Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Theatre artist and educator Katie Butler discusses the need to recalibrate movement practice toward accessibility and body autonomy, and shares her own experience navigating changes in her body’s abilities.

In response to student demands for greater input in season selection, the Department of Theater and Drama at the University of Michigan has spent the past few years revising their selections process. Professor Christianne Myers details their approach, which centers on a department-wide feedback and a semester-long Student Selection Advisory course.

Playwright Carlyle Brown describes his journey with the play We Take Care of Our Own by Zainabu Jallo, detailing the joys and challenges that come from work featuring characters in their eighties and nineties.

Theatre artist Michael Rohd shares a lyrical call for more civic imagination, community care, and care-centric processes in the theatre field.

Gregory Moomjy and Marianna Mott Newirth share their approach to creating disability-affirmative opera productions in which disability artistry flourishes.

Theatremaker and advocate Ronee Penoi shares her inspired keynote speech from the Public Theater’s 2023 Under the Radar Professional Symposium.

Yvette Heyliger reflects on her experience as a Black woman artivist and discusses the racial and gender inequities in the theatre field.

David Valdes explores the limitations of queer theatre historically and makes the case for a more expansive future—one that includes a wider range of characters living more complex lives, created by more queer theatremakers.

Writer and educator Jonathan P. Eburne details how he first came to know of Double Edge Theatre and the Ohketeau Cultural Center and discusses their unique approach to worldmaking, land sharing, and theatremaking.

Iris McQuillan-Grace sits down with Kit Ingui, managing director of Long Wharf Theatre, to discuss Kit’s efforts to create a supportive and inclusive work environment by consciously building Long Wharf’s Human Resources (HR) practices.

Morgan Skolnik argues for theatre that goes beyond physical accessibility and disability representation to actively center disabled artists and the creative potential the disability community holds.

Fight director and theatre artist Danielle Rosvally and founder of Heartland Intimacy Design and Training and associate professor Kate Busselle come together to interrogate the concept of “certification” in fight direction and intimacy coordination by illuminating current training practices, opportunities, and programs in the field.

Michelle Ramos sits down with Ashley Davis, founder and director of the social enterprise Unlock Creative, to discuss Ashley’s experience being a mom in the field and how she works to make her own organization more accommodating of parents and caregivers.

Writer and translator Livian Yeh examines the complexities of Asian identity within American theatre and gives her take on what it means to be a “third-culture” theatremaker.

Ann James chats with Jyreika Guest, who works as both an intimacy specialist and an actor, about framing intimacy work for actors. Jyreika shares her hopes for a future in which consent is an automatic part of rehearsal processes.

Ann James interviews Kaja Dunn, who works both as an intimacy specialist and a scholar of race and choreography, about her decade-long path through the intimacy industry. They discuss the way to bring intimacy professionals into a production process, the importance of citing Black women’s contributions to the field, and the need diversify who is telling stories on our stages.