 Hi, everyone. Welcome so much for tuning into the 2021 PAL Summit. We are live streaming on HowlRound currently, and we welcome everyone who's joining us this morning. Please feel free to engage in the chat. As I mentioned before, for everyone who's here in this space in the meeting, you can turn on your cameras or you can turn off your cameras. We welcome all type of connection with us. My name is Ariana Gaviria, and I'm the Director of Technology and Innovation for PAL, and I'm going to pass it on to Tamania. Hello, I am Tamania Garza, and I am the PAL National Director of Community and Justice Initiatives and the Philadelphia Chief Representative. I'm going to be doing our land acknowledgement this morning. I'm coming to you from the land of the Lene Lenape, whose historical territory includes the places colonally known as Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley. For more than 10,000 years, the Lenape people have been stewards of these lands, as well as the River of Human Beings or the Delaware River. For the past 250 years, many of the Lenape people were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and dispersed throughout the country, so some families remain. These families continue the traditions of their ancestors to this day. The violence that removed the Lenape from their homeland is a powerful part of the history of Pennsylvania. And we acknowledge that in this moment and we work to live on as we work and live on these very lands. This is the story of our entire country. I'm going to teach you to learn about the lands where you live, work, and the history of the people who lived there before conversation. Many who still live there today. They are often starved of the very resources they protected for so long, including access to housing, sustainable food practices, safety, clean water, and the land where they once lived with their families. This information was provided in part by www.lenape-nation.org. Thank you. Thank you so much to Mania and Adriana for welcoming us into this space. We receive and appreciate the land acknowledgement and acknowledge it ourselves. My name is Rachel Spencer Hewitt and I'm the director of programming and resources at PAL. And it's my absolute pleasure to be a part of this community that welcomes you to our third year of gathering. And we thank you to our partner organization, the public theater for providing the sponsorship that makes this gathering possible, and we'll be engaging with them culturally later on in the week as well. I wanted to share some community agreements that we all formed together so that we all know we're entering this space as contributors, even when we're just receiving information. And first off, I would like to offer that as a session participant, you commit with us to welcome all caregiving responsibilities and realities in the background or foreground of any meetups phone calls and exchanges and embrace your life in our pursuit of productive and supportive practices. As a session participant, you commit with us to creating a transgender and non-binary affirming space. All language that includes but is not limited to mother, parent, dad, caregiver, etc., applies to any individual who identifies with the term and we welcome them. As a session participant, you commit with PAL to creating spaces rooted in justice and anti-racism in our structures, practices, policies, principles and producing. As a session participant, you commit with us to creating safe and supportive spaces for disability access and inclusion and all access needs present in the space. I would also like to offer that in our virtual world, we cannot always predict where harm can occur. If anyone on any of our sessions feels unsafe or feels vulnerable, if zoom bombing or anything that is perceived as the outside as micro but is not micro to you, it is your experience and I want to encourage you that we prioritize safety over civility. Please feel free to stop the session at any time. You can also ask for support in the chat by private or anyone who you feel is an ally in the space and we're happy to engage immediately. So that is my absolute pleasure to introduce the moderator of our space, Noelle Diane Johnson, and I would like to introduce Noelle's beautiful work to you so that she can guide us in this conversation today. Noelle Diane Johnson is a multidisciplinary artist, stage manager and artist advocate based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is thrilled to be, she is still to be a part of this panel and we are thrilled to have her. She is also the founder and owner of Artists Heal, a company designed to create healing and care spaces for collaborative art making while centering and providing resources for marginalized folks and vulnerable communities. Noelle believes in servant leadership and offers programming to promote self liberated inclusive and equitable spaces designed for healing and expansion through artistic practice. Noelle was also a part of a production that you'll be hearing about more in this conversation. And we would love to pass the space over to you Noelle to guide us. Thank you so much. Hello, hello everyone. Good morning, good morning. Thank you for the introduction Rachel. I'm so so thrilled to be here leading this conversation for BIPOC leaders in this space. And this conversation is with some of the most groundbreaking artists that have been responsible for not only creating shift and change in our industry, developing frameworks for sustainable solutions for parent artists, creating visibility to the range of roles of caregivers inside and outside artistic spaces, and their work is committed to creating and supporting communities through action, service and advocacy. This group of leaders continues to support, develop and deepen their work based on a level of care building supportive structures that takes care of their communities, their companies, and the people that they work with. So this morning, I'm really thrilled to be here with LaNiche Miller-White, a panelist at PAL's first ever launch forum in Philadelphia to talk about her family inclusive supportive culture at Theater in the X, which she co founded and is the executive director of. And she also became the first ever chief rep for a local chapter and defined the role for PAL. Hi LaNiche, welcome. Hello, hello. Happy to be here. Wonderful, wonderful. I'm going to go through introductions for everyone and then we're going to jump into everyone's story. So, next is Adriana Gaviria. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Okay, awesome. I've been in the committee since its inception regarding reproductive and anti-discrimination rights and work life balance and has been an advocate since before joining on producer of the Latinx Theater Commons convening in Miami, where she is a partner with Pal to create caregiver family invited on-site international conversation spaces and became a member of PAL's advisory board due to her insight on the field. Now PAL's director of technology and innovation where she produces the PAL Summit and other PAL National gatherings. Here is Garlia Cornelia Jones, founder of Blackboard Plays since 2007 I believe and has run this home for Black Playwrights through her mother her journey. To this day, she is also the first recipient of the PAL mother artists of color child care grant now known as the BIPOC mother artist child care grant. She is the PAL chief rep and NYC and PAL national director of production which oversees the Black mother, the Black mother play festival play festival in partnership with Blackboard Plays. And last but not least we have Samania Garza, who was the director of very more award winning pride out produced with sympathical theater company, which had children in the space family supportive work scheduling diverse casting and creative team stipends for child care. She is also she also leads as both current PAL chief rep of Philadelphia for almost three years and PAL national