BLM and Diversity Commitment   Concrete Actions  Mission   Shared Core Values

BLM AND DIVERSITY COMMITMENT

Please read our apology and commitment statement.

We understand that statements without concrete actions are performative, so please check out our list of concrete actions below:

CONCRETE ACTIONS THEATRE ARTS IS TAKING TO MAKE OUR PRACTICE AND SPACES MORE INCLUSIVE

Spring 2017

• Faculty have a mandatory group session on sexual harassment
• Added sexual harassment definitions and reporting structures to Production Safety Briefings
• Initiation of the Ghost Light Project and connection to the national movement https://erollie.wixsite.com/ghostlightlab.

Fall 2017

• Hiring of Dr. Natashia Lindsey who’s scholarly work is in Race and Performance
• Creation of the Theatre Advisory Board; a peer-elected board of students to offer peer-to-peer support fielding student issues within the Theatre Arts Department. Student representatives from this group start attending faculty meetings and participate in season selection discussions and voting.
• TAB created production check-ins both at mid production and at the end of the productions
• TH 380: Race and Performance (Lindsey)

Winter 2018

• Addition of daily check-ins to rehearsals
• A focus on mutual consent in the rehearsal hall
• TH 380: Youth Drama (Esquivel)
• TAB created production check-ins both at mid production and at the end of the productions

Spring 2018

• TH 380: Bodies in Performance: Fatness and Disability (Lindsey)

Fall 2018

• Consent-based practices are included in TH 244 Basic Acting I. (Rollie) Actors are taught the skills they need to have conversations with their scene partners.
• Intimacy direction is added to TH 329 Directing I (Rollie)
• TH 380: Theatre and Performance of/for/by LGBTQIA+ Folx (Lindsey)
• Restructuring of Theatre History, I and II, to include a historiographical lens and diverse theatre outside the Western Canon (Lindsey)

Winter 2019

• Intimacy direction is added to TH 429 Directing II
• TH 380: Latinx Theatre (Esquivel)

Spring 2019

• Active Bystander Training
• TH 380: Theatre and Performance for Social Justice (Lindsey)
• “Props Master” is changed to “Props Artisan” in show programs in order to address concerns regarding a gendered title.

Fall 2019

• Dr. Emily Rollie becomes department intimacy coach for all Central Theatre Ensemble productions: Stupid F##king Bird, Holiday Inn, Short Works Festival, The Wolves, Into the Woods
• New class created: TH 385 Race and Performance, cross listed as ABS 385
• ESCALA HIS (Hispanic Serving Institution) Higher Education Training (Barrigan)
• Addition to Season Selection: goal to make roles match student demographics (roles of color vs. “neutral roles”)

Winter 2020

• TH 380: Latinx Theatre (Esquivel)
• Adopt Chicago Theatre Standards for Into the Woods (Dougherty)

Spring 2020 (Online due to COVID-19)

• TH 380: Theatre and Alternate Realities (Lindsey)
• ABS/TH 385 Race and Performance (Lindsey)
• CAH Diversity Advocate Training for college-wide faculty hiring practices (Lindsey, Rollie, Stahl)
• Selection of a season where the roles reflect better student demographics (Roles of Color vs. “Neutral Roles”). Season announcement delayed due to COVID-19 modality uncertainty for coming season.

AY 2020/2021 Training Goals:

• Department Microaggression, Disability 101, and Safer Spaces training through the Diversity and Equity Center (DEC)
• Theatre History sequence foregrounds Paulo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and looks at diverse representations of historical moments in performance, with attention to silences in the historical narrative as well as exploring works by women and BIPOC artists. (With a plan to add more indigenous artists in History III in spring 2021)
• Ghostlight Lab Series is revising and honing its mission to focus more specifically on diversity and BIPOC representation as well as making community connections.

Fall 2020

• Faculty Syllabus for becoming Anti-Racist
• Develop department expectations to de-colonize play selections for required class readings
• Begin restructuring department curriculum to address racism
• Have faculty add anti-racism clause to syllabi
• TH 380: Mixed Race Performance and Representation (Lindsey)
• Work with library/facilities to have the Orientalist CTE image removed from/remediated at the CWU Library
• Remove racist imagery from Green Room and develop a proper contextual vehicle that acknowledges its history but does not support or condone its meaning

MISSION:

We are a dedicated group of teaching/artist/scholars who closely mentor our students’ learning as they develop collaborative artistic skills and techniques, connecting art with life as engaged members of society.

Mission Updated Spring 2020

Department SHARED CORE VALUES:

Inclusion/equity/diversity We are dedicated to creating a student-centered environment by encouraging student representation (voices) in decision making thereby empowering our students to become self-motivated artist/scholars.

Collaboration: Collaborative communication and mentoring (1 on 1 interactions) allow for artistic and intellectual risk taking.

Safety/ Wellness: Safety and Wellness practices include developing current Consent and Resilience practices and pursuing a healthy Life/work balance.

Public practice: We believe theatre is a multi-faceted public practice encompassing interdisciplinary approaches, community engagement and can influence the world in positive ways.

Inquiry/curiosity (supported): Self-discovery (“sandbox” learning spaces) that embraces a variety in practice includes expanding explorative practice and a hands on, practical approach to artistic and scholarly work with the community, creating engaging spaces.

Respect: Respect for oneself and each other includes: Civility and Humility in all interactions and positive reinforcement to nurture each other as real, awesome humans. (Don’t be an asshole). Critique necessary for growth should be compassionate.

Reflection: In order to continually improve, reflective, continuous assessment and adjustment is necessary.

Well-rounded education: Experience, Skill acquisition, Critical and creative thinking and problem solving, in all possible areas of theatre lead to success: professional, personal, artistic, and scholarly.