Earlier this year, something out of the ordinary happened between two rival high schools in Portland, OR that lead to the creation of a wonderful movement. Lincoln High school, where I currently go to school, and Roosevelt High partnered together to create a massive production of the beloved play, Grease. It took three months of hard work, concentration, long commutes from North Portland into Downtown and more than enough patience.
Now, let’s go back to the audition process in late December of 2015. Myself and a couple other minority friends were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get a significant role in this play because of the fact that we were a) not white and b) not cisgendered. We were coerced into auditioning by our good friends with promises that if we didn’t make it, they would still come watch us perform. We got to callbacks, not knowing whether we were going to get the part we had asked for or not. I, myself, was aiming for Kenickie while my other friends were hoping for Rizzo, Ms. Lynch, Danny Zuko, Sandy, Cha-Cha and Coach. We read for boys and girls, sang a couple of songs and danced the hand-jive over 100 times. After the callbacks, we were given the winter break to recuperate from the excessive dancing and strain of painfully loud singing. Imagine yourself being a minority student who is either androgynous, gay, non-white, or non-conforming and waiting to hear if you've got these traditionally white, straight male/female roles! It was a nightmare.
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Early January rolled around and the cast list was up. Nearly all of us got our desired rolls. I played Roger, an androgynous, Black, pansexual, my two Asian friends played both Danny and Rizzo, another who was nonbinary played Ms. Lynch, a Black man to play Coach and a Latino Cha-Cha. There were an assortment of students who were gay as well who played Jan, Ms. Lynch, Danny, and Sonny. During the actual performance dates as well there was a drag queen, Ms. Poison Waters, who was kind enough to grace our stage as a guest of Ms. Lynch. The fact that the directors, Jim Peerenboom and Jo Lane, were willing to work together to create a space that not only made students feel comfortable being who they were, but they gave us a place in this 1950s play that we never believed we could have. It was an amazing experience and gave me a little more hope in society. People who feel as though they wouldn’t have a place, such as myself, ended up having a larger role than they thought possible. I think this just reaffirms the fact that if we continue to include people regardless of their racial, gender, or sexual identity they will grow and blossom into great people rather than being concerned about being neglected or rejected. This is the importance of being inclusive! My high school and Roosevelt both benefited from having the open dialogue between students and directors as well as open minds. I believe that, in more ways than one, we can always be a little more inclusive.
