 All right, everyone. I think we should end the spirit of time management. Oh, no, should I not get started? Yeah, I can we can wait if you do me do me tweet, right? No, I know. Okay. So while while the last scanning is still happening If folks can just keep their phones up so that the scanning we can honor that system That has been set in place for us But we're looks like there's three phones Oh five, I guess there's also two over here. Well, the last few folks are standing we is getting scanned. We should We should totally get started Again for the sake of time. Hi everyone. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining us for Beyond Diversity Race and cultural appropriation In casting practices a lot of what we have to say today just some quick introductory things Oh again. Hello, my name is Isaac Gomez director of new play development at victory garden Cedar and in just a moment I'm gonna have a phenomenal group of panelists slash facilitators Introduce themselves, but very quickly just a centrist in the space and what to expect this afternoon I just have to say, you know There's a lot of work to be done as it relates to equitable casting practices that aren't specific to race or cultural appropriation You know, we're hearing a lot especially, you know regarding What the? Playwrights voices or word is you know looking at the circumstances around that would all be a state and among many others But in addition to transgender non-conforming non-binary casting practices as well as Gender equity and abilities and disabilities as well So knowing in the spirit of that we are gonna sort of try to center a conversation today as it relates to race and cultural appropriation Some very quick things as well So why are we here? We've had this conversation a million times for many folks. This is probably your 58th or 60th, and maybe it's your fourth or fifth or maybe it's your first and if it's your first welcome We're excited to have you here Often these conversations really center on a moment of catharsis and sharing concerns and opinions And though that is very much going to be a part of our work today We really want this to be an action-based action-driven moment for us as a collective to create Sort of a list of best practices as it relates to this particular topic And with that the today's conversation is going to bring about some potentially hard and for some harmful Conversations and so in that spirit. I want to evoke some brave space agreements I use brave instead of space Intentionally as bravery allows for conflict with civility rather than agreeing to disagree Because when we agree to disagree someone always loses, right? And so so in the spirit of that Welcoming that and also Highlighting intention versus impact Right what you may intend may not be how that was impacted or received and rather than allowing that to live or exist in a space Sort of letting us hash it out as a collective Thank you great Is that it oh frame we're framework format so what what so we're gonna just talk a little bit about what this means And what this looks like and then we'll break out into our individual working groups And we'll talk I'll talk a bit about those afterwards But that will sort of determine the and then we'll do a report out where we can hopefully strategize and Pitch this sort of list of best practices to the National American Theater landscape in hopes that this is these are practices that we can adopt And knowing that there are obstacles in that way We're gonna name those today as well and try to figure out how to move beyond them So before anything now that I've said all that all that stuff I'd love for each of you to just maybe introduce yourself Your your work as a practitioner if there's an institutional organizational affiliation what it is and why are you here today at this session? Hi, I am Joni Schultz. I am the artistic director of Water Tower Theater, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Previous to that because I just moved there. I've been a director in Chicago for the last bunch of years I am here today because Because since I've gotten down to DFW there's been a lot of discussions about this particular issue And we hosted a discussion about this particular issue at my theater And I just wanted to sort of share what we've been talking about down in the Southwest Hi, I'm Damian Jeter. I live here in Portland and I am the black actor who was involved in the Edward Albee Tiasco, so that's why I'm here Hi, I'm Roberta Pereda. I am the producing director of the playwrights realm in New York City And I am here today because as a producer I think that there is an important we have a very important role to play in this conversation And I want to continue this conversation with all of you here. I'm Amelia Costa Powell I am the line producer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, but Up till two months ago was the casting director at arena stage in Washington, DC And I am here today because so much of this conversation often gets focused on casting So I am excited to dive in I'm Deb Clapp. I'm the executive director of the League of Chicago theaters We're a service and support organization for 250 theaters in Chicagoland. I am here because We've been doing this work in Chicago and because Alex and Alex Isaac, and I have been talking a lot about Action towards more equitable practices Hi My name is Bijan. Oh, I am a TCG round 10 Fox fellow actor Based in Philadelphia with host company Lantern Theater I am also a founding member of Philadelphia Asian performing artists and Ed and I work is a huge part of the mission of what I do as an actor and Community organizer, so that's why I'm here And I'm Reagan Linton and I'm an actor and also currently artistic director and acting executive director of family theater company in Denver, Colorado And I think I'm mainly here because I believe that Inclusion and diversity is one of the greatest assets we have yet to mine in American theater I don't see it as an obligation. I see it as a major untapped asset, so I'm very passionate about talking about that Wonderful feel free to just hold on to the Mike Amelia Amelia Because you know one of our first questions is centering around language you're here You know we're hearing we keep hearing these words cultural appropriation Etc and sometimes we're not quite sure what that even means and the