Full Original Keen Commitments Message Posted 10/30/20
For updates on these policies, find our on-going commitments here.
A Note on Keen's Commitment to Serve
Keen Company is acutely aware that we cannot fully live up to our mission of identification and connection until our organization and spaces are safe and welcoming for everyone - artists, audiences, staff, and especially the most vulnerable among us.
On July 8, a multidisciplinary and multigenerational coalition of hundreds of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) theatermakers from across the country released a comprehensive set of demands for moving toward a just and equitable American Theater. Keen Company is grateful for their work in naming the specific ways racism permeates predominantly white arts institutions, including ours. We also appreciate the meaningful education and advocacy offered by groups such as Broadway Action Network.
Inspired by and in support of these efforts, the Keen Company staff has been meeting weekly to discuss the demands detailed in the We See You White American Theater document, in an effort to thoroughly examine our policies and practices.
As a public commitment to become an anti-racist theater, below is an outline of our first steps towards addressing systemic racism at Keen Company. We hope the commitments below serve as a measure of accountability for the work ahead this season. This is a living document, which will evolve and grow along with our staff and organization.
Commitments for the 2020-2021 Season:
To lead by example, the Keen Company Board of Directors commits to the following actions:
Annual Anti-Racist training for all members.
Vote in at least two new BIPOC board members by July 2021.
Formalize a standard leadership succession plan.
Publish all board member bios on the Keen website.
Assist the Artistic Director in cultivating at least two new BIPOC members for our Advisory Council.
To better budget our values, Keen Company commits the following practices:
Annual Anti-Racist training for all full- and part-time administrative staff.
Artist compensation for fundraising events and talkbacks.
Annual vendor audit.
To expand our artistic community and serve our industry and audiences, Keen will continue the work of disrupting our primarily-white networks by:
Prioritizing the hiring of BIPOC staff as positions become available.
Actively seeking out connections with new BIPOC playwrights, directors, designers, actors, stage managers, and technicians. We particularly want to acknowledge the necessity of hiring culturally-competent costume, wardrobe, hair, and makeup personnel.
Deepening relationships with current BIPOC alumni artists across all of our programming.
Committing to increased hiring of BIPOC artists across all disciplines, with an eye on specific targets for future seasons.
To increase transparency, Keen will implement the following public initiatives:
A Land Acknowledgment will be spoken at public events and at the start of each rehearsal process, as well as included in all programs.
Language will be added to all programs welcoming unpoliced audience responses and reactions.
An on-boarding guide for all artists and independent contractors to demystify schedules, contracts, company procedures, and all other expectations.
An annual report including season budget will be published at the end of each fiscal year and available on our website as well as sent directly to all subscribers, individual donors, and institutional funders.
To promote advocacy, Keen has sent letters to the following organizations to address larger systemic issues we cannot tackle alone:
Encouraged Actors Equity to provide annual free Anti-Racist training for all members, allow for flexibility in LOA contracts which would ease the burden of tech schedules, and cover artist mental health counseling under union health plan.
Encouraged SDC, USA, and 802 to provide annual free Anti-Racist training for all members, break down barriers of entry for young BIPOC directors and designers, and cover artist mental health counseling under union health plan.
Encouraged ART/NY to provide free or low cost annual Anti-Racist training for freelancers, on-staff DEI professionals available to consult members, micro-grants for anti-racist initatives, and better efforts to increase engagement with Indigenous theatermakers.
Encourage Theater Row (where we are a resident company) to include a Land Acknowledgement in all program templates as well as posted in the physical venue, commit to Anti-Racism in all its activities, provide anti-racist training for all staff, investigate pro-rated venue rental days to ease the time constraints around tech schedules, and increase engagement with Indigenous theatermakers.
Keen Company is committed to further de-centering whiteness in our Keen Company family and among the artists featured in our Off-Broadway productions, Playwrights Lab, and Keen Teens. Keen Company pledges to continue to educate ourselves on specific and actionable ways to be Anti-Racist. Our mission is to create simple, powerful connections through stories that inspire identification. We can do that only when all are welcome.
Stop AAPI Hate
Keen Company acknowledges and condemns the racism and xenophobia that has grown rapidly in recent weeks, including the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes since the Covid-19 Pandemic began.
We stand in solidarity with the AAPI community, including our Asian American and Pacific Islander colleagues and audiences.
For more resources, please visit Stop AAPI Hate. For resources on de-escalation techniques available in 5 Asian languages (中文, 日本語, 한국어, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt), please refer to the Asian American Foundation.
We See You, White American Theater
Updates as of 10/30/20:
Keen staff continue weekly meetings, which began in July, to discuss the #WeSeeYouWAT demands and strategize next steps on each individual point.
Keen’s Artistic Director and Director of New Work each completed Anti-Racist training in August 2020 with Nicole Brewer.
A meeting dedicated to working through the #WeSeeYouWAT document with full board participation took place on September 9th, 2020. Action items were identified for next steps.
Public statement published on 10/30/20.
Full staff Anti-Racist training will take place in November 2020 and full board Anti-Racist training will take place in December 2020, both conducted by Brian Herrera.
Accessibility
Keen Company continues to work to make our programming truly accessible to all audience members. We currently offer touch tours and audio described performances for low-vision patrons, as well as large print and braille programs and audio guides. We also offer ASL interpreted performances for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons. All venues utilized by Keen must meet ADA accessibility requirements. For specific information on accessibility information for current programming, follow the link below.
Updates as of 09/15/20:
Keen continues to work to make this website complaint with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA.
WCAG 2.1 AA SC 1.4.3 Test for Color Contrast - Pass Complete. Further testing being done by the Bureau of Internet Accessibility.
Hear/Now Season of Audio Theater will be fully transcribed for deaf and hard of hearing patrons.
2020 Census Emergency
Census Deadline Updated to October 31st: It is critical that New Yorkers complete their census before the new deadline of October 31 to avoid an incomplete count. Please remind your family, friends, and neighbors to complete their census at my2020census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020.
Updates as of 10/30/20: The 2020 Census was ended early.
New York City Budget Justice
As a cultural institution, Keen is invested in how the budget of the city of New York is spent. We believe investments in cultural and service organizations are true investments in the life and well-being of the people of New York. Keen is part of a community of theaters for #NYCBudgetJustice, who are inspired by the work of Communities United for Police Reform, a membership organization that has long been leading the fight for budget justice. We are proud to be following their lead with our efforts. We encourage you to contact your city council members and the Mayor’s office to reinvest in our cultural and service organizations. If you are interested in joining us in advocating for budget justice, here is a Google doc with helpful resources.
Updates as of 7/01/20: FY21 Budget has passed. Keen will continue to monitor for more information.
Arts Advocacy
If you’re interested in advocating for the arts and stimulating local, state, and federal support, please visit the below organizations for more information on contacting your representatives.
Contact Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein directly with any questions or concerns at jonathan@keencompany.org or 212-216-0963.