When Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) made a statement supporting Black Lives Matter on June 4th, we committed to not just reject white-supremacy, but to become an actively anti-racist company. We hope that you, our artists and our audiences, will join us in that evolution and hold us accountable to that goal as we move forward. We have begun a series of conversations, both internal and external, to develop specific actions we can take in the immediate future while also acknowledging that this process will be long, malleable and has only just begun. We are so grateful to these artists, administrators and supporters, who are already pushing us.
If you want to join that conversation please click here to share your thoughts.
We are committed immediately to the following actions.
- We have contacted an EDI consultant to guide our process as we shift our board demographics to better reflect the diverse community we serve.
- We are committed to raising the funds to support a full time Director of Engagement. “Radical Community Engagement" has been a pillar of SCP’s mission since 2015, but a full time administrator focused on deepening engagement with both our community artists and our audiences is a step we have long needed to take. This member of the administrative team will have a voice and a salary equal to the Artistic Director.
- Since 2015, SCP has been committed to staging Shakespeare plays with casts that reflect the demographics of our city. This has brought many wonderful actors into our work, but it is not enough. We are committed to increasing the number of BIPOC directors, designers and administrators we work with until those cohorts are also reflective of the community where we produce.
- SCP actively partners with local businesses and will increase partnerships with BIPOC owned businesses.
- We are committed to conducting a yearly ethics audit which will keep us accountable to these and future goals. We will begin this process with a gathering of SCP BIPOC stakeholders in the Fall. We are currently a predominantly white staff and need to make a deliberate space for BIPOC artists and supporters to lead our policy as we evolve.
In addition, we are taking this time to construct more robust systems for confidentially giving the company feedback, reporting harassment and/or unsafe conditions. We are grateful to the artists, activists and thinkers, both here in Philadelphia and across the country that have set in motion this transformative process for our community and our nation.