BIPOC Artists In Theatre For Young Audiences To Publish Fieldwide Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Project

BIPOC IN TYA -- a grassroots group of Black, Indigenous & People of Color theatre artists and educators who work in Theatre for Young Audiences nationwide -- collaborated to create ANTI-RACIST & ANTI-OPPRESSIVE FUTURES FOR THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE, to be released on February 8, 2021. The project has 25 contributors and 70 signatories including Michael J. Bobbitt and Nambi E Kelly. It is published in partnership with TYA/USA, the national organization for the Theatre for Young Audiences industry.

"Anti-Racist & Anti-Oppresive Futures for Theatre for Young Audiences is a project framed as an interactive guide familiar to all in the field of TYA, which serves students and families. It is meant to be a starting place for this challenging work and ultimately poses the question: What kind of futures would you like to co-author? We were deeply inspired by We See You WAT, The Living Document, and numerous other movements in the broader theatre community rallying for racial justice," shared Rudy Ramirez, Consulting Director for Antiracism in TYA Initiatives & Project Curator.

The project contains a collection of non-negotiable demands for change and thought questions that point to specific topics. For example, "All executive leadership, board, and staff (salaried and contract employees) must be trained in anti-racism and anti-bias on an on-going basis." Another example is "How can you ensure that the practices and cultures created as a result will be incorporated into a variety of spaces including, but not limited to rehearsal rooms, drama classrooms, and community engagement events?"

Other sections include anonymous anecdotes from BIPOC TYA practitioners, external resources, an interactive glossary, and exercises that require active engagement in community with others.

Upon publication, individual artists, administrators, organizations (both producing and presenting theatres) in the field will be invited to publicly commit to working through the document.

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