director of community and justice initiatives, where she shapes and oversees the centering of justice and caregiver support initiatives with PAL national resources and programming as well as she as well as the chief rep program around the country. Wow. What a group of people we have with us this morning welcome everyone welcome. It's a pleasure to be here with you all we're going to jump in Lanish. Hey Lanish. I've had the pleasure of working with Lanish with theater and the X. And I was hoping that you could just share with us a little bit about the company that you co founded and lead, and your role as a parent and artist, and how it's framed. The work that the coach that the company continues to do. So we created we being myself and my other two co founders Walter De Shields and Carlo Campbell, we co founded a theater in the X in 2013. Essentially because we did not we weren't seeing opportunities for artists of color in Philadelphia theater. Usually you know folks of color especially black artists were only getting work during black history month. And so we wanted to provide opportunities for theater artists of color in the city, as well as we were kind of all feeling like the content of the shows that were being presented that show that told the stories of people of color during that time we're all tragedy stories, it was all stories that were kind of filled with pain and tragedy and we wanted to bring in stories that also showcase joy and kind of the breath of the black experience. So in 2013. We did a show we chose to have Malcolm X park as our venue. So that we were able to provide the show for free for the community and West Philly, no ticket price bringing down as many barriers as we could as far as location and ticketing and kind of also comfortability in theater. So just by way of that we get audiences that are of all ages, you can bring your baby you can have kids right up on their bike and watch the show for 15 minutes and then right away. And so that was kind of the basis of why we created the company so that was in 2013. In 2014, I had a baby, and then so we kind of took that year off as I was adjusting to parenthood and such. And so then when the count when we came back for our next year in 2015, I had a baby and so now there was a baby in the space. And that just kind of happened naturally. And then we started to kind of over time formalize our support of parent artists. So in the beginning it was just like, your child is welcome. Sure, if you need to bring your child bring your child and you know someone else will hold them while you're doing your scene or, you know or have them with you while you're doing your scene whatever was necessary for that person. We had me acknowledging my own like understanding that when I was in spaces that allow children. Sometimes I'm cool with having her you know with me on my hip and sometimes I would like to like have her with me but not have her with me when I'm trying to do the work. And so to kind of facilitate whatever that need was then we started having one of our co founders has older children so they started watching the children while we were doing work. And then we formalize it to our most recent year where there was a child care person that person was on the call sheet. That person's like you know their conflicts were taken into account when we were doing rehearsal schedules. They were listed along with the stage management and the other casting crew folks and then front of the program like really realizing that that the child care person is an essential part of the production, just like the stage managers. And so being at kind of seeing our trajectory from will all hang out with your kids to there is a person who can now you know take them. She has snacks. She's you know, even in getting because another thing is like we all know as as children, like there are levels to caregiving also there is a person to watch your child and then there is like, I leave her and I come back and she has like learned to dance while I was doing rehearsal. So now we've gotten to the point where we have someone who is not only like watching the children but engaging them teaching them their own things while we are in the rehearsal process. I'm really happy and proud that we have got to that portion of kind of where we are in handling caregiving and children in the space. Amazing, that's wonderful. So I hear you say about how you, you had a child in 2014. And it suddenly became a necessity to create this holistic structure in this care space. And can you talk about what that means to you as an artist and what it's allowed you to be able to pursue or what you've been able to kind of foster other artists to be able to pursue because of that holistic structure and care. Absolutely, I mean I think it definitely there are 100% artists who have worked with you in the X to if there wasn't childcare available, they wouldn't have been able to be a part of the process. So being able to when it comes to creating access for artists of color within our company, like that is a barrier so we're all we're not only working on trying to take away the barriers for audience members, but also for artists. And knowing that, especially for the artists of color in the city who aren't getting a ton of work on the mainstream stages, being able to give them opportunity to be in the show and not have participation in the show be an additional burden on them. You either the drive for drop off and pick up for their children, or the cost for childcare, or even just especially if we go over this past year, even the comfortability of having them in some sort of childcare situation with coven and things going on so that being able to provide kind of a, you know, your, your kid is two floors up and they're in a safe environment and you know where they are and you can now focus on what you're trying to do is like important for for us kind of breaking that, breaking the barriers to people being able to participate with us. For myself, I mean, any time that there's childcare available somewhere whether it's an event or work opportunity or something it makes it that much easier for me to be able to participate. Because then I know that I will have her taken care of, or she'll also have like, because we know how it is with like caregiver guilt parent guilt. It's like I also know I'm going to be doing something and so if I'm even if I'm going to see a child so knowing that she's going to be doing something that's going to be as engaging for her during that time. It helps me to be able to relax and enjoy whatever the experiences that I'm supposed to be enjoying. Wonderful. And one last question for you, Lameesh, can you talk a little bit about your involvement with pal and what it means to you to be a part of this community. Yeah, I mean, our very first the very first pal forum that was in Philly that I was a part of was my first time seeing like completely set like child care within the same vicinity of where you are, like very formalize child care and I was like, Oh, this is cool. And I remember it like we all those of us who were there like, we had children kind of all around the same age we had two people that had their parties with them that were doing potty training, like just that ability to come into work and be able to both like share space with other parents I mean that was just exciting to begin with I think that's why I said yes. In the very beginning I was like, Oh, they're like other parents in Philly that do art that I'll be able to like meet and network with. And so having that environment and then over time like just the connecting and learning people's stories like over, I guess was it the summer, some I can't time is weird, but sometimes it's the pandemic when as pal has been doing the kind of like virtual like afternoon meetups. And here even though I knew to money before then and knew of her work like the first time I heard her story of how the support and cry it out came out. For