Mission & Vision:
ACTION STEPS

Read about our mission, vision, and community commitments here >

OVERVIEW

TheatreSquared has taken the following first steps in its commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and access. This list is not comprehensive, as the work is a continuing effort that will evolve as new actions are taken over time.

  • Increased artist compensation with pay parity for casts and creative teams across venues—acknowledging that our artists are often our most diverse employees;

  • Completed a top-to-bottom revamp of the company handbook with an anti-racist lens, including hiring policies, onboarding, feedback, and performance evaluation;

  • Dedicated more than $100,000 to trainings, with dedicated staff support, for all staff and board, including: Principles of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Facing Bias; Microagressions; Equity 101; Race in the South; and Learning from and Navigating the Challenges of Organizational Change;

  • Launching a new group of Diversity Champions to help carry forward these practices throughout the organization, with budgeted lines for professional development and compensation;

  • Adopting a new, collaborative season selection process, with an explicit commitment to “counter systemic racism and bias by uplifting BIPOC playwrights and the work of traditionally underrepresented voices”;

  • Dedicated annual budget line for equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism work;

  • Created a new paid fellowship program prioritizing BIPOC candidates, with a pilot class of four full-time apprentices beginning in 2021;

  • Inclusive recruitment and hiring practices. More than 40% of TheatreSquared's 50-person full-time staff now identify as BIPOC, as does more than 40% of the T2 Board;

  • Research, adopt and post a Peoples & Land Acknowledgment, online and in person at the theatre;

  • Added numerous culturally specific organizations to our Lights Up! Partners, providing thousands of free tickets for members of underrepresented and marginalized groups;

  • Free access to professional therapists/counselors for all cast members in all productions and all staff;

  • Drafted and published a Patron Conduct Policy, sharing IDEA principles with audience members as well as community guidelines for interrupting and preventing harmful actions;

  • Undertook strategic training and DEI consultation sessions for members of T2 leadership including: Building a Sustainable Commitment to DEI; Operationalizing Equity; Pitfalls and Progress: Learning from and Navigating the Challenges of Organizational Behavior

  • Extensive additional departmental engagement with the “We See You White American Theatre” demands statement, with new practices adopted in marketing, development, production, and other areas on a wide range of items.

This process has been undertaken with the full investment of the TheatreSquared Board and leadership with a commitment to accountability and continued action.