Tuesday, October 19, 2021
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD Hires Patricia Dayleg as Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
www.broadwayworld.com: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has announced Patricia Dayleg has joined the company as Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. She officially begins in the newly created role today, October 18th following ten years in government and community-based nonprofits.
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3 comments:
I have always thought theatre productions should have a position dedicated specifically to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I think it should be required for a production, but I wasn't sure how well this would be picked up by or integrated into commercial theatre. Theatre is an old art form. It is often grounded in tradition, so changing the structure of how it works often poses as a challenge. However, I think this is a wonderful step forward! This will not only introduce those who have not considered this position as something that could exist or is necessary to this concept, but will also help normalize this position in general. I believe it is a necessary position, because as we have discussed in our anti-racism class, if you create theatre that is not actively working to be antiracist, you will be racist in some way due to internal biases. Whether it is intentional or not, it still causes harm, and having a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion can prevent this.
I think it is great that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hired a Director of Equity, Diversity and inclusion. I hope that this position is able to bring a lot of good to the workplace of that show as well as the hiring process for future employees of that show. I do wonder though if there are shows that have this position from before the show begins its process and they are able to help create the inclusive and safe space for everyone from the start of the project. I am also wondering what power this person will have to change anything that is already going on the show because this show has been running for so long and there are so many people on it who have already been hired, so I am sure there are some practices that continue to happen or already happened that were not ideal.
To be frank, the induction of a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into such a large scale, mainstream production is long overdue. In fact, this should be a part of all theatre production companies. And with the Harry Potter franchise in particular, this seems particularly necessary given the series’ creator JK Rowling’s problematic history regarding DEI. The details and logistics of this newfound position aren’t really explained in depth in the article, which was a bit disappointing; it’s very important to be transparent and informative when it comes to the topic of challenging prejudice. It was interesting and helpful to read through the career and experiences of Patricia Dayleg as it was made very clear why she is qualified and suitable to take on such a job. I will say however, the lengthy descriptions of the cast and plot of the play was somewhat unnecessary and it would have been more beneficial and enlightening to instead speak more extensively on the position of Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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