the first time I heard Garlia story about like her trajectory and parenthood and things and it's just amazing to like see and be inspired and like hear the stories from other caregivers as like a reminder of like the possibilities and what we can do. Wonderful. So thank you so much when each I want to lift up in the chat the childcare person is an essential part of the production just like any other aspect of management when each mother white. Thanks for being with us and folks in the audience you'll have a chance to ask questions towards the end if you like. We're going to move on now to Garlia Cornelia Jones hi Garlia thank you so much for being with us. Roll to share space with you and wonder if you could just share a little bit with us about Blackboard plays which you founded and how its development has paralleled your motherhood journey. Oh gosh. So, blackboard is one of my first children, but Chris is exceeding it I also had a black theater group in college. And so all of the work that I do now just really is an expansion of the work that I did at Indiana university. And so I'm, I think I'm, I am, I have grown to be very proud that I just really stuck with what I wanted to do in in creating spaces for black artists and specifically black player. So I write, and when I founded blackboard in 2008. We were at a, actually, a mom run small theater. And so we were incubated in that space it's called the cell. They are in Chelsea Chelsea and so exposure to women and parents, like started with just, you know, having the series in a space where there was a woman and then her daughter and then, you know I saw her daughter have children and the to the two artistic director, the director is both, both parents and so just just always like, see, see seeing that and always thinking how am I going to figure this out right and so then when I did have children in 2012. My first child in 2012 and my second 2014 on the sidewalk very proud of my sidewalk birth. I'm sure Rachel can drop the drop the link in the chat because I wrote the story in the New York Times. So, you know, giving birth and just having a child and then thinking, how am I going to, you know, continue to continue this and myself having the dream that my daughter, you know I was I was in the city at the time, and that I and I had a there was a small second room which had been my office which turned into her room until we moved. But just like thinking okay my daughter is going to sit in her high chair next to me while I write my plays because I'm a I'm a playwright. And so I thought that that was going to be the journey, but we all know that because infants don't sit up straight, and they also don't, you know, stay at their high chairs and high chairs are expensive and you have to have the money to have them and all of those things are like, all of all of that started to really, you know, impact me and I really think so much about all the things that come with being a parent and a black parent because you start, you have this baby and then you think okay I want to go to all the group groups and all the things and those are so expensive. And like exposure for your children, if you don't have a high self salary or, or if you don't have a two income household or if you don't have the resources to hire childcare is that you know is, you have to do it on your own. And then you don't focus on your art and so and so how are you figuring out how to do both you don't sleep sleep right so many people don't sleep but you don't have a supportive partner just makes things more challenging if you're if you're trying to really devote yourself to your art and your parent parent hood so I think these are all things that. Yeah sleep, Lisa is such a luxury even now this day what is this day enough since 530 you know like here we are but all of us right and so I think just thinking about something I was really passionate about when the blackboard started, or, or, as I, as we went on in years years was I wanted to build a retreat for parents and I was slowly exposed to more parents in the theater and more black parents and actually no I wasn't exposed to a lot of black parents that's that's not true. I was exposed to a lot of parents but I didn't see a lot of black moms in the theater or I saw I saw them in different places and I think of now there are more because I think we will be coming parents around that time and just I was really thinking about how can parents have you know just like a retreat how can how can parents have a space that that where they can work on their work right because I'm thinking I'm going to write this play with my infant here. But is there a space where that is possible where you have the support, the support either in resources sources to hire the care so that you can work on your play or you're at a retreat. This is a center that has childcare built in. This was also pre space on the writer for farm so just uplifting that they do have a, a, a play a residency for for parent play rights and there's this this daynable arts foundation which doesn't no longer a play rights but does include organizations and so I was able to get a grant at a residency in Detroit which included child care but since I'm from Detroit that was great because of my parents and my kids and I could work my kids and I could work on my play so I you know I think there's a lot about how we can give parents their resources in the arts to do who do who do do their, their work and and part of that journey with blackboard has always been thinking about, you know, how are we going to make make this space. And so the black motherhood and parenting new play festival was really born out of that desire that I had had for years to just like, I was looking back at notes that were way before I met Rachel and thinking, Oh my gosh, I did want to do this like retreat for black parents what the heck like, cool, you know, and so and so just being able to bring that into fruition through this a partnership which makes so much sense right because the support that pal gives to parents in the arts is amazing. I love that you brought up that this was pre kind of artists you designed I think that we've seen a lot of different resources kind of pop up in the past, you know, decade or so to support BIPOC artists global majority artists. And I love that you were speaking about you know some of the socio economic barriers that come into play when you become a parent or caregiver or assume one of these roles. And I know that you were one of the first recipients of the power mother artists of color which is now known as the BIPOC mother artist childcare grant. Can you talk a little bit about receiving that grant and what it did for you as an artist. Oh my gosh, I mean it was fantastic. It was just, I had just gotten a divorce and I was just had just started my full time job at the public as a line producer, producer, producer, and so I was like how am I going to. What am I going to do with the kids like what is the, you know, like, I was going to be having to come home with them and do the dinner thing and all of that. And so, having that grant, covered me for like two weeks of childcare for my kids. You know, which, which was, which was a really great start to start and I was like, I was so grateful to have those funds that were just like, this is for the sitter right I mean, it is in incredibly scary to finally enter the work. And I was like, how am I going to do my job show up but then what about my kids like you really like I'm I'm no. I'm less of an implausible employee because I have two children. But if, if it's not like fully included in my like, in my, in, in my I guess my package like how, how am I supposed to make that work like what sort of flexible acrobatic things I need to do with my finances or my life what tiny hold can I live in order to do the job and take care of my kids, you know, and so I probably will never stop talking about how important that was as a, as a first step, step, step