Vivid Stage Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement, Goals, Actions

At Vivid Stage, we are determined to represent our neighbors and their personal stories so that anyone entering our universe - artists, audience, students, board and staff - will be truly at home. It is central to Vivid Stage’s mission that we create an inclusive environment on and off stage. This ongoing work requires self-reflection so that we can recognize and address barriers to providing this environment as we grow and change.

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We acknowledge the need to address the systemic issues of inequity and inequality, and are committed to educating our organization, including our audiences, about how to live out the values of empathy, kindness, equity, inclusion and diversity. These values shall be practiced within all aspects of the organization and continually reexamined through an annual review.

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Vivid Stage is committed to being a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, one where all employees and volunteers, whatever their race, culture, ethnicity, age, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic position, immigration path, or faith journey, are valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement in all of our programs and activities. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard. 

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Vivid Stage Commitments:

• Ensure that hiring decisions, including creative teams and casting, reflect the wide range of diverse artists in our community.

• Promote generous and respectful discourse and consideration of diverse perspectives throughout our organization.

• Heighten consciousness of how projects are selected, how works are brought to the stage and who gets to tell these stories.

• Promote and advocate for a culture of safety, diversity, inclusion and equity within the organization.

• See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and the arts communities we serve.

• Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organization progress.

• Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

• Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

• Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

• Expand more diverse participation within our board, staff, ensemble, and committees, including providing growth opportunities for young professionals in all areas.

• Lead with respect and kindness. We expect all participants in Vivid Stage at every level to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

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Vivid Stage Action Items:

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Internal Practices

• Staff and board members have participated in DEI training, and we are committed to expanding our DEI training throughout the organization.

• We are committed to inclusive and diverse hiring practices, including actors, creative team, and staff throughout the organization. This includes reviewing and examining job descriptions through an inclusion/equity lens.

• Include a salary range with all public job descriptions.

• Expand and update our employee handbook to include diversity, access, equity and inclusion priorities, as well as providing accommodations for a diverse pool of potential staff members.

• We are continuing a process to diversify our Resident Acting Company.

• We are pursuing and hiring diverse young professionals to offer learning and growth opportunities in all areas of the company.

• Our policy is that interns and assistants, as well as all other professionals, are compensated to the utmost of our ability, and within the framework of our budget and size.

• We are committed to ensuring that work practices are respectful of each individual’s needs, including flex time, days off, limiting business communication hours, etc.

• We pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies.

• Share quantitative and qualitative research related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress toward our diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. 

• Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the diversity of American society.

• Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.

 

Programming

• We are committed to producing diverse programming, including work that reflects the experiences of underrepresented voices.

• We commit to providing opportunities for a diversity of artists and audiences to participate in our programming in a variety of ways:

  • We have established Dreamweavers, a collective for young, diverse playwrights to share and support each other's writing, including development opportunities for their work.

  • We seek and exhibit the work of BIPOC visual artists in our lobby throughout the season.

  • We partner with community organizations such as Empowering Kids to offer free theatre classes to local students who receive free or reduced meals at school, or who would benefit from a bilingual environment.

  • Our senior programming is available to travel to residences and organizations whose members are unable to come to the theatre.

• We commit to investigating and enhancing inclusion for all artistic processes.

• We regularly review, and when possible, expand access services for our audiences and participants.

• All mainstage shows offer assisted listening, and audio description, large print scripts, advance materials and digital materials are available upon request.
   

Community Engagement

• We are committed to and currently are engaging with diverse communities and community leaders, not only through our programming, but through building relationships in the community. We are committed to bringing our programming to whomever would like to participate.

• We consistently seek funding to allow all who are interested to participate in performances, programs and educational offerings.

• We are continuing to build relationships with individuals and organizations that focus on disabled and special needs communities.

• We offer a variety of free and discounted tickets for all programs.

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Diversity: race, culture, ethnicity, age, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic position, immigration path, or faith journey