Wednesday, October 20, 2021
How to Be an Antiracist Theatremaker
AMERICAN THEATRE: As live, in-person theatre begins to return, many artists and administrators are focusing on the ways they can make this moment count—to come back to a changed industry rather than business as usual. In September, New York City’s Playwrights Realm gathered of a cohort of theatre professionals to wrestle with the question, What Does Anti-Racist Producing Look Like? Led by Hope Chávez, the four discussed the many ways they’re seeking to embrace a values-centric approach to putting on a show.
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One of the reasons I was so drawn to CMU, was the school’s desire to engage in anti-racist coursework. However as mentioned in the article, simply calming to be antiracist is not enough. Many organizations have a long way to come, and it is evident that change is beginning to take place. I was however drawn to CHÁVEZ’s quote on speaking as if adjustments have been made for POCs, without asking them for their needs directly. He says, “Well, I know what you—person who shares a different identity than me—are going to need, and I feel really great that I planned for it, and now I’m going to get defensive when you tell me what I did for you is not what you were looking for.” I really appreciated his self-realization and thoughts on asking a person directly for what they need. I believe this is something we all should practice more and as white people we definitely should make sure that we are not doing what is best for us, but instead what is best for those who are already disadvantage by the theatrical institution on the basis of race.
I loved the specificity of this article and how it focuses on the tangible ways producers can be anti-racist theater makers. I also love the simplicity of it: the producers in this article have no intention of getting it right on their own. They acknowledge that their responsibility is showing up with all they have and opening the doors for people who know more than them to ask for what they need. It’s about a culture of caring that allows people to feel safe enough to make serious progress in art. As Teo says, “if you’re not doing antiracist producing, you’re doing racist producing.” The pervading consciousness of accountability, transparency, compassion, and disruption of power is what distinguishes anti-racist producing from racist producing. I hope that as the theater industry moves on from years of reckoning with a changing world, more producers learn that doing no harm is not enough. It’s essential that theaters commit to anti-racism every step of the way.
I loved the specificity of this article and how it focuses on the tangible ways producers can be anti-racist theater makers. I also love the simplicity of it: the producers in this article have no intention of getting it right on their own. They acknowledge that their responsibility is showing up with all they have and opening the doors for people who know more than them to ask for what they need. It’s about a culture of caring that allows people to feel safe enough to make serious progress in art. As Teo says, “if you’re not doing antiracist producing, you’re doing racist producing.” The pervading consciousness of accountability, transparency, compassion, and disruption of power is what distinguishes anti-racist producing from racist producing. I hope that as the theater industry moves on from years of reckoning with a changing world, more producers learn that doing no harm is not enough. It’s essential that theaters commit to anti-racism every step of the way.
(Sorry!! I accidentally posted this anonymously the first time)
Anti-racism is the constant practice of resisting racism, not an identity. I appreciated that this roundtable of directors focused on the actions, especially actions that resist white supremacy culture. Directors are actively enforcing a hierarchy of power, simply as a result of the roles they play in theatre. The question is how exactly they combat that--directors mentioned including artists and designers in the production process, ‘trust the people, trust the artist’, pre-production check-ins, budget transparency, and more. People should show up in spaces understanding how they show up--how are they parts of dominant culture? How are they not? Understanding this helps us navigate spaces where white supremacy is inherent in a more mindful, more equitable way. A lot of these practices are small practices, some are bigger, but the ‘institution’ is made up of smaller actions that we as individuals can change within our day to day interactions--setting aside pride to clarify pronouns and names if one forgets, treating people with respect, apologizing when one makes a mistake and being better in the future, and more.
One central idea that’s discussed in this article is being proactively anti-racist, which is different from being non-racist. Racism is a battle that we, unfortunately, have to keep fighting continuously, and that means we consciously and constantly challenge “the specific concepts, the specific context of racial capitalism in this country”. As theatre makers, we also need to think for others around us — the performers, the crew, the designers, what are their needs? And think about how we can be helpful in accomplishing their needs. Budgeting, for example, is one method that was mentioned in the article. But at the same time, it is important to fully understand the issue and structure of the workplace prior to jumping in and just trying to fix everything. Harm prevention, although important, does not catch all conflicts, so we must also focus on the relationship repair that is to be done after harm is done.
I think this discussion really nails down why producing anti-racist theater is not something that can be taught. Every person and every experience is different. Coming up with procedures for what is “anti-racist theater” often leads to people getting defensive when their procedures fail, which is inevitable. I think it is much better to make it known in your company how to report incidents and provide feedback and promote consistent self-reflection. I also don’t think it is a bad idea to host trainings, but I think those trainings should focus on people within the company itself providing feedback and having an open dialogue about how things can be adjusted to be more anti-racist. Something that one person of one race feels is anti-racist might not be enough to another. I think it is a futile and damaging effort to operate under the belief that there is a right way to do any of this. Just as there is no exact right way to accommodate a disability, there is no exact right way to correct our system to eliminate racism. There needs to be a safe and clearly laid out procedure for approaching an issue and requesting a change similar to the path for receiving accommodations.
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