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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This content centers work that is being done—and where work still needs to be done—to make the theatre field more just, from how colleges are failing theatre students of color to racist practices in hiring directors to why expectations of unpaid labor lead to a homogenous workforce. Learn with panels on how to support the Black Lives Matter movement as an arts organization and ethics and equity when presenting dance and performance.

The Latest

Transforming Organizational Structures
Podcast
Transforming Organizational Structures
With Eric Lockley of The Movement Theatre Company
by Yura Sapi
15 September 2021
Money Matters
Podcast
Money Matters
With Ann James of Intimacy Coordinators of Color
by Yura Sapi
8 September 2021
Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond
Essay
Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond
by Regina Victor
13 September 2021
A headshot of the guest, Eric Lockley, against a galaxy background.
Transforming Organizational Structures
Podcast

Transforming Organizational Structures

With Eric Lockley of The Movement Theatre Company

15 September 2021

Yura Sapi speaks with Eric Lockley, co-founder of the Movement Theatre Company. Lockley is a member of the company’s producing artistic leadership team, who work together to create an artistic social movement by developing and producing new works by artists of color. Their work engages audiences in a rich theatrical dialogue, enlightens communities to the important issues affecting our world, and empowers artists to celebrate the many sides of their unique voice.

A magical black female figure breaking open a door.
Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond
Essay

Can I Come? Envisioning the Future of Inclusion on Broadway and Beyond

13 September 2021

Regina Victor paints a picture of a future for the theatre industry with cultural strategy at the center.

Money Matters With Ann James of Intimacy Coordinators of Color.
Money Matters
Podcast

Money Matters

With Ann James of Intimacy Coordinators of Color

8 September 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Ann James, founder of Intimacy Coordinators of Color, whose mission is to support and promote decolonized intimacy education and inclusive hiring practices in the entertainment industry.

Three people sitting onstage, one of them holding a globe, and five spirits above them, one in the middle connecting two blocks with a spark in between them.
Public Access Archives: The End of the Theatre Industry
Essay

Public Access Archives: The End of the Theatre Industry

7 September 2021

Taylor Leigh Lamb and Sabine Decatur share emails, letters, social media posts, and more from the future that represent the period of profound change in the theatre industry beginning in 2021.

Bright text above a dark teal hand drawn image of many pairs of hands placed around a table with papers of various sizes ready to be populated with designs for the future.
Design Meeting (ASL and Live Captions)
Video

Design Meeting (ASL and Live Captions)

With Alexis Chaney, Margaret Toomey, Jesse Portillo, Porsche McGovern, and Katherine Freer

Friday 3 September 2021
United States

Five designer facilitators came together to share strategies about how to turn analysis into action through embodied practice. Livestreaming on the commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Friday 3 September 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Photo of seven people holding each other posing for a photo in a line.
Not a Pipeline Problem, a Problem with the Pipeline
Essay

Not a Pipeline Problem, a Problem with the Pipeline

1 September 2021

Designers Calvin Anderson, Sherrice Mojgani, and Amber Whatley share their individual perspectives on how design education in the United States is lacking and what they are doing to fill in the gaps.

A portrait of the guest Ivyon E. against a galaxy background with the Building Our Own Tables logo to the left.
Funding Accountability
Podcast

Funding Accountability

With Iyvon E. of The Parsnip Ship

1 September 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Iyvon E., artistic director of The Parsnip Ship, a podcast play company that amplifies bold artists for audiences who crave accessible stories and storytellers.

Clint and Lindsay wearing semi-formal attire and smiling in front of a background with "Playwrights" all over it.
The Design of Change
Essay

The Design of Change

31 August 2021

Lindsay Jones and Clint Ramos discuss the intersection of art and activism, as well as the paths they take to create meaningful change for the next generation of theatremakers.

Yellow flowers, purple flowers, dark green leaves, and insects surrounding the words "Seeding Change" against a light green background.
Seeding Change
Essay

Seeding Change

30 August 2021

Katherine Freer and Porsche McGovern kick off the second installment of their Design (in a Time of Reckoning) series, which had its first week back in February 2021.

event poster for through a black woman's lens.
Misogynoir Through a Black Woman's Lens
red background with white text red pill.
Red Pill
Video

Misogynoir Through a Black Woman's Lens

What role can Black men play to change the narrative and protect women of color?

Thursday 26 August 2021
United States

Tonya Pinkins presented Through A Black Woman’s Lens—Misogynoir livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 26 August 2021 at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

The guest, Teresa Coleman Wash, smiling and wearing a red shirt against a galaxy background.
Being a Neighborhood Resource Center and Owning Our Tables
Essay

Being a Neighborhood Resource Center and Owning Our Tables

With Teresa Coleman Wash of Bishop Arts Theatre Center

25 August 2021

Yura Sapi speaks with Teresa Coleman Wash, the founding artistic director of Bishop Arts Theatre Center, whose mission is to create a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating sustainable opportunities for local and emerging artists through performances and education.