work and that definition often It changes meaning depending on the production or play you're working on And so Amelia, can you talk a little bit about the handout that you've got you hopefully most of you have a handout? I'm sorry that there weren't enough copies, but I hope everyone can bravely share with a new friend This is a document that Was created by myself and a couple of collaborators from the DC theater community after a meeting of the DC coalition for theater and social justice where Questions around this issue were raised and Many voices asked well, can't we just all agree to some best practices and in fact partly inspired by the movement in Chicago around not in our house and Creating kind of a something folks can sign on to like that I will just give the caveat that this is a living breathing document by no means are my collaborators and I Authorities on anything We're just really Passionate and we want feedback. So I hope that you will help us to develop this document You'll see that the front page has some vocabulary some working definitions You will also notice that Cultural appropriation is actually not one of those working definitions and that's something that I know we're gonna talk about today about Establishing a definition for that term, but but some of these words might be helpful to our discussion and I Will say that this document assumes that you agree that this work is important And that you're familiar with concepts around actually diversity inclusion Implicit bias prejudice So if if this is like Totally out of left field and you're like I don't agree with any of this awesome There there's probably a need for a primer to even this Which we can totally talk about but this is a quick Document with like I said some useful vocabulary and then diving into some suggested best practices Also, this document exists digitally and if folks want that version for the future and or want to make some suggestions for edits Feel please feel free to email me and or engage in a conversation today and throughout the conference. Thank you so much So my first question for all of you is if you could define Cultural appropriation in one breath How would you define it? What is a working definition we can create for ourselves in this moment and anyone can start Go for it, okay For me cultural appropriation means co-opting specific identity Factors practices ideas or images for personal or commercial gain and I think Basically one of my best practices on here helps define how to not do it which is Cultural appropriation for me is not being conscious about what is the story you are telling? Or is that story appropriately complex and do you have the right players in the room to tell that story? Great, thank you Maybe we go dab to Reagan and then come back Sure, I would agree with what Amelia said and also I think it's about the in reference to the story, right, it's about telling the story It's not appropriating someone else's story essentially is is my take on it. And it's also about But it's not about not telling that story. It's about Digging deep to find what the story really is and what is what is and Finding the people who can best tell that story so Yeah, I think that's it. So I think You ladies have covered the bases, but I think cultural appropriation for me is often cherry-picking conveniently cherry-picking what you like from Whatever culture it is to make the story that you want to create Look and feel good for your own aesthetic without actually Connecting with the people from that culture and actually understanding on a deep level what those What those selected Narrative items are for instance costuming language set movement ton of people go and study Suzuki training and put it on to a piece of Shakespeare But don't necessarily understand the culture from which Suzuki Was derived or why or why they're using it for a piece of theater, but I'm I digress come talk to me Yeah, one piece that I think is very important is investment Where you you use a culture, but you don't invest in understanding understanding that culture bringing that culture Into the process So I think largely it's about a lack of investment in in the overall expanse of that culture Yeah, and to add to that the Thing about investment is also is it how are you going to continue investing on on these people this population? It's like are you that theater that does the one black play on February during black history month? And then you kind of don't talk to those communities until you need those audiences to come back the next year So it's also about continuing the conversation and not just having the conversation with one piece and then forgetting completely about those people I think it has to do with exploitation almost to the point of choosing aspects of another culture and almost making caricatures out of them in a in a way that is disrespectful and You not being able to connect the actual meaning behind this certain thing and just sort of using it because you want to I think they've all been really great definitions It's hard to be last but I Think just in this context of casting I would just say specifically that it is performance of another person's culture Simply that and especially like the superficial putting on and kind of wearing of someone else's culture Thank you Let's let's start getting a little personal here and naming some examples in which that has happened in our American theater landscape Some of you might be familiar with your own circumstances in your own region And if not have definitely seen some things transpire in the media For us in Chicago, especially as it has been a huge point of conversation and most recently Damian the circumstance surrounding your The cat the Edward Albee situation So I love if everyone can talk a bit about how or what in what way have you experienced? Seen or witness cultural appropriation in your own region in your own work So this is a really interesting question for me And that's how Isaac and I got in the conversation about my being on this panel because I'm new to a community that I don't know very well yet and And I've been working at victory gardens theater and working in the Chicago theater community where we where we speak about these things a lot But I having recently moved to Dallas-Fort Worth. There was there is a theater in Dallas-Fort Worth that recently a Musical was created