Equity Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

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The Department of Theatre & Dance is committed to a mission of transforming the school into an environment that is anti-bias and actively employs equitable practices and seeks to eliminate institutionalized forms of oppression. We are committed to becoming a department where all members of our community, students, staff, visiting artists and audience members of all identities are accepted and respected. To advance this mission the department is committed to identifying biases in the department and dismantling oppressive practices that affect the intersections of race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age or disability and replacing them with equitable and inclusive practices. The department of Theatre and Dance is dedicated to creating ongoing change in all the spaces our community occupies in classes, rehearsals, production processes, backstage, design areas and offices.

We are committed to the long work it takes to create spaces that welcome our community in all its diversity. The Department is committed to learning from the mistakes of the past and to create opportunities for voices of all backgrounds and lived experiences to be heard. We are committed to broadening the stories we tell ourselves and others to reject centering only the experience of White, Cis, able-bodied Straight narratives that have been upheld so long to the exclusion of other voices. Celebrating our richness demands that we include stories about diverse populations told by diverse populations. We commit to challenging the belief in obstacles that prevent the promotion or production of diverse works.

The Department of Theatre and Dance commits to remaining mindful of our student’s trajectory into the industry as future leaders. Recognizing that our values and actions today will reverberate in how they choose to shape the future.

The Department of Theatre and Dance, to advance changing our institution commits to:

• Dismantle obstacles to students’ educational opportunities including participation in productions.
• Collaborate with the Student Accessibility Resource Center to implement accommodations as a normalized practice.
• Implement greater transparency in season planning, casting decisions.
• Provide access to training that will minimize harm in our community as well as foster and support mechanisms to assist when harm occurs.
• Actively engage with alumni and take meaningful steps to repairing damaged past relationships.
• Actively recruit BIPOC Faculty, guest artists and students.
• Actively work with non-traditional students in unique life circumstances to support educational opportunities including participation in productions.
• Provide sensory accessibility accommodations at performances.