and how much childcare support and like childcare grants is something that I am so passionate about because, you know, as, as, as a show for facing human, how do we manage that when when we are part of a community of people who, who are involved in the show to and then you think about what about parents in the production team, what about, you know, the actors who have to be there every day and so these child care, I think, grants are so helpful to us to just feel like we can have our children taken care of and then we can show up at our job, either remote or, or on site but we can show up knowing that a piece of us is being taken care of. And so, I love what you said to about, you know, one of the things that I like to lift up. And I think it's so amazing is that when you start to realize that all of your support doesn't have to come from one place that it can come from multiple different places and that you were starting your job at the public but you were receiving the support elsewhere. Right. You talk a little bit about, you know, you said it was a really great stepping stone for you can you talk about your job at the public as a producer and how the work that you've done with Blackboard plays, the work that you're doing with pal the advocacy work that you're doing for single mothers contributes to that work that that you do in that space. Big questions. I mean, I think I bring all of myself to everything that I do. And so my public family, my public theater family has got to know my children very, very fast. And quickly, my kids were there. And so, and, and, and having a space to bring your kids is also an important part of Josh childcare resource and support has a niche is, you know, taught. I talked about like it's not, it's not just resources, but it's also resources of space and people and yeah they can hang here and here's some crayons right so I will you know I'll say that that my children were just like a really huge part of that and, you know, I am. I mean I guess I'm, I am first a member of the black theater community. That is how I have identified for like 20 years. That is the work that that that I create. And that is a really important thing in how I show up, because coming a parent looped in parents to to to to that as well as well so it's been really great to connect with all parents at the public like just to find a community of people. There really races and ethnic backgrounds, who are parents who are going through the same thing as I am so that like opened up this. So here's we're working parents in the theater, who are figuring it out to, and us being able to support each other and say no no no like we need to have this or we you know like just really building a community union there so that that's been great to just you know in me I really I've, I've gotten to work with a lot a lot of artists and artists who are parents I worked with Jessica Blank and Eric, Jen, Jen Sonon, Cole, Oca Oca country and they have a child, you know, who's now like, like, between between age right so you know but it was really great because their daughter and my kids kids I think when we when we worked on cold country. Most of the creatives had one child or two. And so there's there's actually a photo which I think was posted on a pal of like all of us and our kids it was so it was so it was like really cool and fun in a way to say oh my gosh and around people who like understand right like I don't you know like just being with people who get that your focus is sometimes pulled or you got to go deal with this or the sitter called because they can't find the remote I don't know you know like that's something and so just really thinking about that and I think in terms of the way that you know the rest of my black theater community and how I loop that in I mean I really try and I mean the the public has always been supported by black artists over the years I think we know and see some of the really great and beloved artists their work has come out of the public and I hope that I am part of that you know journey and adding to this history and support and sharing of work by and for black artists so thank you Garlia thank you for all of your work at the public and with how and sharing your sidewalk birth story I can't wait to read that and to say that sidewalk birth was one I'm also part of a group called Harlem nine which also like in thinking about a black mom that I was able to kind of see in the theater so Sandra daily Sharif we are we are we are part of this group so there's six of us but she's been a parent and so just being able to see her as a mom raise her daughters as a working artist was was also an inspiration and excuse me I gave I gave birth one week after OB awards so when we were at the the the the Obies all of us were there and I was super duper pregnant and we're on the stage and I was like no don't you and I can feel him like moving and I was like we're not giving birth here I was like we're not giving birth at the OB so he decided to come out a week later at at you know on the street but yes that was also tied to another organization another arts black arts organization. Thank you garllia yeah and that's that's striking me as well like the the importance of community with parent artists and the need to experience like to hear and see experience and hope and strength and other parent artists to feel that you can do it yourself as well. So, thank you for sharing. We're going to move on y'all to Adriana. So thrilled to be here. And you, you've been with POW since its inception in 2014, but have been navigating the space of reproductive rights, anti-discrimination rights, and work-life balance within your community and beyond for years now. So could you share some of your influences for your work nationally and internationally? I've heard you share about seeing this work being done internationally on maybe a little bit of a different level. And I would love to hear about how some of those influences have shown up in your work. Yes, definitely. I was so inspired a couple of years ago just reading about all the initiatives and organizations that were really moving this conversation forward. And that's around the time when I when I reached out to Rachel and Rachel was also doing that here with POW. And that's that's how we connected. And it's been really, really wonderful just seeing how much progression of that conversation has moved along the last couple of years. I'm also one of the founding members of the SOLE project and a steering committee member for the Latinx Theater Commons. And the convening that we didn't that I did in Miami as the as the lead producer was really exciting because it was one of the first times that we had a day specifically for not only children, but also for any any dependence that the conveners wanted to bring in that day. I also brought my family along, my older relatives to the convening on that day, because I find that sometimes your family doesn't really know what you do, at least in mind. They don't understand, you know, where we spend so much time and also theater and advocacy is just a little foreign to them. So it was really great being able to share that and have those conversations while they were in the room. And so now when they when they see me, you know, go and talk about it or do these things, it's just so so much great for them to be able to just understand a little bit better the conversations that are being had here in the States. Yeah, so that's a little that's a couple. That's a little bit of of what what happened during the convening in Miami. And then I was also definitely inspired by the Encuentro, which was a also another gathering of Latinx Latin theater makers that happened in LA. And for me, it was the first time that I saw theater companies, groups, artists who had raised both their families and also created art at the same time, which was mind blowing to me that they had been able to accomplish that. And and it was it was