Theatre Advocacy Project Believes Human Resources Makes Accountable Theatre and Braver Art Possible

Like many young theatre artists, Caylin Waller experienced harassment and abuse early in her career. With no reporting system in place, she took a big step back from her dream of becoming a professional musical theatre performer. Unlike many young theatre artists, Waller went back to school and parlayed her experience into founding a nonprofit organization with the goal of protecting other artists from harm. That organization, Theatre Advocacy Project (TAP), now offers a wealth of tools to create safer and more equitable working conditions for all theatre professionals.

Amelia Parenteau (a TAP facilitator) spoke with Waller, TAP’s executive director, and its co-founder and director of programs, Colette Gregory, to discuss the industry research TAP drew from to create its curriculum, as well as the array of resources TAP offers to the US theatre field. TAP was founded on the belief that creating systems of accountability for theatre organizations and helping artists tap into their individual and collective power bolsters our ability to make great art.

Amelia Parenteau: Could you share TAP's origin story?

Caylin Waller: I started in this industry as an actor, going to countless auditions as I tried to break into the industry. When I booked a job at a regional theatre where I was going to get some resume-building credits through the Equity Membership Candidacy (EMC) program, I saw it as a huge step in my career. And it was, just not in the way I anticipated…

I found myself in an extremely hostile work environment at this theatre. It was rampant with sexual harassment, workplace abuse, and discriminatory language and behavior. So I came together with a group of fellow artists who were experiencing this harm and worked with them to advocate for change.

Despite this, I left feeling there was no structure of accountability. Although the theatre was an Equity organization, the union was unable to advocate for us because we were on an EMC contract and therefore fell outside of union jurisdiction. That left me feeling disenfranchised. I walked away from a formative experience I was excited about, working in the industry that I love, thinking, this is not what I signed up for.

At first, I was sad and angry, and then I thought, "What can I actually do about this?" So I went to New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and got my Master's in performing arts administration. While there, I launched a research project, interviewing over eighty artists: 65 percent reported they had experienced workplace abuse while working professionally, while only 6 percent felt safe to report that harm or felt that they had a resource to turn to.

I then broadened my research to try to discover who has both the positional power and financial ability to create change. For that, I interviewed over one hundred leaders of professional theatres across the country and found 85 percent of those organizations reported they did not have formalized human resources (HR) structures in place. I realized, “Oh, this is the gap. This is where artists and administrators are experiencing this chasm that is letting people fall through the cracks.”

That was the catalyst for forming TAP. I was lucky enough to be joined by our former colleague, Jillian Weimer, a co-founder, and Colette Gregory, co-founder and our director of programming.

The theatre and performing arts industry is based on telling human stories about the human experience, yet so many arts and theatre organizations in this country lack structures that are designed to support the humans who are telling those stories.

Amelia: Why is it crucial for theatre companies to develop HR structures?

Colette Gregory: Theatre deals with issues of identity, which leads to a propensity for issues around harassment and abuse. All the “-isms” come into play. There is also a tendency for a “We are a family” mentality in theatre. Plus, there are limited opportunities with many people seeking those opportunities. All those things put people at risk.

Caylin: The theatre and performing arts industry is based on telling human stories about the human experience, yet so many arts and theatre organizations in this country lack structures that are designed to support the humans who are telling those stories.

Additionally, there's not one cohesive structure within the performing arts industry. There are a lot of different organizational structures within both nonprofit theatre and commercial productions. One of the things that's unique about the performing arts industry is that people enter and exit the ecosystem of the workplace many times throughout the year, with contracted workers who are there for a specific period of time. That can make it hard to create a consistent workplace culture.

That's why at TAP we are working towards creating a standard of accountability and putting HR structures in place to ensure safety and equity for people, no matter what organization or production they are working with.

Amelia: I facilitate sessions using the TAP curriculum you designed, Colette. I’m curious, how did you develop that curriculum and the self-guided online courses? What methodologies, schools of thought, and parts of your own background are you pulling from?

Colette: I have my master’s in counseling psychology, and I used to be the director of the Violence Prevention Research Team at DePaul University. My background is in behavioral interventions that are rooted in evidence or can be repeatable.

I pulled from a number of things in developing the workshops we offer, including harm reduction, which comes from the substance use world; restorative justice, which comes from the world of the legal system; and intersectionality. I pulled from my work at my Master's program, which came from the world of what used to be called cultural competence, but now we're looking at it as cultural humility. I studied under Derald Wing Sue, who coined the term microaggressions, and I look at a lot of his work in the things we do.

TAP’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Theater (EDIT) training pulls from the HR and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) world, but through a theatre lens. Caylin brought in some great research about the entertainment world and how historically people who are marginalized have been specifically disenfranchised in theatre. In EDIT, we look at the social identity wheel and have people unpack the various groups in which they have membership. From there, we examine how, from a dominant culture standpoint, you can see how everyone who does not fit into the dominant culture is marginalized and has been historically disenfranchised in theatre.

Our course that pulls from harm reduction and restorative justice has a lot of practical tools. I also looked at conflict resolution and theatrical intimacy education. We work with experts in subjects like disability justice, and with transgender and non-binary artists, to develop workshops on subjects I don't have expertise in and for identities I don't belong to.

I'm looking at what the best practices are in these fields, drawing from the literature and research, and developing behavioral interventions rooted in those things.

Our work is twofold: supporting organizations to create accountability as well as supporting individuals to know their rights and advocate for them.

Amelia: How do you hope artists and administrators will grow with information learned through their interactions with TAP? I recognize every theatre’s needs are different, but could you share best practices TAP is hoping to foster in the field?

