Am I Right… that I don’t have to disclose my background?

Yep. Legally, in any kind of job interview (which an audition is), no one can ask you about your age, sex, gender expression, ethnic or racial background. It’s literally against the law.

It’s a federal law. Do you know why that law exists or when it was enacted? 

Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, age, sex, or national origin. The other components of this revolutionary piece of legislation desegregated institutions of all kinds here in the US of A and guaranteed equal voting rights to all people (among other important things). 

So yes, the letter of this law is that nobody has to disclose anything about their background in any kind of job interview. But what do you think the spirit of this law was intended to do? It seems that it was intended to ensure that members of underrepresented groups not usually given equal opportunities would be guaranteed a chance. Right?

So, do you think this law was intended to provide plausible deniability for white actors to portray characters of color? For cis actors to play trans characters? Or was this law intended to provide more opportunities for employment to people from underrepresented groups in all fields? 

Just consider that this law was intended to level the playing field before you use it to shield yourself from responsibility. Consider how leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would feel to know that actors use the laws they fought for as carte blanche to knowingly take job opportunities from underrepresented groups. People fought and died to pass this landmark protective legislation. How will you honor the work they did for equality?