Ghost River Theatre would like to publicly acknowledge the receipt of The 35//50 Initiative letter and thank its contributors Thomas Geddes, Steve Gin, Kunji Mark Ikeda, Gina Puntil, Jenna Rodgers, Makambe K. Simamba, Michelle Thrush, Pamela Tzeng, and Kiana Wu for this call to action.
Our company currently has two full-time employees, Artistic Director Eric Rose and Executive Director Kate Stadel, and one part-time employee, Producer Andrew G. Cooper. The staff and Board of Directors believe strongly in uplifting and upholding the principles and guidelines of The 35//50 Initiative.
Ghost River Theatre is co-led by Kate Stadel and Eric Rose, with the ED and AD sharing the decision-making power equally. Currently, all of GRT’s staff is white. The board is 44% female and 30% BIPOC. As the company and staff continue to grow, we are committed to actively supporting anti-racism and anti-oppression (ARAO) and work against systems of oppression. The following are steps we are currently taking and are committing to in the future.
NEXT STEPS:
During our 2020/2021 season, we have begun and will continue the development of projects that centre BIPOC voices. This includes a residency we’ve created for BIPOC individuals and companies and raising funds for a BIPOC artistic apprentice.
We will continue to expand and grow our diversity and inclusivity in programming. This means we will have more BIPOC artists in the room and we will dedicate existing program space for projects created with BIPOC artists in our programming starting in fall 2021.
Working with our board of directors, we will change the title of our current HR committee to an HR Action Committee, and ensure it includes a focus on anti-racism and anti-oppression within our company, in addition to the standard operational HR function, by June 2021.
As Board positions become available, we will actively recruit with a goal of increasing board representation from our current state of 30% BIPOC to at least 35% BIPOC representation by the end of 2022, with a particular emphasis on inviting at least one Indigneous person to join the Board.
Over the course of the 2020/21 season, Ghost River Theatre’s staff and Board of Directors will create a comprehensive succession plan for the Artistic Director and Executive Director roles with the goal of explicitly creating an environment that welcomes BIPOC leaders to fill these roles in the future.
We will review and update our Values Statement and our Code of Conduct to reflect our growing education and awareness by the end of 2021. We will continue to do this on a regular basis as we learn and grow in the future.
We will continue anti-racism and anti-oppression training for all staff and will begin this training for board members in 2021. Both staff and board members will engage in ongoing anti-racism workshops and paid consultations. We will add time to discuss ARAO in all weekly staff meetings, no matter how busy we are.
We will track the number of self-identified BIPOC, female, and non-binary members of our company at all levels and make this information public with the team members’ consent at the end of each season starting with the 2020/2021 season.
Ghost River Theatre’s Company Values states, “Collaboration is both process and purpose. Devised material can only arise out of a commingling of minds. Accordingly, a plurality of perspectives is integral: The more diverse the ensemble, the more rich and reflective the output.” We believe this wholeheartedly and will continue working with this philosophy at all levels of our organization. We’re aware we’ve made mistakes in the past and are committed to grow and to move forward into a better future.
Ghost River Theatre is excited about taking the next steps on this journey. We know that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We have a lot of work to accomplish both as an organization and as individuals. We are committed to taking action by moving forward mindfully, sustainably, and with great empathy. We’re eager to support lasting change in our community. If you have any questions or would like more details on any of these steps, please get in touch with Kate Stadel at ed@ghostrivertheatre.com.