really a wonderful time because it was an opportunity for me not only to see that and to see how it can happen, but also a chance for me to be able to to learn from from everybody and to have conversations with everybody in that in that convening, which led me to to be really motivated to come back to New York and and see how I as an artist can create change or how I can create work or opportunities, not not only for myself, but for other people. And that really definitely changed my trajectory because I started off as an actor. And like I had mentioned to you know, well, before as an actor, you know, I was just used to auditioning and just waiting for roles right to be written for me. And and just by by by really being surrounded by the community, by your community, by people who are not waiting around, who are making a difference, just gave me an example of what I should do as an artist, my responsibility as an artist and what I can do that I didn't know was possible. I also have been really lucky to have been a part of NALAC, which is the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. And I did their their leadership program and also their advocacy Institute, and that was also very, very informative in in how to go to DC and to advocate for things that you believe in. I never knew that was possible. Being a first generation, I that's something that was really foreign to me, and it was fascinating. And and to have that opportunity to to be able to have these mentors really guide you, right? And in in in in putting putting up a presentation and finding out what what moves you, you know, what's your guiding star, what you want to happen and then going to DC and to advocate for that with your representatives. It was it was it was amazing. I didn't even know that that's what you could do. So so I feel like it's just been learning from each other, right, learning, learning, learning on, you know, on the job. There there isn't a lot of or there hasn't there hadn't been for me opportunities for me to to really learn about producing or about advocacy work or or even other areas. It was just it was just something that I that I didn't know. And and I really am just so grateful and appreciative of everyone that I've met along the way the last couple years, because we all learn from each other, right? And that's how you may not think that you're making a difference or that you're you're you're making a dent into into into making things better. But every every action counts. I produced a soul project during the the Soul Fest, which is a summer theater festival in New York during the summer and even something as small as being flexible with the writers as far as their schedules, you know, being being. Like really, really having that conversation and and and saying, I I want you to be part of the festival. Let's see how we can work around with your responsibilities as far as family or caregiving. It's little little acts like that that really, really make a huge difference. And and I I think I just want to highlight that because I think maybe sometimes you think you have to do these. I don't know, just everything counts. Yeah, thank you so much. So you shared about some of your influences and, you know, how your trajectory really shifted and changed. And you've also talked about, you know, achieving work life balance and what that means as a caregiver when you assume that caregiver role. Can you talk about some of, you know, what you were seeing in the community, what some of the needs were and then how you supported your community to how do you support people to create work life balance, especially as caregivers and people that assume that role. And as has been mentioned in this conversation, you know, assuming the role of a caregiver and then realizing that it doesn't mean that you're suddenly not going to be an artist, understanding that it's, you know, a matter of how to make this thing happen. I'd love to hear about what kind of practical tools or action steps you help people with, with achieving that kind of work life balance. Yeah, I, you know, it's when I look back, I am a little incredulous of what happened the last year and a half, but also by the amount of work and change that was done also. And one of the things that just just so happened to occur was a lot of change within, for example, the unions, right? And so actors equity at that time was, was looking and seeking for, for delegates around the country for their first, first ever convention in its history. So it was huge. And so during the pandemic, someone had reached out to me to see if I was interested. I didn't really know about it. I hadn't been engaged in that capacity before. And it just so happened that there was a large group of BIPOC actors, equity members who were really interested in being part of this convention and, and, and running as delegates to, to create this change. And none of us had ever done any of this before we didn't. We just kind of jumped in and, and learned along the way. And as an actor, you know, you're either union or non-union as a performer, let's say, as an artist. You definitely want your union to, to support you, right? And in the trajectory of your career. So those were the conversations that all the delegates that were nominated had. And they were in the, in the convention. There were many resolutions that, that came up and a lot of them were, you know, that were worked on for such a long time by so many people were several months. And we had such amazing resolutions pass. So I'm only just bringing that up to say that that is just that's one avenue, for example, especially, you know, here in the states where the unions have such a big role. And there were things that were missing, right? We were missing that support. And so it was a very exciting time that this happened. So I just, so I wanted to just say that, that that's fact is huge. Another way, oh, I know we talked to this a little bit about just from a personal, just like from a personal aspect as an artist, how important it is to just say no to give yourself permission to take breaks. It's OK if you can't do everything that you want to do. And that I am a workaholic and I definitely have tried my best, you know, this last these last couple months to to have breaks, right? And to take time away and to say, no, I this is family time. And as as we get older, you know, our caregiving responsibilities expand. You know, we are also responsible often. Not, you know, not everyone goes to this, but most people will be responsible for their parents or their grandparents or their uncles or their aunts. Any elder member of their family, especially if if you are a newer generation in this country and there's a language barrier, you know, often once when ends up being the translator and also the one that has to figure everything out, all the all the different things that that seniors have to have to navigate, and it's very difficult. All the medical needs and all the retirement needs, which is something that I love to talk a lot about too, because in in general, when we talk about caregiving, sometimes it's so easy to focus on the on the parent-child relationship. But there's so many other different types of caregiving needs. And we sometimes don't realize it until we're there. So it's it's really good to talk about these things so that you know, right? You know how to navigate those before you get to that point. Yeah, I think it's almost for for sharing that that really when we spoke previously, that really, really touched me because I think that I for a lot of folks that, you know, and this was a part of the conversation into what we're going to head into Tumanya as well, but this idea of caregiving and, you know, that a lot of folks are doing the roles of caregiving are assuming the the labor of caregiving and don't necessarily realize what they're doing. So when it comes to work, life balance and burnout and having boundaries and being able to say no and