About me
In an art form as open and welcoming to all as theatre is, diversity and inclusion should be a no brainer. Unfortunately, even as many theatrical companies move to represent a more diverse world onstage through the stories we tell and the actors who tell them, the reality offstage is quite different. While I have always attempted to be open and welcoming to those from different backgrounds than my own in my personal life, this is very different than creating the change we’d like to see in a professional setting. It goes far beyond platitudes and niceties and as a stage manager I work with frequently says about theater making; “Be better, do better”.
As I have furthered my career and been privileged enough to be positions of power, I realized that it takes a conscious effort to create space, have honest dialogue and open opportunities for all but especially for those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. As a founding member of Endstation Theatre Company, I was responsible for recruiting and hiring the lighting and sound interns for our summer seasons. After seeing staggering LORT theatre statistics that 80+% of lighting and sound designers hired are men, I made a deliberate effort to affect change and made sure that at least half of the lighting and sound interns were women and/or people of color. I made similar choices while hiring at RGB Lights in Chicago.
My efforts have continued at Saint Lawrence University where I have continued my commitment to fostering equity and inclusion both in the classroom and backstage. In my design classes, I have students read plays written by playwrights from diverse backgrounds and have made a conscious effort to have my students of color see and interact with working professionals that look like them. By seeing their work, students are exposed to a richer variety of art-making from which to draw inspiration and use in designs. In my stage management class, I had guest professionals visit or video chat with my class and featured a majority of women and/or people of color including David Stewart from USITT’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. I have hired numerous female and racially diverse student workers from my stagecraft class and put them in lead positions in the scene shop and on run crews and look to further their experience off campus through internships and job placements. While many of these steps are small, I hope to continue enact change and to always be better and do better.
