Back in March, OUT LOUD made the call to postpone all in-person programming in a collective effort to keep our ensemble and our extended community safe. While so much has changed since this initial decision was made, supporting and protecting the most vulnerable among us during this global health crisis continues to be our top priority. OUT LOUD will not resume ANY form of in-person programming until it is definitively safe for our collective to do so. While our in-person programming has been postponed indefinitely, our commitment to our ensemble and our community has not. 
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OUT LOUD is dedicated to fostering safe spaces for all artists to create, collaborate, and build community together as we explore and share our collaborative work as an ensemble. These principles are not possible without confirming our commitment to combating and denouncing white supremacy, racism, and bigotry in all of its forms. It is also not possible without addressing the abuses of power within our community and our industry, unequivocally standing with all those who have bravely come forward and demanded sustainable change. We stand with all those fighting against racial injustice, police brutality, and the murder of Black individuals at the hands of the police. We stand with all those effected by sexual harassment, assault, and the expansive and pervasive abuses of power that disproportionally effect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We stand in solidarity and support of all BIPOC ensemble members, communities, and global majority individuals. 

OUT LOUD's commitment to Black Lives Matter, the fight for racial justice, human rights, and all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color must go beyond statements of solidarity or social media postings. Art has the ability to change lives and put a mirror up to the world around us. This is not possible when BIPOC are erased from the conversation. We openly acknowledge that the Theatre Industrial Complex is steeped and rooted in racism, gravely shaped and impacted by harm and abuse. We take responsibility for our many crucial failings and areas of complacency since our founding, fully committing ourselves to immediate and radical change. We recognize our silence has been deafening and that what we hold in our hearts has not been made fully manifest within our policies and within our spaces. OUT LOUD is dedicated to actively and openly combating racism, white supremacy, bigotry, intersectional oppression, sexual harassment, assault, and the abuse of power in all of its forms through our ongoing Anti-Racist commitments and collaborative work, facilitating consistent and holistic acknowledgement, accountability, and ongoing action within our collective moving forward. We commit ourselves to establishing tangible and transparent pathways and policies for “harm reduction, harm prevention, and relationship repair.” (Nicole Brewer, Anti-Racist Theatre) We are endlessly appreciative to our community for sharing their voices and expertise as we work to collaboratively establish OUT LOUD’s immediate plan of action. ​

​This is a living document. It is in no way exhaustive.
​It is designed to be open to ongoing discussion and continuous revision.
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OUT LOUD COMMITS TO: ​

1. Establish Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression work as a daily, ongoing practice, woven into the fabric of our collective. 

We recognize this work is ongoing - not an identity to claim or a checklist to complete. We will continue to reflect, rebuild, and revise every element of our collective through intersectional Anti-Racism lenses, implementing long-term structural changes across the board. This work begins now and will be reflected through our Anti-Racist Principles, our Anti-Racist Ethos (coined by Nicole Brewer, Anti-Racist Theatre), and our commitments to Honoring Native Land (including but not limited to Land Acknowledgements) - all of which will be published to OUT LOUD Theatre’s website in 2022, after mindful and collaborative creation throughout the course of 2021.

Immediate Resources on Anti-Racist Principles: 

• THE PEOPLE'S INSTITUTE FOR SURVIVAL AND BEYOND: ANTI-RACIST PRINCIPLES - "The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond believes that an effective, broad-based movement for social transformation must be rooted in the following Anti-Racist Principles." Learn more here.

• WE SEE YOU WHITE AMERICAN THEATRE: PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING ANTI RACIST THEATRE SYSTEMS - “As the calls for long overdue change sweep every aspect of our society, we as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color theatre workers are meeting the moment, developing a new social contract for our work environments that cares for and sustains our artistry and lives. We insist on this reckoning precisely because of the successes of those artists of color working in the theatre, as those victories have come at a steep cost. Our love of theatre has often meant surviving an industry-wide culture of fear poisoned by racism and its intersecting oppressions. But when we lift the veil of white supremacy, we know how best to support our theatrical expressions, our culture, and ourselves. We are resilient. We carry ancestral wisdom. And so we are ending a war we did not start. We call for transformative measures guided by principles of self-determination, presence, joy, access, protection, transparency and integrity in the spirit of independence from our colonized past and present.” Learn more here. 

Immediate Resources on Honoring Native Land: 

• HONOR NATIVE LAND: A GUIDE AND CALL TO ACKNOWLEDGMENT - ”Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and informed action. But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation.” Learn more here. “Created in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.” Download the #HonorNativeLand Guide​ ​

2. Strive to create and uphold safe and communicative spaces through public, accessible, and transparent Codes of Conduct, Preventative Measures, Supportive Services, and Zero Tolerance Policies concerning/addressing Consent, Sexual Harassment and Assault, Discrimination/Bias, Intersectional Oppression, Bigotry, and the Abuse of Power in all of its forms.
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• These public, accessible, and transparent Codes of Conduct, Preventative Measures,  Supportive Services, and  Zero Tolerance Policies will be published to OUT LOUD Theatre’s website and distributed to all current and future collaborators in 2022, after mindful and collaborative creation throughout the course of 2021.