taking breaks. If you don't even realize that you're assuming this role. How do you even? How do you even navigate or understand that when you're being exhausted by it? And I really, really appreciate the the focus and advocacy around caregiving that is outside of parenthood. Parenthood is a beautiful thing, but it's not necessarily something that everyone steps into. But it's no less, you know, a part of a part of a community of caregivers or if you need that support or you need that support as an artist or you need that support and community to be welcomed into a community like Pows is really, really beautiful and really, really monumental. So can you share just a little bit about what your leadership in caregiving advocacy means to you and what you've learned on your journey? Because I know that your caregiving roles, the roles that you embrace as a caregiver and your journey has been a little bit different than the other panelists. Yeah, so I still, I think I still something I have like this little reaction whenever, you know, I hear leader, right? Because it's it's that hesitancy of or that just not not being used to having that name, that title as as someone who and and it was something that I, you know, I also wanted to bring up is that, you know, anyone who's watching who may be shy or quieter, you know, just does is not is not used to being right in the public eye. You you may be a leader and you may not even know it and to embrace that and to own it because we are we are all responsible, right, of what we what we do and how what type of spaces we create or a part of, right. And so I just wanted to say that. But for me, it's it's important. I I love I just love I love connecting people and I love providing spaces that encourage growth and inspiration. And for me that's important because I I don't want people to experience some of the things that I have, you know, I think that I think a lot of us I think a lot of us at least from that I've spoken to feel that way, you know, we've all experienced something and it motivates us and it fires us up and it and it makes me angry. And I don't want other people to go through that painful experiences. So that's why it's important for me to to continue this work and to fight because I I have I've seen I've seen so many things happen to other people that that I I'm just it just pisses me off. I think that's why I think that's why it's important for me to continue this work because I just don't. Yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. And I think that's something that we mentioned in our previous conversation too of like the pain point doesn't always have to be, you know, sometimes you have to get your heart broken. You have to go through that pain and what it means to, you know, come out of the fire with with buckets of water for for the people to to, you know, pour into pour into your community, and to allow that pain to have purpose to allow the pain that you've been through and the situations that you've been through to drive you instead of making you stagnant and work that you're doing so. Thank you so much for sharing. It's really wonderful. I'm Tameanya Garza. This panelist is extremely special to me to mind you've you've changed my life to mind your guard I had so changed my life and been one of the most phenomenal biggest supporters that I've that I've met in Philadelphia at a time where I was kind of stepping back into theater and trying to understand my role and coming out of some of the, you know, difficult things. So I'm really really proud to be here with you to mania. And I definitely want to jump into talking about Cry It Out. Cry It Out was produced in 2019 in May and spring of 2019. And it's this beautiful, beautiful story about motherhood and what it means to become a mother. And just some of the challenges and real honest conversations working with you, Timania, on that show was one of the first times that I, and I think quite a few people in that process, had just had real honest conversations about parenthood and what it meant to be a parent. And it completely changed my view of motherhood and parenthood. So I'd love to hear you talk about why that story was so important for you to tell. And also all that went into creating that space, because it was a priority to have diverse casting. It was a priority to have family support. It was a priority to have stipends for childcare. We had childcare in rehearsal spaces and had that as a part of the calls and the work schedule. So I'd love to hear about what that process was like for you and, you know, the pre-production as well as while we were in production. And first of all, I want to let you, to our extraordinary and you continue to change this community and make it more incredible and help us all heal, artists heal, help us all. Because like you're talking about, I think a lot of us, and in Philadelphia, we have so many different kinds of theaters. We have incredible theaters like Theater in the Hex, you know, and all these incredible theaters that are working for inclusion and to make space for people of the global majority. But there are many theaters that still struggle with that and still struggle with giving voice to, you know, not something that doesn't fit within that very homodernist classics group that has been sort of selected out of the cis white men that have come before us. So I think that, you know, we it was important to me like some of these travelers and, you know, looking to people like Lanishin and like earlier, who, and like Adriana, who had come before me and just sort of say, I, you know, I have gone through these horrible things. I've gone through these traumas in theater that I love. And like, you know, I had said back, I had not directed for years before it cried out came along because I had experienced some real harm. And I had seen people harmed in the spaces. And I was like, I can't believe in this place of empathy and creation. We can't find a way to be safe. Like, I cannot believe that that is that is a thing. And that we have to the price to be here is trauma. And so I had taken like you, I had taken some time off and what got me back. I was pregnant and I found while I was pregnant that I was not talking about being pregnant. I was hiding it. I was not letting pictures being taken to me. I was not going to theater as much. And I didn't feel shame about the pregnancy, but I thought it would absolutely diminish my ability to to get jobs because as a director, who's already a person of, you know, from a historical marginalized community, there are very few jobs that people think of me first or think of me as being the right fit or think of my personal experience, because for some reason, white directors can direct everything Mexican directors can direct Mexican place about being Mexican with Mexican characters. So and and you know, I don't believe that to be true. So in trying to in trying to see a larger picture and in trying to create the experience, I wish I had had accessible to me while I was pregnant, I had taken time off. I was like, I'm not directing and I'm not going to do anything. And I'm not even going to see shows. And my dear, dear friend, Alison Heisman, who I went to college with, who was running Sympathica Theater and is running Sympathica Theater now, wanted to create just a very different space for artists to create in where the whole artist was considered. And she sent me this beautiful play by Molly Smith-Messler, who actually is now working on made for Netflix and another story about what it is to be a parent. And and she was like, oh, just read this for me. And this is how she tricked me into directing for her. She was like, just read this for me. And I was like, OK, so I'm sitting there with my breast pump and, you know, two in the morning on my phone, like reading it. I was crying and I was laughing and I woke up the baby a couple of times. And I was just like, I was like, oh, my God, this play is amazing. You have to