(or How Guerrilla Research is Like Performance Art)

by Smyra Yawn

Diversity on Chicago’s stages has been the hot button issue in 2016. But, as director Lavina Jadhwani observes, “Casting is the symptom, not the root problem. I wish we could focus the conversation more on decision makers (including directors and writers — but also producers, artistic directors, etc).”  The lack of diversity she saw in the field prompted Jadhwani to start her research, existing in it’s entirety on a public Google sheet entitled “Director/Playwright representation in Chicago.” As of this writing the sheet documents 74 Chicago theatres along with the number of playwrights and directors of color involved in their latest season.

Over the past week, anyone who opened the document could see not only the data that Jadhwani has gathered, but also little avatars in the top right corner indicating other people who were also looking at it. Sometimes 10 people at once, perusing the numbers or perhaps checking in to see if they had changed. It felt like a hybrid of guerrilla research and performance art.

Jadhwani shared the document on Facebook and it quickly attracted the attention of others in the Chicago community. Most shared the link with comments commending the work and encouraging others to check it out, but some people contacted her directly with concerns that the project was biased or unfair. “It was surprising (and honestly, a little hurtful) that those people’s first response was to reject the whole project as careless, rather than examine the programming of the companies in question first,” says Jadhwani. In a Facebook post on November 24th, she wrote, “If you feel like the stats are incorrect, please contact me directly; I’ve said from jump that this is a work in progress and I’m open to feedback!”

The spreadsheet, along with two tabs of analysis, certainly do not present every single Chicago theater and there are some exceptions and overlap (noted extensively by Jadhwani at the bottom of the document). However, at the time of writing this article, the statistics are striking.  With 74 theatres listed, nonwhite artists make up only 23% of the directors and 26% of the playwrights. About 40% of theaters surveyed had no directors or playwrights of color in their seasons. “Back in the Spring,” Jadhwani told me, “I said that I would only attend work at theaters that are featuring at least ONE playwright OR director of color in their season … ideally I’m going to companies that hire multiple artists of color, but that’s my bare minimum. This rules out houses like Redtwist, House, Lookingglass, etc.”

Jadhwani was particularly concerned with the representation of Asian directors and playwrights. She pulled the following stats: Asian directors made up 3%* of the total number of directors counted in the survey. Asian playwrights made up only 4.3%. Appalled by these findings, she posted a list of upcoming productions that featuring Asian playwrights and directors on Facebook (reprinted below).

Many jump to point out that one season does not necessarily reflect any one theater’s overall inclusion of artists of color, but that’s not the point. Jadhwani’s project illustrates for everyone – in clear cut terms – what she and other artists of color see when they look at the theatrical offerings in Chicago. Both as a director looking for work and as an audience member, it’s profoundly disappointing. “I’ve found that people are eager to talk about what they want to see more of, (i.e. actors of color on stage)” says Jadhwani, “but reluctant to talk about what they would be willing to give up (i.e., maybe not direct at their company for a few seasons).”

But for all her frustration, Jadhwani’s project is hopeful. “I’m not looking for holes,” she says, “I’m looking for a place I can call home … I’m counting [directors and playwrights of color] because as an artist and audience member, I’m looking for a reason to stay [in Chicago].”  She would love to see a 50/50 balance in terms of playwrights and directors in the next five years. “I think we can do this!” she told me. I certainly hope she does stick around to see it happen.

UPCOMING WORK FEATURING ASIAN DIRECTORS
– Chay Yew directed Roz and Ray at Victory Gardens Theater, playing now thru December 11
– Chay Yew will direct A Wonder in My Soul at Victory Gardens Theater, February 10-March 23
– Chay Yew will direct Lady in Denmark at Goodman Theatre, May 19-June 18

UPCOMING WORK FEATURING ASIAN WRITERS
– Minita Gandhi‘s solo piece, Muthaland, at 16th St, August 31-October 7
– Jaclyn Backhaus’ Men on Boats at American Theatre Company, January 6-February 12
– Jiehae Park’s peerless at First Floor Theater, February 11-March 12
– Lauren Yee‘s King of the Yees at Goodman Theatre, March 31-April 30
– Lauren Yee‘s Hookman at Steep Theatre, April 20-May 27
– James Sie’s adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time at Lifeline Theatre, February 17-April 9
– Christine Bunuan‘s cabaret, Christmas at Christine’s, at Silk Road Rising, December 1-23
– Madhuri Shekar’s Queen at Victory Gardens Theater, April 14-May 14
– Young Jean Lee’s We’re Gonna Die at Haven Theatre, opening May 8

UPCOMING WORK FEATURING ASIAN WRITERS AND DIRECTORS
– Lloyd Suh’s American Hwangap, directed by Helen Young; co-produced by A-Squared Theatre and Halcyon Theatre, February 24-April 1
– Lavina Jadhwani‘s adaptation, VANYA (or “That’s Life!”), directed by Kaiser Ahmed for Rasaka Theatre Company, January 5-February 3
– Tanika Gupta’s adaptation of Great Expectations, co-directed by Lavina Jadhwani; co-produced by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and Silk Road Rising, May 11-July 2
– Straight White Men, written and directed by Young Jean Lee at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, February 2-March 19

This article originally appeared on spielchicago.com.