Seven walk out over actor’s race

Wednesday, May 22, 1996

Students oppose Caucasian’s role in production on Frida Kahlo’s
lifeBy John Digrado

Daily Bruin Staff

Claiming disrespect to and misrepresentation of their race,
seven angry Chicana/o students walked out of a graduate student
production of Frida Kahlo’s life Tuesday evening at the MacGowan
Theater.

Only 20 minutes into the first act, the walk-out was in protest
to graduate student director Ruben Amavizca’s casting of a
Caucasian female in the role of the prominent Chicana artist.

Contracting polio at age six and a victim of a bus accident in
her teens, Kahlo’s art was greatly influenced by the pain that she
encountered over her life as a result of her disease as well as her
Mexican heritage.

The protest shattered the mood of the auditorium as protesters
walked across the auditorium, shouting slogans as they exited.
Equally outraged, both protesters and those involved with the
production expressed bitterness and anger toward the situation.

Why cast a Caucasian in the role of the artist "when they can’t
even get the pronunciation straight?" asked Guadalupe Correa, a
third-year theater student who walked out.

Protesters argued that the casting of the play was a slap in the
face to the Chicana/o and Latina/o communities and Kahlo herself.
"Frida’s intention was to make the indigenous people of Mexico
beautiful," one protester said.

"There are theater students being ignored and not looked at for
casting, and again we are being misrepresented," he continued.

Amavizca said that his casting of Laura Chovan in Kahlo’s role
was based purely on Chovan’s merit. Amavizca said Chovan
demonstrated the greatest ability to play the part from among a
pool of actors.

"I don’t care if I cast a black actor or a Caucasian actor," he
said. "I wasn’t going to cast a Chicana actor" based on her race,
the director continued.

Other students blasted the protesters for not staying for the
entire play, instead walking out even before the first act had
completed.

"I wish that people would just take the show for what it is and
listen to the story," said Nico Guilak, a second-year graduate
student. "I don’t think they’re helping their culture in any way by
doing this. They should promote it rather than put it down."

While Amavizca claimed that Chicana actors did audition for the
part, the director was more interested in portraying Kahlo’s life
as accurately as possible, which meant casting without regard to
race, he claimed.

The lack of minorities cast is largely due to the lack of
minorities auditioning in theater, said stage manager and
third-year theater student Heidi Hernandez.

"It’s just as much a discrimination to cast someone just because
they are Hispanic as it is to cast the best person to play the
role," she said. "If (minorities) want to do something about it,
they should audition."

But the issue serves as a point of strain within the acting
community. "It’s a difficult crossroads in theater," said Victoria
Lewis, a second-year graduate student in Fine Arts. "Hispanic
actors are so underrepresented."

But race issues aside, many of those involved with the program
felt that Kahlo’s story was one that should be told regardless of
who was cast to play her role.

"She’s a great figure and her story needs to be told as honestly
and as truthfully as we can," Lewis said