The playwright of "The Mountaintop," a play about Martin Luther King Jr. immediately preceding his assassination, is incensed that a Kent University amateur director intentionally included a white actor in the role of King.

Writing in the Root.com, Katori Hall who's African American, explains, "Black writers dedicated to using black bodies, who remain at the center of a devalued narrative, are committing a revolutionary act. We are using theater to demand a witnessing."

Hall reached out to the student director, Michael Oatman who's African American, who told her "I wanted to see if a white actor, or a light-skinned actor, had the same cultural buy-in and could portray Dr. King.”

How does this scenario fit in with "non-traditional casting" - a movement created for inclusion of performers of color?

Guest:

Joanna Merlin, Actor and Co-founder of The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts (formerly the Non-Traditional Casting project created in 1986); Merlin also teaches in the graduate acting program of New York University; Her past roles include “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order,” “The Killing Fields,” “The Ten Commandments,” and more