Book From Tape

OUR PRACTICES ON DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

IN REGARDS TO THE CHICAGO THEATRE STANDARDS

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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION GOALS
Book From Tape’s Diversity & Inclusion efforts have 4 main goals:

• ATTRACTING & ONBOARDING – to create a workforce broadly reflective of the larger community, that cultivates artists of diverse backgrounds. 

• ENGAGING & DEVELOPING – to support employees in building the skills and capacity to work in an inclusive manner with one another and with the communities we serve through professional development and on-going training.

• BUILDING THE CULTURE – to build a welcoming workplace in which employees recognize that their unique characteristics, skills, and experiences are respected, valued, and celebrated.

• ADVOCACY - to support historically marginalized groups through outreach and financial support. 

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THE STANDARD 

We make the following commitments to all participants who work with us: 

• When invited to teach, coach, or collaborate, prospective participants have the right to make inquiries about how their cultural personhood will be used within The Studio. Inquiries will receive a thoughtful response and will remain confidential. 

• Sometimes a potential participant discovers in the course of applying that they are uncomfortable with elements as they relate to their personhood. Potential participants have the right to decline offers without fear of reprisal such as losing future opportunities. It is not the participant’s responsibility to explain why they chose to decline an offer. 

• Whenever possible, diversity and inclusion should be considered both in hiring staff and in outreach in course offerings. In particular, we aim to hire coaches, instructors, and assign scripts that can speak to that cultural experience. 

• During a class, coaching session or audition taping, participants should voice concern if they feel uncomfortable with the use of their cultural personhood, which may include: 

  • Staging & Scripted text (culturally based violence or abuse, for example), which was not disclosed or consented to at the time of enrollment. 

  • Accents or dialects or that underscore a cultural representation not disclosed at the time of auditions/casting; 

  • Make-up that can reasonably be described as “black face,” “brown face,” or similar portrayal. 

  • Implied or explicitly stereotyped tropes or experiences of racial trauma

• When coaching scenes of cultural violence, or other culturally charged narratives and language, we will follow the same practice of consent building outlined in the Sensitive Content standard in The Chicago Theatre Standards document. Disclosure of this type of content will be made before scene assignments are given, and the emotional risk associated will be recognized throughout the process. 

• Actors will always maintain the right to decline a scene assignment based off of any conflict that occurs with regards to their race or identity & will receive an alternate option without penalty.

• We seek to address concerns with generosity and humility through the channels of the Concern Resolution Path as outlined in this document. 

 

EXPLORE IT FURTHER 

• Lead Staff should seek opportunities to intern, mentor, include, and professionally engage participants of color at all levels of their organization. 

 

 

ANTI-RACISM STATEMENT

We stand in full opposition to the systematic marginalization of people of color, specifically Black artists. 

We understand that as a part of the acting industry, we operate as a cog in that system. We commit to actively participating in the dismantling of institutionalized racism through disrupting our own biases, forging diverse pipelines, and utilizing a diverse slate approach to our hiring practices.

We are committed to support communities without access to generational wealth both artistically and financially.

We commit to supporting, advocating, and amplifying Black Voices.
We stand for cultivating inclusivity. 

We embrace cultural differences as essential perspectives to be valued.
We believe that our work as storytellers demands we hold a safe space for all.
We understand that we are called to call out racism and inequality wherever we find it.
We hold space for the Black Community and other marginalized communities of Color.
And we open ourselves to deep listening that is long overdue.
We stand with compassion, and hope and a willingness to face some uncomfortable truths about our privilege.
We understand that allyship is a verb, and something that must be committed to daily.