statement of values
This Statement of Values is a working document. We invite you to reach out with feedback via email or through the form at the bottom of this page and look forward to continuing the conversation. In consideration of our evolution as a company and as individuals, we will continue to update this document accordingly. The statement below includes additions that reflect the feedback we have received and changes we have made since posting our most recent Statements of Values on 10.18.2020 and 9.13.2021.
Thank you to our collaborators and BIPOC leaders in our community who continue to offer expertise and guidance in re-envisioning what theater-making might do.
With gratitude,
Amy, Kate, and Zahydé
Co-Producing Artistic Directors
Current Statement of Values as of 12.26.2023 :
We are an organization committed to artistic and operational evolution even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.
We hire devisors (including but not limited to: actors, designers, dramaturgs, and administrators) who reflect the themes and stories with which we’d like to engage.
We make productions that are as accessible as possible for both artists and audiences. To the best of our ability, we commit to the below minimum standards for accessibility:
Rehearsing and performing in spaces that are physically accessible for people who use assistive technologies.
Explicitly communicating the accessibility offerings we are providing in advance of rehearsals and performances.
Providing written descriptions and directions that allow artists and audiences to assess their access needs when planning to attend a rehearsal or performance. We welcome communication about specific accommodations.
Our rehearsal rooms and theatrical productions will be as safe as possible for everyone involved. As a devising company with an evolving leadership model, we create work collectively through a culture of safety, trust, equity, and accountability. These are the actions we are taking and will continue to take:
We always pay our collaborators for their time, artistry, and labor, and increase pay as much as we can as we grow the company.
We invite collaborators and audiences to bring their whole selves to the room and respect the boundaries they set on every given day.
We create channels for artists and audiences to reflect on their experiences of inclusion and safety with the after-image. In addition to open conversation, we welcome anonymous feedback.
As of our current project, we have implemented a process by which collaborators may voice concerns to an Independent Contractor outside the artistic process. This chain of command exists for artists to report problems with greater anonymity and without fear of losing their employment or any other sort of retaliation.
We are committed to providing a working environment in which all interpersonal relationships are based upon respect and dignity and are free from sexual harassment. We do not tolerate sexual harassment in any form, and any collaborators found to be in violation of this sexual harassment policy shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination.
As leaders, we will continue to engage in professional development to grow in areas including: practices that advance racial justice and equity, accessibility and disability knowledge, theatrical intimacy direction, COVID compliance, and OSHA regulations.
We commit to building our company as a pro-liberation organization. These are the actions we are committed to taking:
As we grow, we will continue to delineate a system of checks and balances that exists independently from company leadership.
As our company capacity increases, we will meaningfully invest in the communities in which we live and present work. We will build partnerships with community organizations and local businesses, and will aim to add value to the people and places with whom we engage every day.
Within the next 5 - 7 years, we will bring on 1 - 2 co-producing artistic directors of color so that we (Amy, Kate. and Zahydé) are co-leading the after-image with artists who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
When we appoint a board, at least half of the board members will be Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
When we make mistakes, we will take ownership for them, apologize, and educate ourselves to move forward with more awareness and competency.
All of our artists will receive our Statement of Values along with their contracts.