• OUR CONTINUED EDUCATION AS  INDIVIDUALS AND AS AN ORGANIZATION, including training in equity, diversity, and inclusion; we are dedicated to making these and other educational resources accessible to our students on an ongoing basis;

• USING OUR PLATFORM TO DEVELOP AND AMPLIFY THE VOICES OF BIPOC ARTISTS, and to promote the creation and celebration of their work;

• WORKING TO INCREASE THE PRESENCE OF ARTISTS OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLACK ARTISTS, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY; we will begin by hiring additional POC to our staff and faculty, and working continuously to create a safe, anti-racist space to be shared by students, artists, and staff;

• IDENTIFYING, CONFRONTING, AND ADDRESSING THE BARRIERS IN ATTENDANCE THAT KEEP BIPOC PEOPLE OUT OF OUR CLASSROOMS AND SPACES; including the creation of a brand new Scholarship Fund to cover tuition for Black artists and POC in both our Adult and High School programs;

• CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT WHERE OUR COMMUNITY CAN COME TOGETHER FOR OPEN DISCUSSIONS; and calling on the white people within our community to acknowledge their own racism, decenter themselves, and actively engage in anti-racist practices;

• MAKING IMMEDIATE AND SUBSTANTIAL DONATIONS TO HARLEM STAGE (@MYHARLEMSTAGE), THE OKRA PROJECT (@THEOKRAPROJECT), AND CAMPAIGN ZERO (@CAMPAIGNZERO); and donating a portion of the proceeds from each and every Actor Therapy session to these and other meaningful organizations moving forward;

• AND ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WHATEVER WE DO IS A LIFELONG PRACTICE, AND WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH.

Yours in solidarity,

Actor Therapy

P.S., have you heard about Actor Therapy’s #GreatBrightWay Scholarship for BIPOC, differently-abled, and transgender students?
Find out more here.