A broad coalition of Broadway from theater owners, producers, union leaders, creators and casting directors has drafted a series of reforms and commitments for the theater industry to ensure fairness, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
The New Deal for Broadway It grew out of an industry leaders summit hosted by Black Theater United earlier this year. It outlines the reforms that are short-term, to be implemented before Broadway’s reopening this fall, and long-term over the next several years.
Just as we are committed to creating safe environments free from discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying, we are committed to creating environments that are equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible and in which everyone has a sense of belonging, ”the document states. The focus is on the black members of the theater.
The changes range from the abstract, “to drive greater diversity,” to the specific, such as artists with visual impairments being offered audition material in Braille and that Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn networks have at least one of their theaters named after a black man. artist. (Jujamcyn already has the August Wilson Theater).
We had meetings for six months with everyone in the industry and we pretty much formed this together. We knew what we wanted and what we wanted to change, ”LaChanze, a Tony Award winner and founding member of Black Theater United, told The Associated Press on Monday before the release of the document.
This is the floor. This is not the ceiling. This is just the beginning for us. We hope this document will have a ripple effect across our industry for everyone else in the community. “
The directors and authors have agreed to insist on diversity riders, to include members of underrepresented communities, in all new contracts they work on and “will never again put together an all-white creative team in a production.” The producers agreed to expand the talent pool to more diverse candidates.
One thing all the groups agree on is that they will each adopt “an EDIAB policy”, which stands for fairness, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging, and will post it on websites, theater lobbies and audition rooms. , making it clear to everyone before. rehearsals begin and order their formation. But what that exact policy will be has yet to be determined by each group.
Each organization will create its own policy that we will be monitoring to make sure they are in accordance with the New Deal, ”LaChanze said.
We are not the ones who write what the policy will be. We established guidelines on what to include, but each company must provide the exact language. “
The New Deal for Broadway has been endorsed by many of Broadway’s leading organizations and individuals, from producer group The Broadway League to the Actor’s Equity Association and Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Local 798 labor organizations.
The largest theater owners – Nederlander Organization, Jujamcyn Theaters, Shubert Organization, and Disney Theatrical Productions – are on board, as well as casting agencies like The Telsey Office and Tara Rubin Casting, plus playwrights like Lynn Nottage and Doug Wright, and composers like Kristen. Anderson-Lopez and Jeanine Tesori.
The unions have agreed to appoint a full-time director of diversity. The casting agents have agreed to eliminate “stereotypical language.” And the producers “will commit to recruiting creative talent from historically excluded and underrepresented groups in our industry into every new creative team, regardless of the show’s theme.”
The application will be made by a committee composed of Black Theatre United and members of each leading group that is signatory. Heinous violations could lead to the parties being removed from the document, LaChanze said.
Black Theater United was formed in response to the wave of national unrest over racial injustice that followed the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. It has hosted city councils on activism, strengthened participation in the census, and developed mentoring programs for aspiring young black theater artists. . In addition to LaChanze, its founding members include Audra McDonald, Billy Porter, Norm Lewis, and Vanessa Williams.
The Broadway data indicates large inequalities. According to the annual study, “The Visibility Report: Racial Representation on NYC Stages,” nearly 80% of Broadway and off-Broadway show writers were white, as were 85.5% of directors during the 2017 season. -18, the last period analyzed.
In the scenarios, more than 61% of all papers in the city of New York they were for white actors, a rate that doubles the white population in New York City. The data on designers is even more lopsided: In the 2018-2019 theatrical season, 91% of Broadway’s design spaces were filled with white designers.
LaChanze said Floyd’s murder and protests last summer prompted the industry to change. “They all wanted us to go back to the theater, not the way we left it,” he said.
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