No Black Actresses? Play May Be Dropped

Santa Ana’s Alternative Repertory Theatre is looking for four black actresses to cast in its next offering, “Yalla Bitch,” a coming-of-age drama about a young black woman.

But when nobody showed up at an open audition earlier this week, artistic director Patricia L. Terry said the storefront theater may drop the play, which is to run from April 6 to May 27.

“We’re holding another audition,” she said. “We’d settle for one black actress for the lead. If we can’t find her, we’ll have to look for another show.”

Terry, who is white, speculated that the title of the drama by Lorna Hill-- a black playwright from Buffalo--might have offended minority actors and kept them from showing up.