Theatre and Its Unavoidable Dilemma? Inquiring into the Role of Typecasting in Contemporary Theatre Arts: Part II of V

This is the second part of a five-part series on typecasting in theatre and how actors and faculty in the ASFA Theatre Arts department have encountered (and dealt with) it in their time here. For part one, click here.

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Alex Momoh (ASFA TA '25)

During a rare free moment at school earlier this year, I sat down with Theatre Arts senior Alex Momoh, a dynamic actor whose presence on stage (and in school) is magnetic. I asked him to recall his acting career at ASFA, from freshman year to now, and what he thought about playing the roles he's played. Here's what he had to say:

ALEX: Umm the first role I had at ASFA, for main stage I played a really small character in the musical, his name was Roy and it was given to me really last minute, like it was during rehearsal and they were like, ‘Alex say this’ and I said it and my name was on the official thing and it said Roy. 

My second character was Ferapont in Three Sisters, which I really did not like that role. I thought it was more of a caricature than a character, I felt like umm, in the original play it was set in Russia and so these characters, this subservient role of Ferapont and Anfisa, they were just kind of servants, but when you put it in the context of the 1870s Kansas, or whatever Midwest state it was and you open with John Brown’s body lies mouldering in the grave (Brown was an abolitionist), and you have two of the three black characters in the show, who are servants, play comedic characters. All they do is serve the white people. And this is a dramatic play by the way, so they’re comedic characters in a dramatic play which is very odd. Not saying comedy isn’t used in drama, but in this way, it feels off. It feels like we’re playing the Uncle Tom and Mammy stereotype. 

For example, my character the only “serious” scene was, David Richey’s (who played Andre), servant. He yelled at me like ‘Arrgarrgah!’ and my character just kind of stood there and took it and it didn’t affect my character at all. In the next scene, I was right back to being ‘Sir! Sir!’ and calling him all these things and I was like so that’s not a character. I had no character journey. 

Another one, Anfisa, the only serious moment she had was when she started crying when the white people said they didn’t want her to live with them anymore, and she just wanted to keep serving them. It’s very odd. These people have no wants or ambitions, they have no personal goals, their only goals were to serve white people. So I do not consider that a character and I didn’t really enjoy it. It was an interesting exercise in the sense that I got to play someone who is older than me, but other than that, it was very one-note”

Then in eleventh grade, Shakespeare auditions came out and I was really stressed. I knew I wasn’t going to get Richard, so I aimed for his brother— Clarence. I heard rumors they were going to cast Nalin [Reed], which we don’t look alike but similar skin tones, good enough! And then I got a callback, and then after that, I had to do an audition for Brainstorm, umm, and then my third audition was for Midsummer and that’s when I got a callback for Richard and that’s when I was also forgotten and I was like damn, ‘I’m probably not getting nothing’ and that’s when I came to terms with that. I was angry, but I was kind of used to it at this point. It was just kind of more frustrating when you get compliments in class but that doesn’t translate into anything. And while I’m not asking for a lead role, I’m asking for a fair chance in this. 

But when auditions came out I didn’t get really anything and then lo and behold I got Oberon for Midsummer, and I was like ‘Oh, I never read for that character!’ It was interesting, I genuinely liked playing Oberon, it was another comedic character, which I had a meeting with Mr. Manzeli about comedic characters and how I felt shoehorned in those roles in 10th grade, but again he didn’t have a say in this one, cause it was directed by a different director. But I will say, it was a lot more fun in this one because my character actually had wants and needs and ambitions and it was a comedic character in a comedic play, and plus it was Shakespeare which was a good thing to do. As an actor, you’re going to run into Shakespeare so many times and it’s good to get used to it while you still can. And it was fun to do actually.

I thanked Alex, considering his words for a long time afterwards.

Here are a few things I have decided: when playing characters, certain things cannot be avoided. Race is one. Race is an attribute that consistently influences our production and consumption of art. This is because it’s a counterpart of our identity, no less significant than age or gender. And race among other identifying characteristics compose the very thing we seek to express, our conception of “self.” But how we handle and express that component is important to note. Sometimes these integral characteristics are not handled with care, but rather neglected — minimized. Carelessly or for comedic purposes, as Alex mentioned, and from that, stereotypes form.

And what do we consider a stereotype? Is it anything harmful? And how do we determine what is universally offensive when we have different expectations? It is a difficult line to traverse, one that requires nuance.

Though uncomfortable, it is conversations like these that we need to have and voices like Alex’s that should be consulted. Even if you don’t agree with him, you can appreciate that his foremost loyalty is to quality acting, to art. To call out perceivable injustices, especially in a position and industry like theater is risky. The pursuit of truth is always a dangerous endeavor. 

Stay tuned for Part III, in which I interview TA Senior Aubrey Segars.