"Gender blind casting depends upon the actor and directors to keep the goals of the play they want to present in mind," Marino says. "However, you cannot sacrifice a good actor because of gender, race or color."

BU director Hogan warns against serving the aims of cross casting on a purely political level while ignoring the aims of the script that is being performed. "It's got to work well so that the public can see there's nothing to be afraid of," he says.

Harvard director Gibbs was faced with the dilemma of wanting to cross cast while remaining true to the intentions of the scriptwriter when holding auditions for this fall's performance of Tiny Alice. "I wanted to cast the best actors--male or female. However, it became clear during auditions that gender cross casting would be disruptive to Albee's script."

"One woman and four men--that's the point of the play," Gibbs says. "I am very happy with the actors that have been cast because they are the best actors for the play."

Theory versus Reality

Although cross casting seems like the ideal meritocracy, directors and actors alike recognize that those who "do not know the right people," very often because of their gender or ethnicity, are not even given the opportunity to audition for many roles.

"The best actor is supposed to get the role, regardless of looks," Gibbs says. "But it's hard to discuss the reality of politicking and networking that goes on behind the scenes in idealistic terms."

Hogan expresses his regret that cross-gender and racial casting is still "more on the level of debate than reality" in mainstream film and theatre. He cites his willingness to cast regardless of race or gender. "I would have no hesitation casting a black Hamlet," Hogan says. "Looking Danish is not the essence of Hamlet."

Hogan blames cost-risk minded producers for hindering further exploration of untraditional casting. "Lack of insight is costing Hollywood millions of financial dollars. Cross casting will reach a sector of the public that only filmmakers like Spike Lee are currently able to tap into," Hogan says.

"The cultural claustrophobia that many mainstream performance artists and producers fear is simply not based on reality," Hogan says.

"Look at the demographics of this country. Luck Skywalker could've been black."

"Most of my shows are feminist oriented. I feel an obligation to find good roles for women." --Molly Bishop