about a Native American chief and there was a lot of Native American Characters in it and my understanding is although. I don't actually really know this theater very well that that the lead actor was white and everyone who was playing these characters are white and A big Facebook discussion broke out about it which was really actually incredibly exciting to me There are like 800 comments and DFW has its own Facebook page that everybody got in this big discussion about and I'd sent it to Isaac like look at What's happening? but In that also a board member let me know that my theater was being called out because we had done a play In January in which the lead character is deaf And it was not a deaf actress who played the role but there was a deaf actress in the show and I think that the director had an idea about You know creating a conversation around that that then wasn't really fulfilled and she felt quite hurt about it And she actually said on this Facebook post that she probably will be blacklisted from water tower theater And she's scared to say this but she's gonna say it anyway So I of course wrote her right away saying oh my gosh I don't want you to feel so powerless and so fearful that to speak out of course You will be invited back at water tower theater. Of course you will and that really What I was excited about about the conversation is that people were being very brave about having it people were asking a lot of really Smart thoughtful questions and we're just really confused about what the lines were but the thing that really bothered me is this culture of fear that actors feel afraid to speak up and say You know, I'm not really sure about what this theater is doing So we hosted a community conversation a town hall Based on one that had been done at Victory Gardens in Chicago Where we just discussed this question and it was it was just to me It was really exciting to be in a in a group of really diverse artists who really want to talk about this and start Figuring out how to affect change in that community because it's it's quite a big and diverse community actually down there and So I'm excited to be part of that as they begin that journey Thank you. I Could talk about that. I'll be the situation But just speaking more generally I Can think of times where I've been in auditions and somebody would say could you do that a little bit more? You know like a thug or something like that, you know, so I mean that's happened a lot I also sing opera and I'm struggling with The the opera Madame Butterfly Because it's it's an incredible piece of music just as a whole but Every time a company does it I'm always like are they really doing the right thing, you know, I feel like that is a huge example of appropriation So because I work in New York, I could give a bunch of examples of pretty much any company that does theater in New York But I'll use one from kind of my own backyard as I said, I work for the playwrights realm and a few years ago We did this show called my myanna comes that was actually directed by Che you from victory gardens And it was an incredible production about and a very interesting play This was before my time there But I saw the show about Some undocumented bus boys that worked in a Upper East Side restaurant In this play the playwright had worked at a restaurant like that for many years and actually used that as the basis But she was a white woman writing this play about mostly Latino and one black man And so there was a very interesting conversation in some of the communities about what you know Was she doing the right thing? She was was she bringing up? She did have this experience, but then she was showing other people like there was no white woman in that play You know and so I think that that was a very interesting and chair of course was part of this conversation too Very interesting layered Conversation that still continues to this day I too can think of lots of examples from What I still kind of think of as my theater community in DC, but also nationally In terms of my personal experience as a casting director, I I often came to a head with this when Lots of smaller theater companies well actually enlarger. It's not even about smaller Who either didn't have a resident casting director or for whatever reason that person didn't have this the resources I had would turn to me to say hey, we have this play And there's a Chinese character like can you send me a list of Chinese actresses and I felt torn because It's actually not my job to cast Shows that other theater companies that don't pay me But because that that's my art and I deserve to be compensated for doing my art However, I also felt like if I didn't provide that list I was gonna go see that play later And that role is gonna be filled with a white person So that that level of responsibility to the community to make sure that No one can ever use the excuse. Well, I couldn't find someone Was a was a frequent internal conflict for me and Kind of broke my heart anytime that I went to see something that did employ Yellowface red face conflation of different brown bodies representing other cultures and Yeah, and felt like I should I have taken some kind of action so yes lots of instances again I'm seems like That's a common theme that things that stick out for me are The fact that so we have these conversations in Chicago There are a lot of Facebook conversations whenever one of these casting issues sort of rises to the top and They're great conversations. They don't always result in Growth or learning many times that results in defensiveness on the part of the theater or worse silence I also think that there's some in terms of Joni's issue around speaking out many times I See that some of the larger theaters are not called out and that Is I think a result of people being fearful that they won't then be cast at that theater Or won't work at that theater in any capacity and then you know finally Critics we have a critic in Chicago a major critic who During one of these controversies actually said it's called acting and so That's something that I just want to bring out there as a part of our discussion So I come from a unique ecosystem of a theater community. That's incredibly Loving It's it's like a giant family. So I my mind's a Really special case study. I think because three years ago my host company for the Fox Fellowship Lantern