​3. Ensure representation, equity, and diversity in every OUT LOUD space, committing to collaborate with 50% or more BIPOC artists when assembling our yearly Season Ensembles and roster of Guest Artists, ensuring no all white collaborative teams, and that one or more of our mainstage productions per Season are dedicated to centering BIPOC artists and stories.
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• This work begins now and will be in effect when assembling our 9th Season in 2021. 

4. Establish ongoing ensemble-driven Anti-Racism training and education, holding ourselves accountable as a predominately white collaborative in our collective and ongoing responsibility to educate ourselves and to name and combat racism as we encounter it. 
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• This work begins now and will be developed into tangible formats in collaboration with BIPOC artists and activists, published to OUT LOUD Theatre’s website and distributed to all current and future collaborators in 2022, after mindful and collaborative creation throughout the course of 2021.

5. Encourage each Season Ensemble member to develop their own individual Anti-Racist Ethos (coined by Nicole Brewer) to uphold in every OUT LOUD space. 
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• ​​This work will be in effect when engaging with our ensemble in 2022, after mindful and collaborative exploration throughout the course of 2021, facilitated in collaboration with BIPOC artists and collaborators.

6. Center BIPOC stories and artists through actively developing, producing, and showcasing original and/or devised work with and by BIPOC artists, ensuring that one or more of our Lab Sessions per year are dedicated to centering BIPOC artists and stories.
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• ​This work begins now and will be reflected through our 2022 programming. 

7. Active development and deepening of collaborative relationships with BIPOC communities, students, and programs, ensuring that one or more Collaborative Partnerships per year are dedicated to centering BIPOC artists and stories.
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• This work begins now and will be reflected through our 2022 programming.

8. Establish a diverse Collaborative Board with ensured 50% or more BIPOC representation, centering BIPOC artists and community voices in curating future programming, shaping our ongoing pro-Black, pro-BIPOC, pro-LGBTQIA+, Anti-Racist initiatives and policies, and developing our evolving ensemble methodology to reflect and uphold true intersectionality. 
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• This work begins now and will be piloted throughout 2021 and established by 2022.

9. Expand our Core Ensemble to 10, ensuring that 3 of these Core Ensemble positions are filled by BIPOC artists.
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• ​This work begins now and will be developed throughout 2021/2022, established before the start of our 11th Season in 2023. 

10. Establish a direct pathway for accountability, open conversation, and collaborative growth. 
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​In our commitment toward being a fully Anti-Racist collective, we wish to continually hold ourselves accountable while offering clear pathways to hold open conversations aimed towards collaborative growth. As we continue to develop expansive and tangible formats for these pathways to take shape, we commit to begin with an invitation. As members of our community have collaborative thoughts and feedback on our current Commitments or would like to begin a conversation with our Core Ensemble, we invite you to reach out to us at outloudtheatre@gmail.com (and/or submit a response in the comment box below) to provide feedback, discuss through email, scheduled phone calls, or scheduled Zoom calls. We are grateful to have the opportunity to listen. 

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​In addition, we recognize our failures to address and/or fulfill these commitments in the past and are dedicated to establishing pathways to interrogate and rectify these failings moving forward. We commit to hold ourselves and our organization accountable through ongoing public check-ins and updates to this living document, promoting transparency in our ongoing assessment of our collective. ​If we fail to meet a commitment within the originally projected timelines, we are dedicated to not only voicing and outlining our failings, but continuing the work by establishing updated timelines and ongoing revision of our Anti-Racist Plan of Action.

​To review: OUT LOUD will be publishing additional documents throughout the course of 2022, after mindful and collaborative creation throughout the course of 2021, including our Anti-Racist Principles, our Anti-Racist Ethos (coined by Nicole Brewer, Anti-Racist Theatre), our commitments to Honoring Native Land (including but not limited to Land Acknowledgements, guided by Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement), our public, accessible, and transparent Codes of Conduct, Preventative Measures, Supportive Services, and Zero Tolerance Policies concerning/addressing Consent, Sexual Harassment and Assault, Discrimination/Bias, Intersectional Oppression, Bigotry, and the Abuse of Power in all of its forms, and our current tangible formats for ensemble based Anti-Racist training and education.

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As artists and as human beings we have a responsibility to show up for one another in any way that we can and use any/all platforms we have access to, to be as loud as possible in the face of injustice. Now is the time to show our support for movements and organizations that are holding space for those who are suffering. We must listen. Advocate. Donate. Show up. Educate and hold ourselves and our organizations accountable. We must actively work to dismantle the systems of oppression that our country is founded on - across the board - fighting for representation, equity, and diversity of race, identity, ability, neurodiversity, and sexuality; combating sexism, ableism, ageism, heteronormativity, gender binarism, and transphobia. If our work and our advocacy as artists and as human beings isn't intersectional, it isn't good enough. 

We recognize this is not a quick fix, that the urgency to hold space for the damage and harm we’ve contributed to is vital, and that we will only be able to be effective in this movement through true atonement and ongoing accountability. 

We all have work to do. This is a start. 

With love, 

OUT LOUD