WHO TELLS OUR STORIES?

Esmerelda and all other Roma roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame should not be represented by white actors. Why?

Institutionalized racism is rampant in the performing arts. One aspect of this is white-washing roles meant for BIPOC actors.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical is based off of a combination of Victor Hugo‘s novel and the Disney movie. In the novel, Esmeralda is half Roma, a “gypsie”, and Disney portrays her with dark skin. This identity is clear throughout the musical, while she and her people are othered and discriminated against.

The playwright’s intention is for Esmerelda and all other Roma roles to be played by BIPOC actors: https://www.mtishows.com/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame 
Actors representing “gypsies” are of the Roma race: “In a Place of Miracles”, Clopin sings “Could there be a country kinder to our race?”. 

A brief history: The Roma people as diverse immigrants from India could not have been white. Not only was Esmeralda not white, but she might have also been Muslim or Pagan. Roma people faced discrimination from the Spanish government documented as early as 1499. They were forced into servitude, banned from coming together, torn from their communities, barred from basic human rights, and much more. Today, the legacy of their seventeenth-century deportation to the Americas and Africa lives on through the continued racism they face as documented by The World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples.

Generational trauma combined with this racism affects Roma people to this day. 
Helpful resources for further information concerning Roma discrimination:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-roma-rights/roma-people-10-ways-europes-biggest-minority-faces-discrimination-idUSKCN1RK01Y
https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/world/europe/roma-discrimination/index.html
This issue has precedence. We should be moving forward.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/5/school-cancels-hunchback-racial-casting-dispute/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/theater/hunchback-of-notre-dame-ithaca-high-school.html

DEMANDS

• We demand that Harrison School for the Arts creates a safe and anti-racist environment for BIPOC students, directors, choreographers, music directors, and staff members.
• 
  Ongoing mandatory DEI and Anti-Racism Training must be implemented for executive leadership, boards and staff. A dedicated DEI presence should be made available for conferences during school hours and any extracurricular hours. 
• 
  Annual Anti-Racism Training must be provided to full-time staff, part-time staff, contract creative hires, contract workers in costume shops, contract workers in scene shops, stage management hires, and production crew hires at the expense of the institution or county. This must include bystander intervention, de-escalation, and conflict resolution training to provide the necessary tools to address racism and harm when it happens.
• 
  As part of this training, Harrison leaders must renounce color-blind casting in favor of color-conscious casting.
• 
  Training curriculum outlines must be publicly accessible within 6 months of the publish of these demands on the Harrison website (https://www.harrisonarts.com/ to ensure accountability.
• 
  Intimacy coaches and fight directors must be hired and acquire mandatory Anti-Racism Training.
• 
  We demand the direct removal of the white Esmerelda (Hugo Cast), Clopin Trouillefou (Victor/Hugo Cast), and any other white students cast as Roma or “Gypsie” roles, so that they may cast black, indigenous, people of color as intended by the playwright.
• 
  If the above demand cannot be met, musicals such as those formerly suggested to Kevin LeVine, will be chosen instead as the 2021 all-school musical. These musicals may have similar plots, but do not include specified BIPOC roles. (Seussical: The Musical; Shrek The Musical; Honk!; Zanna Don’t!; Archy & Mehitabel.)
• 
  If neither of the above demands can be met, we demand the cancellation of the 2021 all-school musical. 
• 
  We demand the immediate removal of racist staff members after the implementation of Anti-Racism Training.
• 
   Institute an in-house BIPOC Alliance Committee made up of the DEI trainer, BIPOC staff, and BIPOC students to evaluate the mission and vision of the performing arts as related to Harrison School for the Arts. The members of this committee should collaborate with other Harrison leadership to build a strategic plan designed to move the school toward anti-racist practices.
• 
   In the future, no musical should be chosen unless each BIPOC-specific role is able to be equitably filled by a BIPOC actor, as the casting of white actors in BIPOC roles reinforces the already rampant white supremacy and institutional racism in the performing arts.
• 
  We demand a public statement from Harrison School for the Arts apologizing to the community for the damaging casting of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• 
  The usage of non-qualified consultation in place of or in addition to DEI presence is strictly prohibited, regardless of their relationship with the school or students.

Where to donate, if possible:

European Roma Rights Centre: http://www.errc.org
Love Light Romania: https://lovelightromania.com

Email Link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ogZjLwNM7uD9hCxDNZ7466anUKxNAGZMSrY0KnMo8sI/edit?usp=sharing

We thank the We The People Foundation for their “BIPOC Demands for White American Theatre”, as our demands were directly influenced by theirs. Attached is a link to their original demands for transparency and credit:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ede42fd6cb927448d9d0525/t/5f064e63f21dd43ad6ab3162/1594248809279/Tier2.pdf

- A Co-conspirator