Theater did a Julia Caesar that was set in feudal Japan and there were no Asian actors in it And of course the Asian community and a lot of other people were outraged But out of that outrage came a series of conversations not just with the leaders at Lantern Theater, but with other artistic organizations and other theater makers in Philadelphia about why did this happen and how often does this happen and how do we move forward making sure that this Doesn't happen again and still honor like still Try to tell stories through specific cultural lenses without appropriation and You know the the issue of oh, well Where are the Asian actors who are trained in this way? You know if if bees busy who's there to cast and so I Saw an opportunity to actually create that community of Asian specific artists and I asked for help as an actor and I went to a couple of different organizational leaders in my city To try to find support to be fiscal sponsors to get space and mentorship and now Through the Fox Fellowship and through the past couple of years with my city Having people that are willing to do the work and have the difficult conversations. There is now space There is Philadelphia Asian performing artists, but beyond that. There's a Latinx company. There are There are ways of building that relate those Relationships and I think it it comes from these conversations and going back to your community and Finding the people that can be your allies and taking it one conversation at a time because it's scary work and people are afraid to talk about race and my biggest fear as an Asian actor is that Theater companies refrain from telling stories through a cultural lens because they're so afraid of getting it wrong that they won't touch it at all So I'd rather we sit down in rooms together and try to do it right and there will be times when we do it wrong You know there are times when people look at a role I do other Asian actors and might say why did you do that? That was that was stereotype when I think it's coming from a place of love So there are there are times when I get it wrong according to other people, but I think it's I Think we need to just keep talking about it and actually Find agency at every level that artists have agency to create the change we want to see and that I See people that can help me make that change happen in this room You know and and as organizational leaders to identify the young people in the community of color That you think might need mentorship or that you're interested in helping along and seeing how you can help them tell their stories and They're that they're shared values Yeah, I think one thing I'd like to say is that I don't identify as a person of color But I think it's incredibly important to have the conversation about Racial appropriation even as somebody who identifies as white because cultural appropriation. It's called cultural appropriation So the same principles are at play whether you're talking about disability culture about You know a certain ethnicity a certain race a certain sexual identification So I just want to make that point that it's all the same. We're talking about the it's you know It's always the same in terms of cultural appropriation and I think in terms of missteps that the main overall misstep that I have such a problem with is when cost or Ease or quote-unquote like artistic quality Trump authenticity That and I've experienced that quite a lot in terms of Disability identity is when they say oh there aren't enough people. We didn't have enough options. Nobody came to the auditions or they weren't good enough and That those considerations are more important than putting something real on stage Thank you. Thank you all for sharing that and you know The sort of last question I'm gonna ask this group before we begin the deep engagement process as a collective And many of you already sort of touching on this in our conversations of examples or missteps that we've seen is You know as I mentioned I think it's appropriate when having these conversations that we recognize and acknowledge that they've been happening before Even if it isn't informal settings like this Informally within theater communities in private spaces in quiet spaces in spaces where folks may feel like they aren't gonna get fired or crucified or Blacklisted from their theater communities because of their thoughts and feelings centering on this topic and yet We can't quite seem to create a cultural shift you know As we begin topics of Diversity and inclusion they're they're not feeling exhaustive as words right and that's sort of why we've called this beyond diversity Because we're not as interested anymore And so the question I have is what are those obstacles? Why do you think? We haven't quite made that shift from conversation to action and I mean that less Metaphorical right. I mean of course like systemic racism is real and we can talk about that why that's probably the main reason but Practically, you know hearing examples of actors equity for example an inability to ask an actor how they racially ethnically or Identifying their abilities as we discussed this morning What are practical obstacles and reasons why we haven't shifted that culture that this paradigm? I guess I'll start I have the microphone Yeah, I think it's already been mentioned a couple times I think it's largely fear and I think it's fear of doing something wrong Which is understandable because sometimes wrong comes with consequences wrong can come with a lawsuit and that that's fearful But I don't think you know I've been in situations as an actor where I've been told well We were just you know We didn't think we were gonna be able to do it right and so we didn't we didn't want to do it And I'm so grateful when people say you know what let's fuck up Let's get it wrong, and that's let's learn from it as opposed to let's not do it at all. So I think That's that's the biggest obstacle. I see is that people are afraid of You know making mistakes. I mean, okay, so there's I guess also, you know, I think there's There's audiences That also expect to see Certain actors that they love over and over You know like there are our unofficial companies even if you don't have a company at your theater organization That are hired over and over and that's great That means you're taking care of the people who have been doing good work but it also means