Last summer the live theatre industry’s commercial trade association, the Broadway League, plucked Gennean Scott (she/her) from Omaha, Neb., to fill a newly created position as the League’s first director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Hired from a national search conducted by Arts Consulting Group, Scott has been tasked with helping the industry navigate a more socially conscious time, when more equitable representation on- and offstage is becoming an increasingly non-negotiable requirement.
Friday, November 05, 2021
Gennean Scott: Broadway Can and Will Change
AMERICAN THEATRE
Last summer the live theatre industry’s commercial trade association, the Broadway League, plucked Gennean Scott (she/her) from Omaha, Neb., to fill a newly created position as the League’s first director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Hired from a national search conducted by Arts Consulting Group, Scott has been tasked with helping the industry navigate a more socially conscious time, when more equitable representation on- and offstage is becoming an increasingly non-negotiable requirement.
Last summer the live theatre industry’s commercial trade association, the Broadway League, plucked Gennean Scott (she/her) from Omaha, Neb., to fill a newly created position as the League’s first director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Hired from a national search conducted by Arts Consulting Group, Scott has been tasked with helping the industry navigate a more socially conscious time, when more equitable representation on- and offstage is becoming an increasingly non-negotiable requirement.
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Gennean Scott really sounds incredible. She has the perfect background in both performing arts and dismantling bias and promoting equity to succeed in her role of EDI director for the Broadway League. I hope she's supported in her endeavors, and doesn't receive too much pushback as she takes steps to make Broadway more fair and inclusive. The article some weeks back about Karen Olivo leaving Moulin Rouge piqued my interest again about how Broadway specifically doesn't take care of its BIPOC population. I'm not surprised to see that Scott was asked about this, but she respectfully swerved the conversation away, which is fair. The amount of projects and alliances that Scott is also a part of in Omaha and beyond is stunning and overwhelming just to think about! It's clear how much she cares about the arts and EDI as a whole. I'm so excited to see what her next steps are.
Gennean Scott's interview about being the first diversity, equity and inclusion director of the Broadway League is incredible. Her work in the past, especially her DEI work in the past, shows that she has been able to tangibly change the actions of institutions. This gives me more hope that she will be effective at the Broadway League level. One thing she said that really resonated with me was the joy she felt when she saw people like her onstage. When she went to New York in her late teens after winning a talent competition, she went to see Five Guys Named Moe--everyone onstage was Black. She says, “It was just mind-blowing to see that there are other people of color who actually love dance and the arts”. I had this moment myself when I had the chance to see the 2019 Asian Art Biennial. This exhibition made me truly understand that Asian, non-white, and non-Western educates artists are able to similarly create innovate, evocative work. Here at CMU Drama, my biggest inspirations are the people who look like me. They make me feel less alone and give me reassurance that I will not be alone in the future. Successful DEI work is rooted in joy, and that joy comes from this sense of community.
It's encouraging to see how optimistic Scott is about the progress that they are making and that she thinks the Broadway League will continue to make. So often, it seems like hiring and EDI director is the last step for organizations. It's "oh, we put someone in this position with this title, so we're equitable now." I've seen a lot of frustration from people in those positions or who have been in those positions that they show up and then don't have much actual power. Maybe Scott is just putting on a brave face for the interview, but she seems genuinely like she feels that she's able to make a difference, and that those around her are listening to her and supporting her. That's really encouraging and important. I hope that she also has a staff and isn't just one person. I guess we'll see over the coming months and years if these changes are really sticking.
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