do you have to do it right now. And she's like, no, you have to do it. And I was like, no, I'm not. I have a baby. I'm nursing. Like it's just the world doesn't exist where I can be directing this and do my best work right now. And she was like, so what would it take? And I was like, what do you mean what it takes? She's like, make me a list, make me a crazy list of what it would take to make it happen. And we had been it was it was talking about all these inspirations. We had been at that meeting, one of those meetings that when you just talking about the gathering in Philadelphia of parents. And I had just how had sort of opened my eyes that there was someone advocating for parents to be in these spaces because parents, women, people of color, like they begin to drop out of the storytelling because it's just you physically can't get there. Like I only have a segment like when he was talking about if you can't bring your baby, you can't come. And so we just get silence, just de facto silence because we don't have the support we need. And so, you know, she was so I was in this room with Pal and Lanisha was running it and the person who would ultimately become one of the leads in the play was speaking Angelica Jackson and the person who would eventually become the assistant director and dramaturg Monica Flory was there. And so it's like Lanisha saying I had never been in a room where being a parent was an asset and not, you know, not something that was going to make you lose jobs. And I just felt so energized and so incredible. And I was like, OK, well, maybe this is possible. Like maybe I can do this. So I dream big and I said, you know, I want I want to be able to nurse and I want other people to be able to nurse and I want whatever schedule we need for parents and people of color to be able to work on this. And I want, you know, child care paid for in the room. And, you know, we applied for a grant through Pal and we got a grant that could support us for all of that because Sympatical is a small theater with a small budget. But every everything on that list was made possible with cooperation from Pal and Rachel and all the great people at Pal but also because Sympatical always said yes. Like every every step of the way Allison said, yep, however that needs to happen. Yep, whatever you need. Also, you were the expert. Like a lot of gatekeeping happens in theater because the people who are experiencing whatever they're experiencing are believed or there isn't representation in leadership. And there was never a time where I came to her and said, I want this. It's going to be longer. It's harder to cast parents. You have to make more accommodations for auditions and rehearsals. You know, I want child care in the audition room. So literally like we had people coming and people would sit with them in the lobby while they were inside auditioning so that they could come to the audition. I wanted to make sure that the designers reflected the same diversity. I wanted to make sure that we were focusing on parents being in the room. So all of that was made possible and it was made possible because it was intentional from the beginning and because the theater company and Pal decided from the beginning that they would support us in whatever way needed. And because of that, the group that was there, I think maybe wouldn't have ever had a chance to tell that story in a nine to five, six day a week, no child care, no grants, no, you know, no nursing ability. Like I think that those people literally would not have been in the storytelling and cry it out was very popular that you're a lot of companies produced it. And almost every company produced it had all white or mostly white cast and we did not. And many of them didn't include parents and our cast did and our production team included parents. And so, you know, I think I think that's it. It was going in with intention and it was dreaming really wildly. And I always wonder if it wasn't Alison and we didn't have this like 23 year relationship that we have, what did have happened? You know, and I want to create and I think this is what Pal and in general, everyone on this call probably wants to create a space where you don't have to count on that. You don't have to count on having a really trusting, you know, 23 year relationship with somebody can just walk into a room and say, I need child care, just walk into a room and use the power. I wanted to use my power as a director to carve out that space for everyone. So actors didn't have to have that fight. So technicians didn't have to have that fight. So people who are, you know, working just for the day, didn't have to have that fight. I'd already had it and it was it was baked in like it was part of the production and I and I think the performances we got. I think as you were saying, the exposure to kids in the room, seeing someone be a director and seeing someone be a parent are very different skills. And I think the people who weren't parents in the room, as much as the parents grew a lot and learned a lot, seeing everything we were carrying into the room with us every day, literally our little ones into the room, we would sit around and have pizza together. I remember at one point there's their scenes where people curse and yell at each other and the babies were off in another room. And one of the babies was like banging on the door and like, don't say that to my mommy. And, you know, even just that, that that's in the back of your head all the time. So I think welcoming them into the space, especially for a play like right out that is about the complexities of motherhood and parenthood. I don't think the production we had could have existed without the supportive situation that we were so lucky to be able to create that. I hope one day isn't lucky that I hope one day it's just standards to understand it. Yes. Yes. Amazing, amazing. And something that I really admire about the work that you do, Timania is creating visibility. So similar to Adriana, where Adriana was saying, just this visibility around caregiving and this idea that this is a thing. This is the thing that everyone on this call is doing. This is not just this invisible emotional labor that just comes with what it is. And we've spoken a lot about, you know, specifically, you know, for for all being inclusive, but specifically for folks that are socialized, female, how that imbalance kind of comes into play. Can you talk a little bit about. The importance of visibility and the importance of specifically offering, you know, support where those kind of disparities lie in caregiving spaces and caregiving roles. Absolutely. And I think that's a really excellent question, especially, you know, some of the things Adriana talked about and that were mentioned in the chat, actually, I'm a member of the same generation. So I have parents I was giving caregiving for and a parent with a disability at the same time as very young children. And with that, the only thing I can tell people that feels like is having all of like the maximum amount of tabs open on a computer trying to do work. And then someone pours a bucket of water on the computer. Like it's there's it seems impossible. It seems overwhelming. It seems like and it's just so many. I have to get the medication. I have to remember to to make sure that it's safe. Like even my father, who who was at the time sort of newly disabled, he had he had had a stroke. He we had to make sure that when he came, there were flat surfaces he could work on walk on and that he could sit very close to the door at each performance and, you know, things like that. So just the mental gymnastics of doing all of that with caregiving. I have to do pick up. I have to make sure my baby has food for daycare. I have to make sure that the right clothes are washed that I've written. I just sent my little one to in person school for the first time. And the amount of time I spent writing on things, writing their name on things. That's a