Hamilton Actor speaks to COF Community about Diversity in the Arts
By Kristen Duffy Young
On Monday, September 21st, the Emmanuel College Theater Arts Program, in partnership with the Colleges of the Fenway Center for Performing Arts, welcomed Broadway actor and Hamilton star Austin Scott, for “An Evening with Austin Scott: Discussing Diversity in Contemporary Theater.” This Zoom event was moderated by Emmanuel Theater Arts Program Director, Scott Gagnon, and included questions from students.
The event drew over 50 students, faculty and staff from Emmanuel College and the larger COF Community. Austin Scott engaged the audience with his thoughtful responses and down to earth demeanor. He shared stories about what it was like to work on Broadway and the challenges he faced as an artist of color. Scott encouraged students to speak up and advocate for a more diverse representation not only in theater casts but also in leadership roles such as Director and Producer. He noted that while Hamilton has made great strides for artists of color, the theater industry has a long way to go. One show with a cast of BIPOC artists does not make up for years of inequality.
The impetus for this event stemmed from a departmental discussion in June, when EC faculty and students gathered via Zoom to reflect on the Black Lives Matter Movement. They brainstormed ways in which they could create change and many new initiatives emerged. One idea was to invite BIPOC artists to speak about the challenges they face in professional theater. Sophomore Kelly Kazorek immediately thought of Austin Scott and reached out to him via e-mail.
Kazorek first made contact with Scott in 2018 during the Boston tour of Hamilton. Upon meeting him she asked if she could conduct an interview for her high school paper. Kazorek noted, “At the time I was a senior and was shocked that a known actor agreed to be interviewed for my high school newspaper. I never imagined I would be able to reach out to him two years later during a global pandemic, and help educate those of us looking to enter the professional theater world, about social injustices. I was in shock when he responded moments later!” Scott was thrilled to accept the invitation and a date was set.
Students commented that the discussion with Scott left them feeling inspired and empowered to advocate for change. Kazorek said, “This event will always mean a lot to me as it happened during one of the hardest times for our discipline due to the pandemic, but it also gave us as a community time to reflect.” She said Scott shed light on the fact that, “While the stage is empty, we can all use our spotlights to fix the issues we see in the world. Our generation will follow those spotlights and maybe we can help make right so many of the wrongs as we head back to the stage in the near future.”
