Parity Productions Unveils New Mission Statement and New Name for Artists Database

Theatre production company Parity Productions, a producer of new work that ensures they fill at least 50% of the creative positions (playwrights, directors, and designers) on their productions with women, trans, and/or gender-expansive artists, has a new mission statement:

Parity Productions promotes parity by empowering women, trans, and gender-expansive artists in theatre.

In fulfilling their mission, they:

- Commission and develop original plays
- Produce and promote the work of playwrights, directors, and designers
- Provide opportunities for underrepresented voices to work in theatre

"This new mission statement has come out of a very in-depth process of conversation and review with our Board," says Parity's Founder and Artistic Director, Ludovica Villar-Hauser. "We feel it gets quite succinctly to the heart of what we do, and we're beyond pleased to share it with the industry."

Parity Board Member Mel Wymore, commenting on the shift in gender language reflected in the new mission statement, notes that the term gender-expansive "point[s] us to go 'beyond the current [binary] model' toward a more inclusive sense of gender."

To reflect that shift in gender language, Parity Productions is also rebranding their celebrated database of NYC theatre artists: The Women and TGNC Artists Database is now The Parity Database.

The Parity Database is a free online resource Parity Productions provides to the New York City theatre industry to create visibility for women, trans, and gender-expansive artists and provide easy access to them for artistic leaders who seek to create more equitable hiring practices for creative teams, with a goal of more NYC productions meeting Parity's 50% gender parity hiring standard. Parity Productions also hires artists to all its own creative team positions through the Database.

"When putting together a team for a new show, [The Parity] Database is usually my first stop. They've made it very easy to find many qualified artists in just about every discipline," says Tony Award-winning theatre producer Cody Lassen. "It saves so much time to have one source to visit rather than spending hours Googling and asking colleagues for recommendations, and it has introduced me to some wonderful colleagues I might not have known about or found on my own."

Parity is actively adding Parity Database profiles during the COVID-19 theatrical shutdown, as one way Parity can support the New York artists who continue to create and make the performing arts accessible through even the most challenging periods, and to best champion these artists when live theatre returns. Artists interested in having a free profile in the database can complete this form at theparitydatabase.org. Database artists must have at least one full production credit in NYC (with at least one designer distinct from director/playwright) and be available for work in NYC.

Parity Productions is New York's theatre company that is dedicated to developing and producing new work and committed to filling a minimum of 50% of the creative roles on their productions with women, trans and/or gender-expansive artists (playwrights, directors, and designers) and offers a slate of free programs to encourage the rest of the industry to do the same. Stay informed of their work by joining their mailing list or following them on social media at @parityprods.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!