jab in itself. So just realizing that we're carrying so much and that in no way makes us less valuable as artists. If anything, it makes us more valuable, like the multitasking that has gone into each of these people's work that is on this panel. I I like that that blows my mind. That takes me back because running a company and or running multiple companies and a child and, you know, doing your work as a creative, it strengthens you. Being a parent strengthens you. It it shifts your focus. It I think it brings to you a clarity, but also an administrative, you know, an administrative whirlwind that has to be taken into account. And as you were saying, people who are socialized female so often it's not even a choice of taking it. It's just a choice of like, oh, well, this is given to you. You're the oldest daughter. You're the, you know, you're the you're the mom. You're the you're the sister. And it because of that, again, it drops our voices out of the creative space so often because how can you create as Garlia is saying, when you have the baby that you thought would gently sit in the high chair and make you faces that you chewing their hair or, you know, like ripping their clothes off or going to the bathroom. Like just the most basic things. Like I haven't finished a thought since my little one was born, not a whole thought. And that's OK. You know, that's that's part of being a parent. But to get back to that creative space, you do need people who who welcome that and who are like, this is a part of you. I'm not going to compartmentalize you and take you apart. I'm going to welcome all of you. You know, I'm going to support all of you and and especially as you know, when you're doing all these different kinds of caregiving and some you chose, some you didn't, the. Again, we're no less valid. We're no less valuable because we have that. And honestly, we are the backbone that is keeping the world going without all of this caregiving, like who who is taking care, who is, you know, getting kids to school and who is making sure that so and so has their blood pressure medication. So valuing that as a community, valuing that as a theater community that like, you know, you are fostering and and bringing up the next generation, but also you are honoring the people who are who are older and elders and who made space for us. Like, what an incredible what an incredible responsibility to be stewards of those two journeys, you know, and recognizing the empathy and the creation and the beauty that we would bring to our artistry because of it. Mm hmm. Yeah. And needing to needing to really lift up. It makes you and I genuinely I genuinely believe this that it makes you a more valuable artist. It makes you more valuable. You you can do more like you just there's there's a there's a need for it. And, you know, when it comes to leadership and like facilitating spaces for leadership, a lot of times I will have folks think about, you know, don't think about managing at job. Don't think about your administrative job or your management job or your leadership job. Think about the places in your life where you're managing things. Are you managing your child's school lunches? Are you doing your laundry once a week and making sure that your clothes are folded down, even if you are, you know, even if you're not necessarily a parent or a caregiver in that way. What are those ways that those skills are translating? Because that's where like the soft skills and things for leadership specifically within the theater industry and the work that we're doing as artists really comes into play. So I think that that's just such a beautiful thing and really want to lift that up, that it doesn't make you any less valid. And if anything, it makes you more valuable to this community and to the communities that you want to lift up. And the last question I have for you, Tumanya, you are the National Director of Community and Justice Initiatives for PAL, so Nation Pride. And I just want to hear a little bit about that role. And, you know, what it is that you're what's what are some of the resources and the things that you're doing in that role? And I will answer quickly, because it's 11-22, and I know we wanted to get to some questions, but some. So I think what I really want to center in that role and when it was created, it was created fairly recently because PAL is a new organization is just making sure that everyone in everyone feels invited to these spaces, everyone. I think we I don't know if you talk about it on this call, but I know in other calls I've talked when I first had a little one, it was like, join this Facebook group, join this. And so often they are full of centering whiteness or, you know, making people of color feel other or making us, you know, you can't show up as your whole self. Because if I show up with my hair in a bun and no bra and no T-shirt, it speaks to who I am as an individual and a representative of who my race is. Versus just just a person. So not feeling my whole self in spaces like that. I never wanted anyone to experience that in PAL. And we're learning and growing all the time, but it's about access needs. It's about advocating to make sure we have ASL on all of our during throughout the summit, which is something, you know, we worked on and made sure it's making sure that we're centering voices from throughout the community, not just the voices who have risen to the top through, you know, this or that or the other because because we we tend to boost up one kind of voice in theater historically, but also making sure that we're we're asking questions and and we're looking at people in, you know, entirely with all these different things going on, if a person is, you know, has many different elements of their identity, can they bring all of them? Can they feel that all of them are being held? And, you know, we just want to make sure we do that with hard resources, like slide decks that tell you about rights and things you can do to fight and advocate in your own life, but also with things like, you know, panels like this, where we can make sure that we're hearing the voices of leaders who have been doing this work for so long, women of color so often in this in this industry, other ones who have been pioneering this work for so long. So lifting up those voices. Yeah. And then and then just making sure we're providing hard resources and asking challenging questions so others can create spaces like that. Amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Lifting up some things in the chat. Or if you're not able to manage any of those things and you gave your kids a hug instead or took a nap. Amen. Holistic care, holistic structure. Love it. You are honoring the people, the elders who have made space for us to money. Garza. Agreed, I have found parenthood helps you delegate and empower others as a leader. Absolutely. Folks are, you know, needing to hear those words and hearing and feeling stronger and more hope from this panel today, so I'm really grateful to be here with you all. We do have maybe about six minutes left. I want to open the floor if anyone has a question or two, we can drop a question or two, or if anyone has any kind of closing remarks. But otherwise, it's been really, really lovely to hear all of your stories. I'm really honored to share this space with you all and to be invited into this community to facilitate a conversation like this. But please feel free to turn on your cameras and hop into the conversation if anyone is interested. I will say that I really relate to keeping it as keeping your motherhood a secret, right? I just I just had a job interview, a phone call, and I just, you know, I just had to put it out there. I just had to put it out there. I have a daughter who's disabled. She's 16. Yes, I could, you know, maybe go into disability awareness or disability advocacy or something like that. But my passion lies in theater and it's the power of communication through theater.