Eleven
Dear Circle in the Square,
While I credit you as marking the beginning of my actor’s journey, the road was less than smooth, one that had to be navigated carefully as a person of color, all while trying to remain open and pliable in becoming an artist. As an Asian American (& one of the very few at the entire school), I have encountered a few racist and prejudiced instances committed by your all-white faculty that may not have appeared on the radar to a White observer, but that does not make it any less true or damaging. I will name 3 instances that have stayed with me for over the past 15 years since I was a student there.
During class, an acting teacher had given me as an acting note, that I had an “inscrutable face”, which is a racial slur made to Asian Americans, that we are indistinguishable from one another and our faces “naturally” have no expression of emotion. Stunned, I told her that it was wrong for her to say that to me. She dismissed me and said I should just receive her note.
I was told by a singing technique teacher during class that I should have songs from Miss Saigon, Flower Drum Song, and Marcy Park from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in my audition songbook, even though my range and vocal quality in no way resembles those songs. When I countered with the argument that upon walking in the audition room, it would be clear to the room that I was of Asian descent and so not necessary to limit myself to these songs. The teacher dismissed me and said she knew better than I did about such matters.
Another racial landmine was when I was told by one of the physical acting teachers that she “did not see color”, which we now know is a horrible & inaccurate justification for insisting upon one’s lack of racism, which also dismisses my identity, my history, my family’s history, the discrimination that people of color have and will continue to face. This argument also implies that White is considered neutral and the basis for what is “normal” & the status quo.
These are just a few instances that happened to me to illustrate the hard truth that Circle in the Square is not & has never been equipped to support their students of color, especially ones who are “green” and new to the industry, who perhaps could not adequately protect themselves, and who struggled to sift through what was useful training and what was tainted by the prejudices of their instructors, both during their time there and afterwards in the “real world”. Circle in the Square not only needs to have some kind of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion training in place for the faculty who are in charge of young emerging artists, but also they are in desperate need of faculty & administrators of color who could be better equipped & aware of the systemic racism in predominantly White institutions and within the faculty themselves. Looking at your current ALL-WHITE full-time faculty, it seems that Circle has still been stuck, even after 15 years, and if it hopes for any kind of sustainable & relevant future, it needs to change.
— Anonymous