when you were won't talk about diversity and Inclusion it means also being brave enough to create more space for the people who are not as often represented It means certain actors Being willing to say maybe I'll take I won't I won't even audition for that I'll I'll take myself out of that audition process, but I'll recommend three names instead and It's theater leaders looking at certain people and saying I'm gonna try to make a season that includes this This group and that's not often represented on my stage So I think that's part of the shift in thinking it's just intentionally making room and Sacrificing space that you might often have as a benefit So I was in a session earlier where somebody asked the question Well at the TCG conference we are talking about EDI almost exclusively and when we're talking about EDI we are not talking about artist compensation and I And the facilitator Said we can't talk about anything until we talk about EDI and I think that The barrier is that we have not yet learned how to talk about it I think we're learning in this room how to talk about these issues, but we have a long way to go before We actually have the language that allows us to really speak honestly to To this issue and I and it's You know, it's it's not a reason to stop talking about anything, but but I think that's one of our biggest barriers to action I agree with everything that's been said. I would bring up two things. So I think there are so many that could be discussed One is and this affects everything, but I think it affects this conversation is silo ism in terms of Realizing what a collaborative and integrative art it is like I think it's easy for You know actors to say it's on the casting directors I think it's easy for say for casting directors to say no, it's on the directors I think it's easy for the directors to say no It's on the artistic directors and the artistic directors to say no, it's on the boards and the boards to say No, it's on the you know We all have to be doing it kind of at the same time For anything to actually get accomplished because the casting director can bring in a bunch of awesome options of actors of color And the director cannot choose them or the director can choose artists and the artistic director can veto them There's so many Ways that just one player playing by best practices isn't going to actually activate a change So I think that that silo ism is one barrier And then the other thing I would mention is the And this is just a subsection of systematic racism, but Is the false dichotomy of this chicken and egg problem of there's not enough like what I think was be who already mentioned there's not enough Actors of actors of color or actors with disabilities or whatever other identity factor Who are coming out of certain formal training programs who that are established as if they as if that means something And But then the training program saying well There's not going to be jobs for those people and we need the people that we bring into our training program to then become stars and give back and Again in fact actually both of these things have to happen at the same time And it's actually bullshit that anybody is pointing to the other side of that equation So I just speaking for myself here, but for me the thing that I've been seeing Over and over again is that I think sometimes we do get caught up in this language of EDI equity diversity and inclusion And it's easy to say, you know just looking about the lens of race and ethnicity It's easy to say like oh look how many women we have on stage You look at this and look at that and I think that it's time that you know We have that conversation in a more general way that like American theater operates under a white supremacist paradigm Like America and like we need to start building anti-racist Organizations, which is a very different thing than talking about EDI and Having all of those those other other boxes you can check and so I think that those are very difficult and hurtful Conversations, but we need to start having them and be very clear about the words. We're using because they're very important I just wonder Who is having these conversations? Because it's most most of the time I mean you all are here So I'm assuming that you have an interest in in this topic and you're all woken down for the cause but the people who Are really making the decisions Some of whom some of whom are in this room, but Are normally from my experience White folks and a lot of them are not sort of having this conversation So it's almost like you want to just trap the people who don't want to hear it in a room and say listen to what we have to say because We pretty much are preaching to the choir and we just keep having the same conversation and everybody's like yeah I completely agree. Yeah. Yeah, but I can't do anything about it. You know, so I just wonder who's having the conversation It's interesting I had several answers to this question But the thing that's occurring to me as I'm hearing the rest of you guys speak is I wonder about the system Overall of we pick a play we have auditions We see who comes Or we go out seeking these people. I just I've been thinking a lot about this because in in my new community An Asian-American actor, you know called me up and was like, why aren't you doing any Asian-American plays? And I was like, well, why don't we have lunch and talk about that? and I would and he told me, you know, he's like, I know four other Asian-American actors in town And I was like, great. Let's talk about that and it's I'm wondering if if we should be thinking more deeply About the shows that we're doing Earlier on also and like who's gonna participate in them and who are we partnering with? We generally partner with a director and say like go do this thing But should we be partnering with actors earlier in the phases and like interviewing people and sitting down and talking to them More deeply is a question. I have that's coming up from this Absolutely and I think some really great key points to just reiterate in terms of what I'm some collective energy I'm sensing from from our group here is This idea and you know, Damian to your point, which is absolutely relevant and true is large in part these comfort You know when we think about the American theater in the American theater landscape It very much does function on a hierarchical