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Friday, November 11, 2022
Theatre Washington joins 24 arts service organizations in collective statement of support for Nataki Garrett
DC Theater Arts: Theatre Washington, along with a coalition of members of the Association of Performing Arts Service Organizations across the United States and Canada, has released a statement of support and solidarity for Nataki Garrett, artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
5 comments:
Maureen Pace
said...
Via the world of this news blog, I’ve been following this news about Nataki Garrett. I’m glad that these theater and arts organizations across the country have been showing their support for her. The statement talks about artists as “the forefront of imagining new worlds”, pointing to Garrett’s new direction for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: a direction that includes new, diverse voices. The predominantly white Oregon area around OSF did not like this, and in came the racism and misogyny in many forms, including threats on her life. Infuriating but unsurprising that as soon as a Black woman came into leadership and started bringing OSF forward on its path, people got up in arms about her leadership. The response has been so blatantly gross, you would think people would take it seriously from the get-go. I cannot wait to see what direction Garrett takes OSF in, and can’t wait to be in the audience supporting it.
The solidarity is a very kind sentiment, but I wish it didn’t have to exist at all and people could feel free to produce works they find to be important. Theatre is about sharing stories, so this feels like the cruelest attempt at censorship. I have had the chance to see some productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the community seems so lovely and accepting that it’s seriously upsetting to see someone/some people threaten a leader of the arts like Nataki Garrett. I hope that the theatre company is helping to fund her security team. It may seem excessive, but after the horrific shooting at Chatauqua, it seems like individuals in even a beautiful, fruitful home for the arts can be in danger. I hope this does not continue to be a pattern as theatres have been such a safe, comfortable place for many of my fellow theatre people and I.
I actually learned a small bit about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival while doing research for my Anti Racist and Equitable Theatre Practices class, so this was interesting to read. We see time and time again that society doesn’t want Black women in positions of power, and we see that repeated for Nataki Garrett. I really like how they said they are “particularly alarmed and disgusted by the layers of misogyny and racism that underlie the threats against Ms. Garrett’s life.” The use of the words alarmed and disgusted really conveys strong feelings and a call for action. It is important for people to realize that this hatred does come from racism and misogyny. As much as we would like to think the theatre world is exempt from those issues, it is most definitely not. The fact that she is receiving death threats because people are mad about her directing the festival is already enough evidence that change needs to happen.
It’s upsetting that Garett receives death threats for trying to uplift other artists of color and women. Garett is yet another woman of color in a position of power in an industry in America that is heavily white dominated. I appreciate the other theatres and organizations that stand behind Garett to form the sense that the theatre community is collectively moving towards an equitable future and in solidarity with POC artists. Flowery descriptions of theatre can tend to make theatre sound like a place that accepts the misfits and the oddballs artsts that come together to make melting pot productions of people when in reality it’s laced heavily in white privilege. Differences tend to only be celebrated when its convenient when in reality they should be celebrated all the time because thats beneficial to everyone. The fact Garett needs personal body guards to comfortably work in her status in the industry is disheartening and I hope changes within the near future.
This is now the second article I have read regarding Nataki Garrett and the death threats she has received as the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare festival, and I am glad to hear there are some steps being taken to support her. It felt like last time many people in the community were putting it off and not taking her real threats seriously. This letter not only shows support but also that her community from all around the United States stands with her and will not condone the racism and misogyny that is targeted towards Nataki. I like how firm and specific the message was rather than some “thought and prayers” sentiment that I feel like we’ve seen time and time again. The fact that it was from 24 different organizations speaks volumes, so I’m hoping that this news creates more awareness and pressure for people to make changes so Nataki and many other people won’t face this harassment in the future.
5 comments:
Via the world of this news blog, I’ve been following this news about Nataki Garrett. I’m glad that these theater and arts organizations across the country have been showing their support for her. The statement talks about artists as “the forefront of imagining new worlds”, pointing to Garrett’s new direction for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: a direction that includes new, diverse voices. The predominantly white Oregon area around OSF did not like this, and in came the racism and misogyny in many forms, including threats on her life. Infuriating but unsurprising that as soon as a Black woman came into leadership and started bringing OSF forward on its path, people got up in arms about her leadership. The response has been so blatantly gross, you would think people would take it seriously from the get-go. I cannot wait to see what direction Garrett takes OSF in, and can’t wait to be in the audience supporting it.
The solidarity is a very kind sentiment, but I wish it didn’t have to exist at all and people could feel free to produce works they find to be important. Theatre is about sharing stories, so this feels like the cruelest attempt at censorship. I have had the chance to see some productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the community seems so lovely and accepting that it’s seriously upsetting to see someone/some people threaten a leader of the arts like Nataki Garrett. I hope that the theatre company is helping to fund her security team. It may seem excessive, but after the horrific shooting at Chatauqua, it seems like individuals in even a beautiful, fruitful home for the arts can be in danger. I hope this does not continue to be a pattern as theatres have been such a safe, comfortable place for many of my fellow theatre people and I.
I actually learned a small bit about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival while doing research for my Anti Racist and Equitable Theatre Practices class, so this was interesting to read. We see time and time again that society doesn’t want Black women in positions of power, and we see that repeated for Nataki Garrett. I really like how they said they are “particularly alarmed and disgusted by the layers of misogyny and racism that underlie the threats against Ms. Garrett’s life.” The use of the words alarmed and disgusted really conveys strong feelings and a call for action. It is important for people to realize that this hatred does come from racism and misogyny. As much as we would like to think the theatre world is exempt from those issues, it is most definitely not. The fact that she is receiving death threats because people are mad about her directing the festival is already enough evidence that change needs to happen.
It’s upsetting that Garett receives death threats for trying to uplift other artists of color and women. Garett is yet another woman of color in a position of power in an industry in America that is heavily white dominated. I appreciate the other theatres and organizations that stand behind Garett to form the sense that the theatre community is collectively moving towards an equitable future and in solidarity with POC artists. Flowery descriptions of theatre can tend to make theatre sound like a place that accepts the misfits and the oddballs artsts that come together to make melting pot productions of people when in reality it’s laced heavily in white privilege. Differences tend to only be celebrated when its convenient when in reality they should be celebrated all the time because thats beneficial to everyone. The fact Garett needs personal body guards to comfortably work in her status in the industry is disheartening and I hope changes within the near future.
This is now the second article I have read regarding Nataki Garrett and the death threats she has received as the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare festival, and I am glad to hear there are some steps being taken to support her. It felt like last time many people in the community were putting it off and not taking her real threats seriously. This letter not only shows support but also that her community from all around the United States stands with her and will not condone the racism and misogyny that is targeted towards Nataki. I like how firm and specific the message was rather than some “thought and prayers” sentiment that I feel like we’ve seen time and time again. The fact that it was from 24 different organizations speaks volumes, so I’m hoping that this news creates more awareness and pressure for people to make changes so Nataki and many other people won’t face this harassment in the future.
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