Update on anti racism
Last week, we posted this statement on social media:
We stand in solidarity with Black colleagues, friends, neighbours, donors, artists, stakeholders, storeowners, doctors, lawyers, politicians, firefighters, carpenters, dentists, restaurateurs…all Black citizens who are fighting to live with the freedoms and opportunities promised by a democratic society. While we remain physically distanced and, to some degree, sequestered from each other, we acknowledge that some of us are afraid of making mistakes in this moment—we might say the wrong thing or post the wrong link. But we must do better, and in doing better, we will risk making mistakes by taking action and by stating our unreserved support for and solidarity with the oppressed. To err is human, but to do nothing about racism is not an option. You, too, can support the Black Lives Matter imperative now.
This week, we added another paragraph:
Although GCTC was founded on a platform of social justice, we acknowledge that this company is a beneficiary of systemic racism. We are undertaking an assessment of systemic racism in our organization and we will use this information to take action, internally and externally. To this end, we are compiling resources on racism and anti-oppressive practice that will support our entire staff, board members and volunteers as we move forward. Regardless of physical distancing measures, our full-time staff is meeting regularly to implement this work without interruption, and we will provide updates, here on our website and on social media. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out directly to Eric Coates, artistic director, or Hugh Neilson, managing director.
Next week, I wish that I could add a paragraph about the progress we have made in a short time, but as soon as I type those very words—“progress” and “short time”— I recognize how offensive they are to those who have been fighting racism for generations. As this self-proclaimed progressive company, which is dedicated to social justice, undertakes an internal audit of its own contribution to systemic racism, the action itself drips with irony, which is precisely why it is so important for us to face the music for which we were not prepared. And now, we are trying to balance the need to take discernible action with the need to understand the depth, complexity, and consequences of said action.
The actions in the following list are small relative to the task ahead, but it’s important to name them as individual steps to decolonize a company for whom colonialism is embedded in its very name. There, I said it. The Great Canadian Theatre Company, founded and named by progressive artists, with a commitment to social justice, is, in itself, an obstacle to Indigenous artists who have a sovereign identity. As you can see, we have some work to do.
Current and ongoing responses:
Dedicating resources, time, and space to assessment of internal systemic racism
Adopting an anti-oppressive, anti-racist platform for staff meetings, which are no longer led by senior staff members
Amending our outgoing email signatures and social media posts to focus on Black Lives Matter, including a link to donate to the organization
Assembling a resource library of anti-racist materials, accessible to all GCTC staff and stakeholders. Please note that we do not want to simply cut and paste material supplied by other organizations, but commit to reading it ourselves prior to sharing
Increasing hiring of BIPOC designers, directors, actors, playwrights, and stage managers, who are consistently under-represented in GCTC’s productions
Committing to financial compensation for racialized participants/contributors in our systemic racism assessment
Committing to overhaul our audition and hiring processes
Providing support and advocacy for our colleagues and partner organizations to fight systemic racism. We will do this by boosting each other’s activities and statements via social media, by continued participation in townhall meetings conducted by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), and by individual participation in anti-racism organizations, ad hoc groups, and actions
Partial list of past and ongoing actions that reflect GCTC’s operation:
Twelve women and three men comprise GCTC’s Board of Directors
The Executive Committee of our board (Chair, Co-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary) is composed of four women, three of whom identify as BIPOC
Our board’s Governance Committee is currently creating a succession plan to ensure that board recruitment prioritizes equity for under-represented communities
We practice gender equity in our seasonal programming. Although individual shows may not reflect this, we ensure that, over the course of each season, we achieve gender equity for playwrights, directors, actors and stage managers
Our current strategic plan prioritizes increased opportunities for BIPOC artists and for audience members from under-represented communities
In May, a team of eight GCTC employees conducted thirty-five online meetings with independent artists and companies in Ottawa. Our goal was to determine how GCTC can best share its resources with the independent theatre community, particularly during this time of crisis
Thank you for engaging with us. We maintain our statement of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and we salute all who have been fighting this fight for generations.
Eric Coates, artistic director, GCTC
If you have comments that you'd like to share, please reach out directly to Eric Coates, artistic director, or Hugh Neilson, managing director.