Letter from Cary Players’ President, Debra Grannan on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Dear Theatre Community,
After 20+ years of producing plays and theatre workshops, Cary Players is excited to embark on our upcoming season, and share information about changes we are implementing. As the recently elected president, I felt this was also a good time to reintroduce ourselves to the community, sharing who we are and how we are evolving.
Cary Players is a not-for-profit, artist-in-residence group, performing at the Cary Arts Center. Approximately 20% of our funding comes from a Town of Cary grant, 75% is from ticket sales and the balance is from donations and advertising. We have an all-volunteer board of directors, with no paid staff currently. For most of our shows, we contract with external directors and production crew members. (Over the years, we’ve had 26 different directors, 50% of them women.)
Since our founding in 2001, we have strived to be a place where all are welcome regardless of age, ancestry, color, religion, ability, gender expression, identity and sexual orientation. Our first core value focuses on respect for anyone involved with us, on stage or behind the scenes.
Even with past accomplishments and good intentions, we realize we need to do more. While auditions have always been open to everyone, many of our past play selections did not offer specific opportunities for underrepresented groups, especially people of color. We also realized that a statement of anti-discrimination was missing from our public messaging. We’ve added that important message. It’s time for us to put our good intentions into other actions.
For several months, our board has been meeting with leaders of other theatre companies to learn from their efforts and achievements related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
This summer, we are hosting a “Conscious Casting” workshop series to inform our board members, directors, and others in the community about inclusion for people of varied abilities and to promote awareness with casting and play selection.
We are actively seeking new board members, volunteers and professional educators to bring a fresh perspective to play selections, educational programs and community outreach.
During the welcome event for each show, we will continue to describe our core values and let cast and crew members know they can reach out to our board members with any concerns.
Education, outreach to underrepresented populations, and being more visible in our efforts are important steps to providing an environment where everyone feels safe, welcome, and respected. This will take time and ongoing effort. We also welcome the support and feedback from others in the community. If you have concerns or ideas to share, please reach out to me, any of our board members, or directly at info@caryplayers.org. Let’s continue to support live theatre together and learn from each other.
Sincerely,
Debra Grannan
June 29, 2023
