Submission 133 / Day 132

VALU-MART to Dobama Theatre.

Dobama describes itself as edgy, intimate, and provocative and it produces plays -- many of them world premieres -- that explore contemporary issues. In short, this is a place and an audience that VALU-MART should thrill. There are not as many of those places as you might think.

One of the benefits of concentrating my submissions on professional theatres is that, generally speaking, they're able to produce plays that require multi-racial and multi-generational casts. But, not all theatres can and, if the aperture is opened wide enough to take in community theatres, it's fairly stunning to see how many see the challenge of finding black actors not only great, but sometimes I fear, unwelcome.

I'm not suggesting that racism is rampant in theatre. In fact racism is probably far less prevalent in most theatres than it is in the communities where they reside. Still, the next time you're in an audience, take a look around and then take a look at the plays the theatre is producing that season. Some of you will find quite a lot of diversity, but more of you I suspect will not find much. And, at a time when theatres need to attract new audiences and the arts generally should be helping to bridge cultural gaps that separate us, it's a shame.