Several actors wearing vintage work clothing and standing in stage boats in pairs or groups of three.
How to Create an Actively Inclusive Theatre Course
Essay

How to Create an Actively Inclusive Theatre Course

16 August 2021

David Valdes shares eleven steps educators can take to ensure their course offerings are more actively inclusive.

poster of deafwoke with Kavita Pipalia.
#DeafWoke with Kavita Pipalia
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

#DeafWoke with Kavita Pipalia

A Virtual Consciousness-Raising Online Talk Show, Led by Black and Native American Deaf Host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 12 August 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presents #DeafWoke with Kavita Pipalia livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 12 August at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Unrehearsed Futures
Embodied Poetics logo
Embodied Poetics
Drama School Mumbai logo
Drama School Mumbai
Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, Cape Town, logo
CTDPS, Cape Town
Video

Unrehearsed Futures

Episode #19: Collaborative Theatre-Making and/as Participatory Justice

Thursday 12 August 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures Episode #19: Collaborative Theatre-Making and/as Participatory Justice livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 12 August 2021.

Strong Foundations and Groundings & Solidarity
Podcast

Strong Foundations and Groundings & Solidarity

With Quanice Floyd of Art Administrators of Color

11 August 2021

Yura Sapi talks with Quanice Floyd, founder of Arts Administrators of Color Network, whose mission is to empower artists and arts administrators by providing tools and resources to advocate for equity, inclusion, access, and diversity in the arts.

event poster with artist headshots for no summary digital guide.
NO SUMMARY: A Celebration of MENA Playwrights!
Golden Thread
Video

NO SUMMARY: A Celebration of MENA Playwrights!

The Digital Guide to Theatre of the Middle East Is Here

Friday 30 July 2021
United States

Golden Thread Productions presented NO SUMMARY: A celebration of MENA playwrights! livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 July 2021 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

A woman in a white dress with short hair dancing with an ensemble of other women and men behind her.
Open Channels: The Journey Begins/Canales Abiertos: La jornada comienza
Essay

Open Channels: The Journey Begins/Canales Abiertos: La jornada comienza

29 July 2021

Fátima De La Caridad Patterson Patterson, Mathew Schwarzman, and Carolina Caballero share their experience of creating Open Channels, an event where artists from thirteen countries gathered digitally to talk about Caribbean popular theatre.

Fátima De La Caridad Patterson Patterson, Mathew Schwarzman, y Carolina Caballero comparten sus experiencias creando Open Channels (Canales Abiertos), un evento donde artistas de trece países compartieron digitalmente para hablar del Teatro Popular Caribeño.

#DeafWoke with Raven Sutton
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

#DeafWoke with Raven Sutton

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Tuesday 27 July 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presented #DeafWoke with Raven Sutton livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 27 July at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

A headshot of the guest, Kyoung Park, against a space-designed background.
Peacemaking Theatre
Podcast

Peacemaking Theatre

With Kyoung Park of Kyoung's Pacific Beat

28 July 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Kyoung H. Park of Kyoung’s Pacific Beat, a peacemaking theatre collective dedicated to working with artists, non-artists, and local communities to transform experiences of oppression into peace messages through public performance.

 
 
event poster for wingspace virtual salon on pay equity.
Pay Equity in the Theatre Industry
orange block with white letters w s.
Wingspace Theatrical Design
Video

Pay Equity in the Theatre Industry

How we can embrace our shared responsibility to hold institutions accountable and advocate where we have agency

Thursday 22 July 2021
United States

Wingspace Theatrical Design presented a Virtual Salon on Pay Equity in the Theatre Industry livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 22 July 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

A headshot of Michelle A. Banks against a galaxy backdrop with the logo for Building Our Own Tables to the left.
Creating a Platform for BIPOC, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing Artists
Podcast

Creating a Platform for BIPOC, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing Artists

With Michelle Banks of Visionaries of the Creative Arts

21 July 2021

Yura Sapi sits down with Black, Deaf artist Michelle Banks to talk about Visionaries of the Creative Arts, an organization Michelle co-founded, dedicated to responding to the critical needs of d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing artists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, in Washington, DC.

Lara Parmiani wearing a black top and holding out a banana in front her like a gun.
“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre
Essay

“You can’t do revolution on your own”: Lara Parmiani on the Migrant Woman Experience in British Theatre

19 July 2021

verity healey sits down with Italy-born, UK-based theatremaker Lara Parmiani to talk about the migrant woman experience in Britain and its representation, or lack thereof, on British stages.

event poster for deafwoke with april jackson woodard
#DeafWoke with April Jackson-Woodard
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

#DeafWoke with April Jackson-Woodard

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Tuesday 13 July 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presented #DeafWoke with April Jackson-Woodard livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 13 July at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

event poster for deaf woke with June Alsobrook.
#DeafWoke with June Alsobrook
dancers performing against white background
Urban Jazz Dance Company
Video

#DeafWoke with June Alsobrook

A virtual consciousness-raising online talk show, led by Black and Native American Deaf host Mr. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow

Thursday 8 July 2021
United States

Antoine Hunter presented #DeafWoke with June Alsobrook livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 8 July at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Several half-naked actors with lacrosse sticks. One actor is front and center, wearing a red hat and white underwear, with his hands behind his head. The actresses on his sides are using lacrosse sticks to cover their chests.
The Island of Lost Chorus Boys: Professional Theatre’s Broken Promise to Accept Us in All Our Glorious Queerness
Essay

The Island of Lost Chorus Boys: Professional Theatre’s Broken Promise to Accept Us in All Our Glorious Queerness

8 July 2021

Kieron Cindric talks about how the theatre industry—and, in particular, musical theatre—has continually reinforced a narrow and harmful version of masculinity.