process unless the company itself is functioning as a non-hierarchical company in which funders board of directors and artists all share Equity and stake in the company, correct And so for many of us we think artists like that's sort of at the bottom And then you've got your lower level staff and then you've got your senior level staff of the company And you've got your artistic director your executive director your board of directors local funders regional funders and national funders right and Many of these conversations might be happening on a more surface level But like the deep and important work is something that needs to be investigated and one in which we hope and you know Recognizing an understanding that we're not coming out here with solving systemic racism in the American theater But hopefully inspiring a conversation that many of you can and will have with your staff With your board of directors with your funders and philanthropers philanthropists As you continue on in your journey and in your work I'm also sensing that some obstacles really stem internally from an artist and and participatory point of view of fear This idea of shifting blame and also that everyone has a role and I think that's a great segue sort of for the next part of our conversation So rather than opening it up to group thoughts and feedback, we're gonna go We're gonna break into smaller smaller workout groups To help ensure that more thorough work gets done your participation is crucial and I'm excited for that and Before I before we move because there's gonna be some movement happening I'm gonna sort of let you all know what's happening and then I'll reiterate it and then go again. So first Everyone and I think Be I think you might have been the one who mentioned this plays a role in this including our audiences And so I have a list of roles for examples that are of roles we play in the American theater landscape and Knowing that there's some folks that aren't a part of the list and about to describe so I Need you as I'm reading this list I want you to just think for a second and Identify for yourself the group in which you feel you most identify with or is most meaningful to you just one Okay, I'm gonna read it twice Actors Casting directors producers artistic directors playwrights Executive directors marketing development and other arts administrative staff Institutional training and educational settings and directors So again actors casting directors producers artistic directors playwrights executive marketing marketing development and other arts administration institutional training and or education directors So what we're gonna do is each of us are gonna be facilitating one of these breakout groups We're going to move and we're gonna create a list of suggested best practices That you will want to position to the American theater landscape and say here is a role Here is how everyone can play a part in the role that we play. Okay, so actors led by Damian I believe you're leading the working group actors don't move yet. I'm gonna tell you where we'll be by this green exit sign Then we've got casting directors that by Amelia Which will be sort of by this little lamp next on to the left of this grand mirror situation Then we've got producers led by Roberta and that will be by this sort of white pillar After these brown doors and then we've got artistic directors led by Reagan, which will sort of be by this glass window circumstance over there and then we've got Playwrights, which should be led by me at the second glass circumstance over there Then we've got executive marketing development and other arts administration led by Deb bravely over here by this brown door We've got in Institutional training and education led by be which will happen by this lamp here and Then we've got directors led by Joni Schultz sort of by this table glassware situation Okay, and to our friends at howl round We're just gonna pause as we do a 20 minute breakout group We'll come back in 15 minutes for a group breakout and some takeaway steps Okay, so if we can all disperse again, we've got actors casting directors producers Artistic directors playwrights executive marketing development other arts admin institutional training education and directors And yes, please take your chairs if you can and are able and if not Let someone know next to you who can help you out. Let's make a circle Hello, hello, I'm so sorry. I know you're probably just beginning to dive in I As was the case with the playwrights group. We really only just begun We do have to wrap up as we can at least begin the process of sharing some things out So I'm stalling because I know you're anxious, but we do need to get back to it So if you can hear me clap once if you can hear me clap twice if you can hear me clap three times If you can hear me stop talking One more time if you can hear me finish your sentence So we can begin the share out process Wonderful, you don't have to move we can we can we can stay where we are for this for this portion of the share out So we're gonna go in order and and and and I'd love if every group can share a little bit about Takeaways for that that they'd like to throw out to the group that can be helpful based on the role that we adopted today And then and then we'll sort of wrap up a little more formally after that So I'm gonna just I don't know, you know, I don't know what I'm so sorry I know this is not ideal to the the live stream, but great. Oh Yes, that'd be great We start with the actors actors This thing on okay, there we go So we came up with a couple of or a few solutions That we would like to pose and the first is to ask am I right? Should I be here and that comes from the perspective of you know, if you're a person of color and It's a traditionally you white cash show, you know asking yourself should I be here? And also on the flip side if you're a white actor and This show is calling for a person of color. You know, should I be here? The second thing is to Have a conversation about the added value of different perspectives and that that should happen in the rehearsal room with the other actors It could also happen in the season planning room and we also just broke it down to in the room where it happens Little Hamilton there The third thing that we have is audition with material that is from your own perspective and also diverse voices where It's