www.broadwayworld.com: Primary Stages issued a statement in which the organization declared, "WE WILL NOT COMPLY," in response to new mandates from the National Endowment for the Arts. According to the statement, the new requirements, derived from executive orders issued by The White House, prohibit any arts organization that accepts or applies for NEA funding from operating programs that "promote diversity, equity, and inclusion" and from using federal funds to "promote gender ideology."
6 comments:
We live in a scary time. People have spent years working hard to make sure that everyone has a chance to succeed, and many have been yelling so that the stories of people who have been historically silenced can be heard. All this hard work has improved the lives of many. However, there are people, specifically the President, who are instead trying to get rid of the effects of this hard work. I am fortunate enough to currently be taking Anti-Racist and Equitable Practices in Theatre, and am being given the tools to successfully analyze and comprehend what is happening. But even without the class, it is clear to see that we are taking not steps, but leaps backwards in progress. This can be incredibly disheartening. But seeing something like this happen, where people are standing up and saying no, gives me hope. It is so interesting to see how a simple act like this can be so profound and inspiring. The arts has prevailed and pushed through hard times before, and we will absolutely do so again.
DEI includes but is not limited to: age, gender, race, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, culture, parental status, veteran status, and whether or not you’ve been arrested or have a felony. Most of these are simply conditions of the human race. To be human is to have one or more of these in your life. Because these are a part of the human condition, that is what humans write about. What does it even mean to not have any programs that promote DEI? Does that mean the people behind creating it can’t have any elements of DEI? Does that mean none of the actors hired can have any of the elements of DEI? Or does it just mean the play itself? If a performance that starts with angst, hate, and misunderstanding ends with angst, hate, and misunderstanding, what was the point of the production? If the goal is not to grow, change, and understand, then what is the point?
Theater is one of the industries that keeps diversity as one of its pillars. Without diversity within theaters, there would be whole communities who would feel as though they have no representation in media. Without government funding, I fear that many of the theater companies that pride themselves on diversity will fall behind and even go bankrupt. While I am proud of Primary Stages and all other companies that are taking a firm stand against the new executive orders, I understand how some theaters will be forced to comply with these rulings. This feels like a very sink-or-swim moment for many theaters, standing fast in their morals or putting them aside to make sure they don't go under. I hope that the pushback from the community will be able to change things, but I am not very optimistic in this regard. It is my belief that in times like this we as a community must do our best to help those in our community that are being alienated by the government.
Theater is something that keeps diversity alive. It promotes equity inherently because it gives everybody a chance onstage to share a story equally. Theater is something that brings all kinds of people together. There’s just no way they would want to comply with such an idiotic and restrictive and invasive policy such as trumps executive order. I wish that people against DEI would be proud about their beliefs and say the words “I am against diversity. I am against equity. I am against inclusion.” Because that’s what they’re saying!! And the argument that DEI is unfair is just a testament to how uneducated people are. They did not learn the history. Either that, or they did learn it and they ignore it and are happy to repeat it. This article gives me hope though, I am happy to see that some organizations are protesting it at least, rather than lying down and taking it
Dei being hounded in industries across the country truly is a sad thing to hear and witness, theatre thrives off of the ethnic differences of the people who perform and who create as well taking that out would only be detrimental to everyone in the industry and would take away opportunities to those who could of done great things if they were given the allotted space and time. It seems like we were finally getting to a point where dei was normalized in the workplace so this is just a huge step back for years of progress. I hope that theaters can continue own with their practices but it’s inevitable that some theaters won’t make it through these new policies and that is truly disheartening, I hope that we can move past this time period eventually and dei will have its place back in every workplace
This is a powerful statement and a good example of what we need more of in today’s world. It is especially powerful considering the lump sum that they were expecting over the next year years - if such an organization, that would stand to significantly benefit by bending the knee, can stand up and say no, so can other organizations. The new governmental policies are nothing but tyranny at its finest. Primary Stages’ refusal to comply is a good sign that peoples’ voices are being heard at the highest levels of big organizations. I wonder what forms of alternative funding - besides grassroots efforts - can and / or should assist in this situation. It is very obviously deplorable that the federal government is barring funding for projects that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender “ideology”. It is not shocking, but if someone had told a younger version of myself about that which is happening in the present day, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to be myself.
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