Anti-Racism Action Plan

Since our inception, Vineyard Theatre has been guided by our core values of integrity, creative risk taking, and nurturing a diverse community. We recognize our unique power as theatre makers not just to reflect the world we live in, but to help create the world we want to live in.

We aim to continue building an equitable and just foundation for ongoing work, and an organizational culture that creates a truly welcoming safe space for all artists, staff, and audiences; a space that is vibrant with creative possibility and opportunity for BIPOC artists to collaborate and rejoice in all that theatre can be and do.

Vineyard Theatre is committed to fostering an environment that is conscious, healthy, respectful, and empowering for all members of our community. We understand that the impacts of systemic biases, including racism and sexism, have shaped our broader culture, and the theatre industry is no exception. As an organization committed to collective liberation, we aim to actively create a space where all individuals are treated with dignity, where our differences are celebrated, and where everyone feels safe to be their authentic selves.

To create a more secure foundation for an anti-racist culture to flourish and to increase accessibility for our community we make the following commitments:

Artistic Representation
We continue to prioritize ambitious projects for development and production that are generated by BIPOC artists and that employ a large number of BIPOC artists.

We actively seek out and build new relationships with both emerging and established BIPOC generative artists, and continue to invest in meaningful, long-term relationships with BIPOC artists.

We continue to expand our residency programs to create more paid support for the generative process, including time with designers and other creative team members.

We created the Colman Domingo Award, seeded in 2019 and launched in 2020, an annual yearlong residency for a Black male-identifying multi-hyphenate artist to create new work.

Production
We remain committed to identifying, supporting, developing and premiering new work by BIPOC artists and artists from marginalized communities.

We work ardently to build meaningful relationships with both emerging and established BIPOC designers, stage managers, and creative collaborators and to connect them with all of our directors and playwrights as we build creative teams.

We commit to hiring culturally competent designers and wardrobe personnel as well as intimacy and fight coordinators.

We invite artists into marketing conversations to help shape the vision for promoting the show and inviting audiences in.

In 2020, we eliminated ”10 out of 12” tech rehearsals and developed our rehearsal schedules in collaboration with the creative team and stage management team.

Native American Land Acknowledgement
In our lobby and our rehearsal rooms, we name and acknowledge the indigenous lands upon which we gather as well as the indigenous peoples who have lived or currently live there. We honor tribal sovereignty and self-determination. We provide resources to our artists and audiences to learn more about and connect with Native American communities in New York.

Access to the Field and Paid Entry-Level Experiences
All internships at Vineyard Theatre are paid.

Office Hours is Vineyard Theatre’s monthly program designed to connect us with artists who do not have representation. These meetings offer a low-pressure space for artists to introduce themselves, share what excites them creatively, and to meet the Vineyard team. Monthly meetings are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Participants may sign up by submitting a resume to artisticprograms@vineyardtheatre.org

Every year, as part of a generous grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and with the support of our Good Neighbor Program, we are able to offer a limited number of subsidized rehearsal space rentals at $10 per hour for qualified non-profits or fiscally-sponsored individuals. We encourage small non-profits (those with an annual budget under $750,000), BIPOC artists and BIPOC-led organizations, and emerging artists who have yet to receive an Off-Broadway production to apply.

Building Community
For every mainstage production in our season, we host at least three Affinity Nights which are intentionally curated evenings designed to celebrate and center the experiences of a specific group or community. All tickets for Affinity Nights are at a reduced price.

For every mainstage production in our season, we offer an ASL interpreted and Mask Required performance.

Through our Pay-it-Forward program we partner with community organizations to provide completely free tickets to mainstage productions in our season, particularly for first-time theatregoers. Past partners have included The Point, Westbeth, Artistic Freedom Initiative, among others.

Through our Good Neighbor Program, we provide Community Supported Tickets to all mainstage productions in our season, allocating at least 18% of tickets for every performance at an accessible price point.

For many mainstage productions in our season, all tickets to the first week of previews are at an accessible price point.

Board and Staff Culture
We actively recruit BIPOC board members to increase representation.

We commit to continuing honest examination of our work culture with our full staff, and to making changes that foster trust and a healthy work environment.

We affirm our commitment to these actions, and to working thoughtfully and consistently to create meaningful change in our company. The dictionary defines the word ‘Vineyard’ in part as “a sphere of activity, a place of action and labor.” As a sphere of activity for theatre artists and audiences, we recognize our responsibility as artists and citizens to truly be a place ‘of action and labor’ to create the field we want to work in, too. We share these commitments in order to foster transparency and accountability, and will continue to evaluate how we can better serve our community.