appropriate Next we have is to educate This kind of goes in with that is educate yourselves on ourselves on what else is out there in terms of different perspectives of Different playwrights and things of that nature Also to sit and talk with our artistic directors Oh And to also stand up for yourself self-advocate if something doesn't feel right, you know have a conversation about why that doesn't feel right and also as more experienced actors we have sort of a responsibility to Help the younger actors Come along and also self-advocate if something doesn't feel right, but also to know for them to know that What their values are going into the process and to stick with those values and to be very clear with those values Anything I'm missing. Okay. Awesome. Thank you actors. Just just very quickly because we're so We you know because we started late time as of the essence So if for every group if you can just shout out maybe the four or five top from your list like the things That are crucial to exist in the space now that would be awesome And then we'll transcribe this and publish it on conference 2.0 So you have it and again this conversation doesn't end here This is just the beginning of it will be a larger movement and you're a part of it. Awesome casting directors Great. We talked about More than that many best practices, but I'll try to keep it to the tops We we had two levels of conversation going one is about Culturally specific work and we talked about if you're going to program work that has identity specific Roles in it that you search for The right actors for those roles and you don't stop until you find them Which does mean allowing the appropriate time and resources to find those people Then on the flip side we talked about if you're doing work that where identity factors are not germane to the storytelling That our best practice is to open up those roles to Anybody who might be the best the best performer for that role and that a best some best practices to do that involve Forming deep and meaningful and ongoing relationships with the communities the identity specific communities that you're representing in those stories To look at your casting as a whole once you have found your options and to be conscious about what story does that tell in terms of Assigning roles to performers who maybe aren't Who have identity specific who have specific identities and making sure that that story is not coming from a white supremacist or a colonialist perspective once you lay that all out and To use inclusive language in our breakdowns to make sure that actors know that they are being actively soft so in terms of Putting in your breakdown if you're open to all gender identities if you're open to all races and ethnicities if you're open to You know any range of ability, etc. Any range of ages To state that outright so that somebody You know a young African-American actress seeing that you're auditioning for Ophelia and Hamlet isn't going to just Take herself out of the running assuming that you're probably gonna look for a white person And then one big question that we really want to put out there that we discussed but didn't come to a one best practice on is What level of granular? Do we need to and is it appropriate to get to when we talk about identity specific casting and authentically representing? Absolutely awesome Next up we have our producers producers Okay, so the first thing we established is that nobody really know what the hella producer does so it means We work all across the organization So our conversation became a little bit bigger and not just talking about casting we're talking in general about cultural appropriation So some of the main takeaways was thinking about Partner partnering when you partner with other organizations, especially if it's a bigger white theater partnering with a culturally specific theater Like who benefits how can you partner and be equitable and responsible? also Connecting across departments within the theater so there are access points or for example if you are trying to bring in Spanish-speaking audience and then you have marketing material that reflects that But the show is actually not in Spanish or doesn't have any way for people when they come to actually experience the show That's probably not a great thing Also thinking about Diversity at every level and not just thinking about cast because that's obviously this was the focus of this general session But we're talking about sometimes you can do a show and then you look at behind the table who's sitting behind the table a bunch of White people so like how can we talk about that and that includes our staff as well If everybody that's looking at the material are people that we talked a little bit about how white is the default So sometimes we see why like we don't even see why does a color and I think that has to do with the casting to Breakdown if it doesn't list anything people assume that's white maybe and so how can we kind of get out of that mind frame? And then the last one which I really liked was be the squeaky wheel Like a lot of these things happen and a lot of people look at those things and you know look at those decisions And so can you be the person it doesn't matter where you are like we all have levers we can pull We are all gatekeepers. Can you say oh are we sure about this? Shouldn't we think about this a little bit more so don't be afraid to do that Wonderful awesome. Next we've got artistic directors Okay, so we started off with just challenges and you can look at those later through Circle 2.0 But anyway possible solutions anti-racism training not diversity anti-racism training Open to being called out or called in Like the producers said but they'll build relationships with other theaters and organizations or cultural organizations Focus on underrepresented population playwrights whether people of color or women Cast or audition people of color first instead of at the end as an after effect cultivate young persons of color through school recruitment and outreach and Finally that as an artistic director it takes courage and perseverance to go through this Awesome. Thank you next up We had our playwrights group and we were a small but mighty group for those who create the worlds of the plays and some really quick useful things were talking about it in two ways one were roles that aren't racially