The Acting Company publicly commits to supporting our BIPOC friends and colleagues. Below is a list of immediate actions. These are first steps that will be followed by comprehensive diversity and anti-racist policies that the staff and board of directors will develop and publish by spring of 2021. We want to acknowledge the enormous, inspired, and vital work of We See You White American Theater, The Broadway Advocacy Coaltiion, Black Theatre Coalition, Black Lives Matter, and many more. These commitments are built on the foundation of their work and we want to thank them for helping us to see the path.
We commit to continuing and expanding our policies to increase BIPOC representation at every level of the organization.
1. We will continue to put together diverse ensembles and production teams and expand the numbers of BIPOC actors, designers, and technicians employed in each season.
2. We will continue to program and commission plays by BIPOC playwrights.
3. We will expand our practice of hiring BIPOC directors for both new and classical texts.
4. We will increase our efforts to add more BIPOC representatives to our Board of Trustees.
5. We will begin naming and acknowledging the specific Indigenous populations who have and do live on the land where our rehearsals and productions take place.
We commit to devoting resources and time to creating a safe and supportive working environment across all institutional levels.
1. We will establish ongoing institutional anti-racism education and training at the board, staff, and production levels. This will include hiring Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion consultants as well as providing intervention and de-escalation training.
2. We commit to altering the standard production schedules to eliminate some of the financial barriers to a career in the arts and better support the health and well-being of our artists.
The Acting Company is devoted to the creation of powerful works of theater and to the development of the classical actor. With that mission in mind, our ultimate commitment is to play our part in ensuring that the next generations of classical actors represent the rich cultural and racial diversity of our country, and that the great plays of the past find new life in the voices of the future. That is the legacy that we were handed by our predecessors at this Company, a legacy that we are committed to honoring even as we expand upon it. The steps above are the beginning and not the end of that commitment.
