Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2020 - 20

"HAVING BLACK PEOPLE [AS]
PART OF THE TABLE IS A BIG DEAL.
WHERE ARE THE STORIES THAT
SHOW THE RANGE OF BLACK LIFE
AND THE RANGE OF BLACK PEOPLE
AS AMERICANS, BECAUSE THAT IS
WHAT WE ARE. THESE STRUCTURES
NEED TO VARY AND ALLOW FOR ALL
PEOPLE TO BE INCLUDED."
-GARLIA CORNELIA JONES, LINE PRODUCER AT THE PUBLIC THEATER AND FOUNDING
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BLACKBOARD PLAYS

Garlia Cornelia Jones is a writer, producer, and
photographer who has worked to center Black voices
in theatre for 20 years. Currently, she serves as Line
Producer at The Public Theater. Learn more at www.
garliacornelia.com | Photo: Christine Jean Chambers.

And where I'm concerned, [they need to]
allow Black artists to be included."

Disrupting Systems

So, for the theatre institutions looking to
go beyond the statements, what's the next
step? An Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Committee? An antiracism committee?
Think bigger.
"I'm exhausted with all of the antiracism meetings that result in no action,
in too many instances," says Perkins.
"The problem is clear. You have an all
white staff in many cases. Why don't you
hire some Black people? That's the biggest way to solve the problem. We can sit
and talk all day long. If these places were
committed, they would diversify their
staff. Just hire some people"
Bringing in Black people, and not
just one Black person who will then feel
isolated as they deal with institutional
racism, as Perkins notes, but many
Black people, and many people of color
is an important and necessary step in
order to dismantle racism within these
institutions. "If you're serious about

making changes, hire some Black people," says Perkins.
And if you're going to devote time to
antiracism or EDI meetings? You need a
budget for that, as Stewart recommends.
"Far too often, this work falls on people
of color and ED&I committees. They
are oftentimes new to the work and they
don't hold any power or any sway with
upper management. I think oftentimes
these organizations are like 'look, we
have an ED&I Committee, and we made
a statement. Our work here is done,'
when they're not disrupting any systems."
Disrupting systems is how we can radically change these institutions. If you are
going to say you're committed to antiracism, your budget and hiring practices
should show that commitment. Forcing
the "antiracism work" to fall to the very
few people of color in an institution, who

20 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | SUMMER 2020

will not be paid more to do said work, perpetuates the same white supremacy these
organizations claim to be fighting against.
However, despite the fact that this is
not theatre's first time acknowledging its
racism, and despite the fact that institutions should be doing more, there is hope
that this moment can lead to change.
COVID-19 has put a pause on live theatre, and thus we have been forced to sit
at home and really evaluate how we will
move forward, especially in an industry
like ours that won't be quick to bounce
back. "They're [leaders of these organizations] probably looking [and thinking] 'Oh my God, look at all these young
people of all races out here in the street.
They are the future of the American theatre," Perkins says.
Jones agrees, noting that the movement in the streets has caused a reckoning

Amplifying Black Voices
David "dstew" Stewart launched Production on Deck, a resource sharing
website designed "to curate a set of resources to help amplify the visibility of
(primarily) people of color in the arts."
The site includes links to numerous databases of artists in all theatrical
disciplines, resources for dispelling myths and reimaging our industry, and
self-care resources for BIPOC artists. As Stewart writes, "For too long we
have heard, 'Well, there just aren't any out there.' Or, 'We tried, but it just
didn't work.' This site was built to remove all excuses for not being able to
build a diverse and qualified staff at your organization."
Visit www.productionondeck.com.

http://www.garliacornelia.com http://www.productionondeck.com

Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2020

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