specified how do we ensure that there's a multicultural framework some big takeaways are using development workshops as a way to Unlock or expand casting opportunities So if we're you know working along outside of our that experience and creating a clause In your play or casting breakdown if your characters aren't racially specific that says we highly encourage multicultural casting etc. etc and When writing outside our own racer experience Having actors read the play and create a space for honest and difficult feedback having a dramaturk who maybe racially identifies with the Characters in your play to read and give feedback have explicit conversations and including in your contract a Clause about pulling the play if and when those things are not a part of it So not being afraid to pull the play when there isn't a multicultural framework or lens included in the casting practices That's a there's a lot more, but we should move on. So we're moving on to the Executive marketing development and other arts administrative staff. Thank you for remembering the name So we talked to I'm just gonna we had a number of different themes one of them was time and intentionality and planning And it was about making the space even though it's very difficult We're all on very tight planning schedules, but some some of the people in our group have actually broadened their sense of What it means to make a season in order to allow the space for The the thought that needs to go into Really doing it right another thing that came up was the idea of training but the that idea expanded to include Opening up your theater to members of your community who may be interested in working in theater But never even really thought about going to Yale and getting an MFA and bringing them in and training them and One of our group actually has had Great success and these actors are now working other places in the community. So I think that's really important and The other thing Help me out guys. There was one more thing that was very important that we were talking about Who's in the room where it happens? and so it's about it's about really diversifying your entire staff and Not expecting, you know, you're gonna do a play About a culture that's not your own and only the actors are going to be of that culture But really opening up the space to allow People of that culture to actually have Some of the power and finally I just want to Pete wrote a micro Festo and it's awesome and I want to ask him to read it Yeah, so this is in case Institutional leaders won't listen to all the brilliant ideas generated here Create higher integrity work outside the shadow of ossified institutions Do it so well that the obsolescence of the ossified institutions becomes undeniable Sees our pieces as we crumble That's wonderful. I know we're just a couple of minutes over But I really want to honor this space if you can hang tight for just maybe three or four more minutes We've only got two more breakout groups to report out education. We will be so fast because a lot of people actually had the same best practices so we talked about the university setting and Involve students in season selection talk to them about how they see themselves Especially if they're people of color or underrepresented and center them in the work Clarify mission statement amongst the faculty to reflect core values that have a commitment to ED and I work Connect students to professional mentors who are working in the field So if you're an Asian student studying acting to connect with an Asian actor working in another market and Facilitate a constant ongoing conversation between student and mentor So if they don't see themselves reflected in the student body where they are or in the faculty They can see themselves reflected in the real world somehow Be transparent with students have the difficult conversations about the ED and I work that are happening across the board in the field and Actually offer courses about it and have those difficult conversations about casting with students Acknowledge assumptions ask your students to acknowledge Acknowledge assumptions have the conversations with faculty about acknowledging assumptions Encourage and teach students to generate work, especially if they are underrepresented in the plays that exist Encourage them to contribute as voices so playwrights. That's also something that is the best practice that we share engage the community and seek actors from the community if you cannot find them in the Student body of students studying acting They can train up make room make space. That's why it's a university and finally diversify faculty find ways to diversify faculty Thank you. Thank you education. All right, so in a Joni Schultz expert report on extraordinaire. Wrap it up Okay, so what we talked about director's basically on three different themes directors Because is Laura Penn well articulated we are that we are the hinge between the producers and the and the creatives And and we have to work on both sides. So we talked about Bringing actors into the process earlier whether that means workshops whether that means developing work with them talking to them in the room actually having conversations instead of just auditioning them and we also talked about going to going to producers and Insisting more on authentic casting and on working harder on casting you we could put it we could put Things in our contracts that might say that we're gonna Cast in diverse ways we can get buy-in from artistic directors earlier and then third about what we're doing ourselves Asking ourselves questions knowing what we don't know knowing the stories that we're really telling before we get into auditions Those are these are all awesome incredible and more and mostly Realistic things we can do to ensure that cultural appropriation And racial equity in casting practices is insured I know today this moment felt chaotic, but I hope also exciting and motivating Just so everyone knows very quickly a facility. Let's give her quick facilitators and panelists a round of applause And if facilitators can just grab their notes and make sure you give them to me So I can transcribe them tonight so we can post them at your on your 2.0 tomorrow So you have them and can read them on your lunch Thank you everyone have a wonderful day This is just the beginning. Let's let's make this a movement not a moment