Equity,
Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is a buzzword surrounded by countless discourse in
the theatre community. Frankly, theatres today are still dominated by straight,
white men, and have very little space for intersectional identities. We have
been talking about diversifying our casts, crews, and production team members
since … well, forever, but we evidently have a lot more work to do. It is a
huge task, and on an individual level, it seems too lofty and big an issue to
tackle personally. Where to start?
As
a student specializing in communications and theatre management, I have compiled
two articles here that summarize the shortcomings in American theatre community’s
diversity, as well as offer tips:
“The Empty Space: A Look at How Theaters Have FilledGaps in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” at the NonProfit Quarterly by
Al Heartley and Jocelyn Prince, is a statistics-packed spotlight on American
non-profit theatres’ structural racism and sexism. The article
starts with highlighting that in our increasingly multicultural society,
non-profit theatre continues to cater to white, cisgender, heterosexual people.
While theatre is often seen as a “shining liberal beacon”, audiences at theatres
are aging and very few young people attend. It also showcases industry leaders who do it right: Oregon Shakespeare Festival with its
holistic approach and all-staff training; TCG with its SPARK leadership program
and continued effort in spearheading EDI in theatre; Dallas Theatre Center with
its diverse programming and specific goals, among other groups. Heartley and
Prince urge all theatre makers to take actions now and not be afraid to make
big changes, as “the very
power and impact of theater in American society are at stake.”
 |
| The inaugural class of TCG’s SPARK leadership program that examines leadership, vision, diversity, inclusion, and equity in theatre. Image source: HowlRound |
“You want a diverse theatre? Prove it.” from HowlRound. This is an article advising theatre groups on how to improve
their organization’s EDI, written by KarenaFiorenza Ingersoll and Deena Selenow.
Taking a theatre hiring manager’s perspective, they write about different companies’
approaches to better practice in EDI as well as actionable items in the areas
of recruitment, retainment, and casting. They suggest theatre groups to reach
beyond their comfort zones when recruiting, learn from cultural differences
across different communities, recruit leaders and managers with diverse
backgrounds. Furthermore, they emphasize the importance of color-conscious, rather than color-blind,
recruitment and casting practices.
Based on these two
articles, here are three action items
that we, as individuals, can practice:
- Think Specific – Be specific about what kind of diversity the theatre is tackling, blanket terms give impressions of hypocrisy and laziness.
- Welcome corrections – Everyone has room for growth and learning, don’t feel embarrassed or offended if a person corrects your wording or action; they are also imperfect.
- Keep pushing – Identities are not just labels, and diversity is not just boxes ticked off on a form; we must continue to push ourselves and strive to truly create a community that welcomes all people regardless of their race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexuality, class, and citizenship.
It is my
hope that these articles and suggestions will encourage more people to
prioritize diversity in their team building, so that theatre can be a community
for all people.
Faye Oyang is a graduating senior at Northwestern University in the School of Communication. She has been actively involved in theatre on campus as a stage manager and a producer, and has served leadership roles in student theatre companies that focus on sociopolitical issues and activism.
She can be reached at oyangfaye@gmail.com as well as her LinkedIn.
When she isn’t rambling about run
sheets and activist theatre, Faye also specializes in Communications Studies
and Japanese.
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