Nine Questions Every Actor of Color Should Consider When Tokenism Is Not Enough

This book confronts and analyzes the systemic racism that confronts actors of color in the USA through interviews with leading performers in the nation’s theatrical epicentre of Chicago.

Each chapter deals with a different central question, from how these actors approach roles and the obstacles that they face, to the ways in which the industry can change to better enable actors of color. By bringing together these actors and sharing the ways in which they have functioned within the white theatre world, we can appreciate how theatre needs to embrace their identities so that all voices are heard, understood, and valued. The stories of these actors will reflect the systemic racism of the past and present with the hope of remaking the future.

This is an important book for students, teachers, and professionals who engage in theatre work, helping them to understand the lived experiences of actors of color through those actors’ own words.

Shanésia Davis is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Acting at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, USA. Ms. Davis is also an award-winning stage, television, and film actor based in Chicago.