Colette: I hope those who interact with TAP come away with the tools to start unpacking their own roles in upholding and now dismantling white dominant culture in the theatre. Best practices include auditing their people, policies, and practices to determine whether they are truly giving equitable access across the spectrum of identities.

Amelia: What are the different ways people can interact with TAP's resources? Since you two are based in different cities, New York and Chicago, and members of the facilitation team live across the country, what are the various entry points for people to work with us?

Caylin: Our work is twofold: supporting organizations to create accountability as well as supporting individuals to know their rights and advocate for them. And while our organization was founded in New York City, much of our work takes place virtually to ensure as much accessibility nationwide as possible.

For organizations, we offer TAP House membership. When an organization becomes a TAP House, they engage with us through our suite of HR and DEI tools. This includes workshops, consulting sessions, rehearsal packages, our reporting hotline, production surveys to measure workplace culture and provide feedback, access to our handbook and online learning platform, and our TAP House badge. Being able to say you are a TAP House and have our TAP House badge is an indicator to folks within the industry that this is an organization that is committed to upholding safe and equitable theatre practices. These practices include providing both artists and administrators with clear reporting structures; ensuring folks know to make reports to us at TAP to ensure there is an external, neutral party available if an issue needs to be escalated; establishing community agreements for each production; tooling folks with shared language and frameworks like bystander intervention training; and communication tactics.

Organizations are walking a tightrope for their financial decisions. Often, the first thing to go is HR and DEI work, because of the cost factor.

We recognize this industry has a lot of financial constraints, particularly for nonprofit organizations, so this year we began two new programs for small budget organizations.

The first is our sponsorship program. One small budget organization was selected through a weighted lottery system to receive a free year of TAP House membership. Our second is our consortium TAP House membership. For this we partnered with IndieSpace in New York to provide four small budget theatres with shared access to membership. Together we are working as a cohort to build community and create HR and DEI policies and practices relevant to small budget theatre companies.

For artists we provide several opportunities for learning and community building: once a quarter, we offer a free community event called Wine and Conversation. For these, we gather in person in New York City and lead conversations about pressing industry topics such as creating accountability in American theatre, anti-oppressive theatre practices, pay equity, and more, as we work to build community and collective knowledge. We also offer free, introductory workshops virtually, once a quarter, as well as Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Change Agent Training curriculum that we recently took over.

In addition, we offer sliding-scale ticket prices for artists to our membership workshops and partner with organizations like ART/New York and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance to offer workshops to their membership bases as well.

Finally, our online learning platform, outfitted with learning modules on anti-oppression in theatre, bystander intervention training, and social identity, is available to individuals to begin building a shared language and framework no matter where an artist is working.

Amelia: Could you explain how the anonymous reporting hotline works? If an artist reaches out to you with a tip or a report, does that person need to be working with a TAP House in order to use the hotline? Or can any artist experiencing harassment or abuse in the theatre industry use it?

Caylin: It is available for any artist. They don't need to be working with a TAP House to utilize the hotline. Interestingly enough, the only reports we have received have come from non-TAP Houses. That is an indicator about the work we are doing at TAP to help build a culture where folks know the hotline is available to them but feel comfortable going to the folks in charge at that institution because they know it's an organization that cares about their well-being and wants to ensure they're taken care of if they experience any harm.

For folks who make a report to the hotline, it is a form on our website. It asks for any details the person feels comfortable sharing about the experience they've been through and, if they're comfortable, to provide a phone number or contact information where we can reach them. From there we reach out to them, ask for any clarifying details, and depending upon the situation, provide possible next steps that the individual can take. We also let them know TAP is open to advocating on their behalf by speaking to the organization.

Amelia: What are some of the biggest industry patterns that you've noticed since founding TAP?

Caylin: A pressing concern to the industry is financial constraints. Organizations are walking a tightrope for their financial decisions. Often, the first thing to go is HR and DEI work, because of the cost factor.

While there may be a cost associated upfront with this type of work, creating safer and more equitable working conditions for individuals not only enhances the experience for folks working with the organization as artists, but it also keeps the organization itself in compliance and prevents that organization from being sought out for legal ramifications.

Artists are becoming more aware of their rights. That is in part thanks to the work we're doing, and thanks to other grassroots organizations like the Harriet Tubman Effect.

Amelia: What types of feedback do you get from the organizations TAP works with?

Caylin: People have let us know this work has changed them. They are much more considerate to the people around them, and they want to ensure they're continuing to dismantle systems of oppression in their theaters, and they are working with us to build HR policies and practices that help them to do so.

It's also inspiring to see how artists respond to the work and feel more empowered to take care of themselves and advocate for others. It speaks volumes to Colette's knowledge, background, and research she's done to support both people who have positional power and guide them towards creating more equitable choices, as well as speaking to folks who have felt disadvantaged or disenfranchised within the industry.

Colette: People enjoy the practical tools—like assistance revising job descriptions and structuring job application and interview processes so they are less susceptible to bias—as well as the feeling they're not doing it by themselves.

Amelia: What is your vision for the future of American theatre, and how will this vision be impacted by the success of TAP's work?

Colette: As our mission statement says, we want safer theatres so people feel comfortable creating braver art. Theatre works in the currency of identity. You have to feel supported. You have to feel free. You have to be given the tools to be courageous in order to make daring art.

I look for a future in theatre where every theatre has the support it needs. I hope support systems are in place where artists feel they aren't being taken advantage of, and people can identify and deal with harassment and abuse in the moment. If it cannot be dealt with in the moment, they have the supports in place to make sure those situations are not repeated, and repair is made for the harm that took place. When that happens, I think people will be able to go further with the parts of themselves they're comfortable sharing on the stage.