts.”

Shookhoff explained that it’s also easy to see the changes in students in just a few weeks, both as they write their own plays and see live shows performed.

“The kids are excited about what they see and what they’ve done,” he said. “When the lights go down at the end of the play, there’s a palpable enthusiasm in the audience. They really dig the work, and connect with it. It becomes, in some cases, an almost rock-concert sort of enthusiasm.”

Always Hoping to be of Use

While arts education is still almost nonexistent in some parts of New York, there are indications that it’s getting better. This year, the National Endowment for the Arts, which President Donald Trump has frequently threatened to cut, actually saw an increase in its funding. City mayor Bill de Blasio has increased the amount of funding that goes towards arts education.

“The trend is positive,” said Shookhoff. “There’s been an effort to rectify a deficit situation. The hole is so deep that it certainly hasn’t been completely filled, but they’re trying.”

The increases will inevitably help students across the city. However, even if the situation continues to improve, these organizations still hope to be involved in bringing theatre to students.

“Even if all the schools were in  compliance with state mandates for art education, which they’re not, there would still be a role for organizations like MTC,” said Shookhoff. “We are the professionals, if you will. No matter how great your theatre program is, without the existence of Manhattan Theatre Club, you’re not going to see world class productions of plays by August Wilson or Sam Shephard. We’re always, all of the organizations, a value add.”

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Actor Fritz Weaver reads "The Diplomat" in St. Peter's Church on Lexington Avenue on Friday. Hosted by a group that seeks to promote world peace through the humanities, the free reading of Anton Chekhov's short stories honored the 150th anniversary of his birth. (Photo by Jasmine Brown)

Beate Hein Bennett sat quietly in the chapel of St. Peter’s Church as she listened to a man reading at the pulpit. She closed her eyes to contemplate the words and suddenly let out a burst of uncontrollable laughter. He was reading a story by Anton Chekhov.

On Friday afternoon, 200 people gathered in the church, on Lexington Avenue, to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the Russian writer and playwright’s birth.

The free reading, organized by Toward International Peace through the Arts, consisted of eight short stories written by Chekhov.

The audience, mainly consisting of retired people, sat in the crowded chapel to listen to three prominent actors  – Tony Lifetime Achievement Award winner Marian Seldes, and Tony Award winners Tammy Grimes and Fritz Weaver. Other distinguished artists included Conrad Rothbaum, Betsy Von Furstenberg, Bess Rous, Ronald Rand and Stan Tannen.

“I was interested in hearing some of these great actors, like Marian Seldes, Fritz Weaver and Tammy Grimes, all actors that I have seen in their prime,” said Bennet, 65, a Manhattan resident who read about the event in The New Yorker. “So I was interested in hearing them, and I love the Chekhov stories.”

Fritz Weaver read “The Diplomat,” a comedic piece in which a man tries to gently tell his friend that his estranged wife has died. He fails miserably, and instead immediately refers to the man’s wife as “the deceased,”  making all manner of references to her death without explicitly saying she died. This sends the friend into a panic as he wonders whether his wife is dead or alive.

“Fritz Weaver’s reading of the last story was absolutely marvelous,” Bennet said with a laugh. “It would be a wonderful scene to adapt to the stage.”

Weaver, 84, who is predominantly a stage actor, may be best known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the NBC miniseries “Holocaust.” He won a Tony Award in 1970 for his portrayal of the headmaster Jerome Malley in “Child’s Play.” He has also performed in Broadway productions of “The Crucible,” ”Baker Street,” “All American,” and “Henry IV, Part I,” among others.

Weaver is a long time friend of the TIPA Project’s founder, Stan Tannen.

TIPA, founded in 1972, aims to promote peace through the humanities.

“Theater addresses the heart, and other sciences address the mind, but the heart is perhaps more important than all of them,” Weaver said. “When you communicate one heart to another, you’ve made a real connection, and I think that has to do with peace.”

Both Weaver and Tannen believe that the arts and humanities can unite people.

“The idea was to celebrate and honor the great literature, poetry (and) drama of all countries as a means of understanding each other,” Tannen said. ”The humanities have always been that which brings us together.”

Tannen and Weaver hope that free public readings and performances of literature from all over the world will spark an international conversation, causing individuals to connect with another in peace, said John Major, a TIPA members since the program began.

TIPA organizes multiple free readings throughout the year. The next reading will be in December in honor of the 175^th anniversary of the birth of Mark Twain.

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