Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit Hamilton premiered on Broadway on Aug. 6, 2015, smashing all precedents and expectations of the landscape of the musical theatre world.
The musical combined Broadway show tunes with hip-hop, rap, R&B and soul, something that many people had not seen in a broadway show up to that point.
That year, Hamilton took home eight Drama Desk awards, and the next year, it took home 11 Tonys.
The range of musical genres explored was not the only diverse part of the show; the casting was as well, and intentionally so. The characters in the show, save King George III, are all intended to be specifically played by people of color.
This allowed for actors of color to take the spotlight where they might not have otherwise, and for people of color spectating to see themselves represented.
Although the general theatre industry is able to do this, why can’t we do that here at UTM? The reason is due to the lack of actors of color auditioning.
“A lot of what goes into [casting] is the person’s personal record,” Lymonté Thomas, a senior Theatre major from Memphis, said.
He then went on to talk about how people who audition often and are active in the theatre program are more likely to be cast than people who walk on with little to no prior experience.
“I would like to see our pool of auditioners to be more diverse, but you have to have people who are willing and excited,” Thomas said.
For any student who may be excited about what’s happening in the Theatre Department, auditions for the production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will be held in the Vanguard Little Theatre in the Fine Arts Building on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Auditioners only have to attend one night.
Anyone can audition, whether they are a theatre major or not. There is nothing that needs to be prepared ahead of time, as everything that will be required will be taught at auditions.
To learn more about the Visual and Theatre Arts Department at UTM, visit http://www.utm.edu/departments/finearts/vanguard/index.php.
