How Audiences Can Help Broadway Become More Diverse
Theatre-makers can’t dismantle white supremacy in the industry without your assistance
Now, due to the ongoing global protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd (yes, they’re still going!), there’s a massive chorus of Black (and other) voices asking, “Why is everyone on and backstage white?”
And we’re going to keep on asking.
Diversity in theatre isn’t just a win for artists of color; it offers audiences richer experiences. If theatre really wants to hold a mirror up to society, it must present more than just white-centered stories. Even when you see Black bodies on stage, the Black perspective is often erased because there are so few people of color making major creative decisions.
That’s why Black theatre artists have suffered so much abuse in silence, from ignorant microaggressions to out–and-out racism. But over the past six weeks, we’ve been talking, flooding social media with tales that would have probably meant career suicide just a few months ago. This isn’t a trend; this is a demand. The marginalization of Black Lives is over, in the street, in society and on the stage.
So, what will it take to diversify the theatre and dismantle white supremacy in the industry? Holding predominantly white institutions and theatres and producers and directors and other decision makers accountable. And that’s exactly what Black artists are doing while also starting their own initiatives to raise up their peers.
“I can’t be out on the streets with my three-month-old, but I can sit on my computer and call people in power to do something besides tweet empty PR stunts,” says Janice Rosario, a dance-maker and teacher at The Ailey School. Rosario has called on the CEO of her NYC apartment complex to provide mentorship programs for youth living in the nearby lower-income housing development. It’s not shouting “No justice, no peace” or chaining oneself to a gate, but digital activism still has an impact. Social media pressure is the reason why so many theatres all over the city started opening their lobbies and bathrooms to protesters.
Donja R. Love, an award-winning Afro-queer playwright living with HIV, says people kept asking how they could help. So he sent out tweets soliciting donations via Venmo, and turned around and gave the money to Black trans women “on a no-questions-asked” basis. Imagine if arts-funding organizations operated the same way, offering incentives to companies that presented shows written, directed and performed by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) creatives? That would be an effective way to force the industry to stop prioritizing white-made work.
Protesting white supremacy isn’t just about marching against police brutality, or demanding equitable funding for education and social services, or spending money at Black-owned businesses. It’s also about supporting theatre made by diverse creatives because Black Art Matters.
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Top image: The author. Photo by Todd Williams.
Juan Michael Porter II