DEI & Community Resources

The Broadway Women’s Alliance is committed to supporting and broadening diversity, equity and inclusion in the theater community. Below are additional organizations doing important work in this area to support artists of color, women, and underrepresented voices in our industry.

PRODUCING

The Producer Hub

The Producer Hub is a connective space for independent producers, artists, producing/presenting organizations and other arts workers creating live performance. The Producer Hub strives to align its mission with and amplify the work of other groups and programs across the field who share our passion for supporting producers. The Producer Hub’s ultimate goal remains equipping the independent and creative producer community with a plethora of options so that their possibilities are unencumbered by access, a lack of transparency, or scarcity / exclusivity. Though centered on the professional development of the producer, the Producer Hub seeks to be a connective space for any stakeholder in the making of live performance. The Producer Hub prioritizes exchange as a means of learning, and values and facilitates relationship building at all levels. https://www.producerhub.org/

Creative & Independent Producer Alliance (CIPA)

Creative & Independent Producer Alliance (CIPA) is a US-based network of independent and creative producers who are dedicated to developing and supporting new live performance works across artistic disciplines. CIPA’s mission is to support and sustain the work of independent and creative producers and the artists and projects they produce by creating visibility and community, identifying and dispersing resources, and providing tools and advocacy for building new live works and sustainable practices across genres. CIPA encourages producers of all ages and stages of their professional career to join. Currently, CIPA is free to join, with open, self-selected enrollment at any time. https://www.cipausa.org/

ARTS EDUCATION

Broadway For All (BFA)

Broadway For All (BFA) is a Manhattan-based national organization providing young artists and stakeholders in entertainment with the programming, community, and vision to build a more inclusive and powerful arts industry. Founded in 2012 through Harvard University’s Presidential Public Service Fellowship program, BFA initially set out to diversify the stage and screen through a free intensive summer conservatory prioritizing education, access, and exposure. Today, BFA operates its flagship conservatory, including tracks in Digital Content Creation, Dramatic Writing, Musical Theater, and Drama; “BFA 365” to coach students applying to arts education programs; and “Access For All,” to connect historically excluded communities to experiences in theater and arts entertainment. http://www.broadwayforall.org/

BIPOC-SPECIFIC

Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC)

Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC) is a multifaceted collective of theatremakers joined together in support of the next generation of BIPOC producers by providing access to education, training, and mentorship. TPOC’s flagship educational initiative, Producing 101, introduces students to the fundamentals of commercial producing, connecting a network of BIPOC and White ally producers to a cohort of aspiring BIPOC producers. This tuition-free training aims to create a safe space for a community of BIPOC producers to learn, grow, and develop together. https://theatreproducersofcolor.org/

The Industry Standard Group (TISG)

The Industry Standard Group (TISG) is a multimedia commercial investment and producing organization with an intentional focus on promoting work reflecting diversity, increasing the presence of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) investors and producers in the commercial producing field and expanding the access and opportunities granted to BIPOC communities within the industry. TISG’s mission is to give existing and potential BIPOC investors, producers, artists & theater makers opportunities to participate in the financing and producing of projects; fostering more equitable, diverse, and inclusionary representation in the commercial industry of the arts & entertainment; to disrupt and change the opaque norms of the commercial producing industry in NYC (and beyond), as well as distribute power and influence across the field; and to cultivate and support BIPOC investors and producers as well as BIPOC-led projects and initiatives. https://www.theindustrystandardgroup.com/

Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA)

Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA) is dedicated to creating racial and cultural equity in the performing arts field, by promoting professional opportunities for arts administrators and providing a platform to give voice and visibility to women of color. By working to fortify leadership and reinforce a world where everyone has a seat at the table, WOCA aims to cultivate an inclusive field, one as varied in voice and perspective as the communities it serves. WOCA works diligently to move the conversation of racial and cultural equity forward with the intent of creating equitable systems for all to prosper inside and outside of the arts. WOCA is a people-powered, members-driven, fiscally-sponsored service organization which works to advocate for and provide professional support to arts administrators. WOCA serves as a forum to share and provide unique opportunities for learning and development among peers and exists as an incubator for the exchange of diverse ideas and creative practices in the arts field. https://www.womenofcolorinthearts.org/

Broadway For Racial Justice (BFRJ)

Broadway For Racial Justice (BFRJ) fights for racial justice and equity by providing immediate resources, assistance, and amplification for BIPOC in the Broadway and Theatrical community at-large. In doing so, BFRJ helps to create safe spaces throughout the theatre community for creativity and artistry to thrive. https://www.bfrj.org/ 

Artists for Economic Transparency (AFECT)

Artists for Economic Transparency (AFECT) was formed in June 2020 by Karen Olivo and Eden Espinosa on the heels of continued violence and injustice against Black, Indigienous People of Color. Conversations were started in response to the racism that is prevalent in the American theater and it came to light that prominent Broadway names had repeatedly contributed to political candidates and movements that directly contradict the ideals of many artists in the industry. Armed with this knowledge, Olivo and Espinosa vowed to withhold their artistic services from “any theatre, company, or persons who would knowingly fund organizations that perpetuate inequality”. https://www.afectchange.org/ 

Broadway Advocacy Coalition

Broadway Advocacy Coalition builds the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities to dismantle the systems that perpetuate racism through the power of storytelling and the leadership of people directly affected. Founded in 2016 by members of the Broadway community as a direct response to the nation's pandemic of racism and police brutality, it has since grown into a multi-disciplinary organization uniting artists with legal experts and community leaders to have a lasting impact on policy issues including criminal justice reform, education equity, and immigration. https://www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/ 

Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC)

Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC)’s mission is to expand the perception of Asian American performers in order to increase their access to and representation on New York City’s stages. AAPAC publishes the only publicly available annual statistics report on racial representation in the NYC area of its kind, and has been a leader in discussions and forums on diversity with artistic institutions and the Broadway community. In 2020, the company was given an Obie Award for advocacy in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion. The expanded 2017-18 report would not have been possible without the generous support and partnership of the American Theatre Wing. www.aapacnyc.org 

The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA)

The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists (CAATA) envisions a strong and sustainable Asian American theater community that is an integral presence in national culture—evocative of our past, declarative of our present, and innovative towards our future. CAATA’s mission is to advance the field of Asian American theater through a national network of organizations and artists. CAATA collaborates to inspire learning and sharing of knowledge, and resources to promote a healthy, sustainable artistic ecology. As a collective of Asian American theater leaders and artists, CAATA brings together local and regional leaders to work nationally toward our shared values of social justice, artistic diversity, cultural equity and inclusion. CAATA holds national conferences and festivals biennially in different parts of the country, reaching as wide a range of Asian American populations and communities as possible; surveys Asian American theater artists and organizations to find out their foremost concerns; and forms alliances with other theater groups of different affinities to advance mutual goals cooperatively and to exchange ideas and strategies. http://caata.net/ 

Black Theatre Coalition (BTC)

Black Theatre Coalition (BTC) was founded by T. Oliver Reid and Warren Adams during the Summer of 2019. They identified the disparity between the growing inclusivity onstage, versus the almost non-existence of Black professionals off stage. They invited their colleague, Reggie Van Lee, to join them as Co-Founder in their march towards dismantling the systemically racist and biased ideology in the theatrical job space. BTC’s mission is to remove the “ILLUSION OF INCLUSION” in the American Theatre, by building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals. BTC’s vision is to reshape the working ecosystem for those who have been marginalized by systemically racist and biased ideology. https://blacktheatrecoalition.org/ 

Black Theatre United (BTU)

As members of the Black theatre community, BTU stands together to help protect Black people, Black talent and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country. BTU’s voices are united to empower its community through activism in the pursuit of justice and equality for the betterment of all humanity. This call to action is just the beginning. It was the latest manifestations of police brutality that galvanized Black Theatre United into being. With roots reaching into all 50 of the United States this coalition can harness invaluable political scope and influence. To elevate a cause or to overturn policies that target black people in any one state or community, the group will draw on members with local connections to use their visibility and influence for good in theater and on the national stage. https://www.blacktheatreunited.com/ 

The Asian American Arts Alliance (A4)

The Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and cultural organizations through resource sharing, promotion, and community building. Since 1983, A4 has sought to unify, promote, and represent the artistic and cultural producers of one of New York City’s fastest-growing populations. We are a diverse alliance of artists, organizations, and arts supporters who believe that working together as a pan-ethnic, multidisciplinary community is essential to nurturing the development of artists and arts groups. A4 serves as a thoughtful convener of the Asian American cultural workforce around issues of race, identity, and artmaking and provides a critical voice for this community. We are the only service organization in the country dedicated to the professional development of Asian American artists in all disciplines. https://www.aaartsalliance.org/ 

The POC Theatre Industry Email List

The POC Theatre Industry Email List is collecting information from POC folks working in theatre on the other side of the table from artists-- from the worlds of producing, artistic, literary management, general management, marketing, press, education, production management, development, finance/HR, agencies/management, etc. The email list will be accessed by Natasha Sinha (Playwrights Horizons), Alexis Williams (Playwrights Realm), and Kevin Lin (CAA), in order to send invitations for in-person and virtual POC Theatre Industry Happy Hour events and POC Industry Channel events. Feel free to share this form with others who would like to be invited-- the group wants everyone to know about this, so that they can talk about theatre together, create new relationships, deepen existing relationships, and join forces to develop better models for POC artists! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdiQyreSnwahk9lnkv-RaaY_jZhRTRHJGBg42j6UuNnpxu53w/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3ZgNh48s_euVzO7t8Hy8YftUl1fIv1EfFyGBP8Iz00QmCUmq1dLOgFgsk 

Theatre Folx of Color

Theatre Folx of Color is a group of theater folx on Facebook and in the U.S. who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). A brave space to provide support and connect with others who share similar experiences working in and around PWIs (Predominately White Institutions) and in and around IOCs (Institutions of Color). An intentional act of joy, faith, and celebration. A radical place to unite around common concerns and plan collective direct action. https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecrewrevolution 

ANTI-RACISM TRAINING

Conscientious Theatre Training

Nicole Brewer’s work exposes the shape-shifting quality of racism in theater, and provides a framework for theater organizational culture to transform to fully inclusive and anti-racist through the use of conscientious theatre training. Nicole believes unceasingly that our collective liberation is tied to one another and the way forward is together. Her workshops are taught through her unique perspective as an actor, director, and facilitator. Each workshop is designed to be an engaging mixture of theatre games, anti-racist theory, self-reflection and collaborative exercises that model for participants what anti-racist theatre looks like through conscientious theatre training. Her workshops are based in holistic practice and designed to meet the needs of individual organizations. The typical length of workshops range from 3 hours to several days. https://www.nicolembrewer.com/