Golden State Today

From the U.S.’s first Black theater in New York to today's Broadway stages, there has been “a kind of de facto censorship” of diverse stories throughout the country's history, says Professor Shannon Steen.

In 1821, two free Black men from the West Indies — playwright William Alexander Brown and actor James Hewlett — opened what is considered the United States’ first Black theater in New York City. At the African Grove Theatre, Black performers staged classical pieces like Shakespeare’s Richard III and Othello, as well as ballets, operas, comedies, and Brown’s original plays. Its audiences were racially integrated but predominantly comprised Black patrons, both free and enslaved.

When white attendees came to the shows, they often harassed the actors and rioted until performances could not continue. Police would arrest the Black performers instead of the white rioters.

“This is just one example of a long history of performers from vulnerable or excluded communities having their events shut down in this way,” said Shannon Steen, a UC Berkeley professor of theater, dance and performance studies and American studies.

Recent developments suggest progress in terms of diversity on American theater stages. In 2002, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama — marking the first time a Black American woman won in that category. The revival of her play in 2023 earned her a Tony Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. The musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda opened on Broadway in 2015 with a cast mostly composed of actors of color; it won a Pulitzer Prize and 11 Tony Awards.

Steen’s research includes popular performance history in U.S. history. She authored Racial Geometries: The Black Atlantic, Asian Pacific, and American Theatre in 2010. Her work reveals that “soft censorship” remains pervasive on American stages. Unlike hard censorship where performances are banned by governments, soft censorship subtly limits certain stories or ideas' circulation.

Data show evidence of soft censorship through the lack of diverse programming in U.S. theaters. The Asian American Performers Action Coalition found that during the 2018-2019 season only about 11% of shows produced on Broadway were by playwrights of color. For nonprofit theaters in New York City, this number was slightly higher at just over 20%.

“That tells you a lot about the systems of representation,” said Steen. “While it’s not hard state control and there isn’t a law limiting writers of color, it’s a kind of de facto censorship.”

Broadway is seen as emblematic of American theatrical spaces with its "metonymic relationship" with the U.S., she said. When plays on Broadway lack broad representation, it distorts Americans’ sense of their country and influences other theaters worldwide.

Since George Floyd's murder in 2020 and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, theaters have increased efforts to produce more shows by writers of color like Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate (2023 Tony Award-winning) and Alicia Keys' semi-autobiographical musical Hell’s Kitchen (2023). However, financial constraints persist as barriers to bringing audiences to these expanded lineups.

Attending Broadway shows remains costly for many potential theatergoers from marginalized communities. Regional and nonprofit theaters often rely on member subscriptions and support from entities like the National Endowment for the Arts but are subject to their largely white suburban audiences' preferences.

The book America in the Round by UC Riverside Professor Donatella Galella chronicles Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage's struggles despite its long-standing support for Black actors and playwrights like James Earl Jones and Zora Neale Hurston.

Even so, Arena Stage has struggled throughout its history to build diversity within its programs according to Galella's writing. For instance when one-quarter of its plays were by Black authors during its 1992-93 season it lost significant subscribers who found multiracial casting “disconcerting,” “distracting” or “contrived.” Some explicitly supported white supremacy.

“It’s just really shocking how much anger was unleashed by their subscriber base," said Steen.

Until recently regional theaters avoided diversifying their slates out-of-fear subscribers would respond similarly to those at Arena Stage during early ‘90s added Steen.

While generally thought an economic problem muted voices from writers-of-color enact similar effects akin-to-censorship without government intervention preventing productions noted Steen.

UC Berkeley's Department Theater Dance Performance Studies doesn’t rely same subscription models most-American-theaters yet dedicated shifting narrative decentering whiteness curriculum Fall-2020 instructors committed-at-least-60%-material created people-of-color compiled canon works resource professors instructors can use part curricula

This shift paid off said chair professor SanSan Kwan joined department-2011 witnessed evolution past thirteen-years

“The initiative gave us opportunity rethink presumptions built syllabi regarding canons historicize,” Kwan stated “It asked consider ways key theories we teach performance studies introduced via normally overlooked thinkers global majority instead usual Euro-American suspects”

Over past four years ten sixteen plays department produced were-playwrights-color including coming-age-story In-the-Red-and-Brown-Waterby Tarell Alvin McCraney Brazilian folktale The-River-Brideby Marisela Treviño Orta Berkeley student-devised piece The After Party

Within last year department hired two theater professors Timmia Hearn DeRoy Karina Gutiérrez focus social justice theater intersection politics performance

So what can theaters across U.S do survive financially while expanding types stories presenting bringing broader more-diverse audience?

“That’s what everyone trying figure-out right now” said Steen

Various strategies explored recent years include finding new ways reach broader swath potential-theatergoers through community engagement events presenting bilingual productions providing incentives lowering ticket prices specific communities historically excluded using sliding scale offering flexible subscriptions

Even minor aspects theatergoing experience help create welcoming atmosphere all such ushers acting greeters church welcoming patrons instead guarding doors common practice many-theaters institutions like American Conservatory Theater San Francisco page explicitly tells patrons house rules play aiming undo stereotypes that theatergoers must be passive reserved

“The question how long will they be willing keep trying efforts if payoff isn’t fast enough?” Steen stated

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