An EDIAJ Committee was assembled and met from February - June 2021.
The Committee was comprised of a diverse group of TADA! Past & Current Staff, Ensemble Members, Ensemble Parents, Alumni, Alumni Parents, Past & Current Artistic Staff, Past & Current Board Members, Past & Current Teaching Artists, and some funders and partners.
The committee was tasked in reviewing existing policies & procedures, setting timelines and goals, and creating a plan for our continued improvements. Antiracist work is ongoing, and we hope to continue learning and growing in the many years to come.
Please find our EDIAJ plan below:
An Antiracist & Multicultural Organization
Over the past year, TADA! has been unpacking and examining what it means to be an antiracist, multicultural organization and a leader within the youth theater and arts education fields.
TADA! is committed to providing every child an opportunity to create, imagine, learn, and experience the joy of musical theater, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, and immigration status.
We admit that we don’t have all the answers right now, but what we do know is that we must embrace change to reflect the mission, vision, and values of TADA! as it stands today.
“TADA! was founded to bring kids and their families of all backgrounds together to learn and grow through musical theater. I moved to New York City when I was 16, and I had heard that it was the melting pot of America. I thought that all people lived and worked together equally. But that wasn’t true. I found that people stayed in their own neighborhoods which were separated by race, ethnicity, economics, and religion. I wanted to help create the the city I thought I was moving to – create the world I wanted myself and my future children to live in. I wanted to fight injustice and inequality by changing people who came together at TADA!.
I was naive. That wasn’t enough.
TADA! has not done this fully enough. I have not done this. I pledge to do better, and I pledge for TADA! to do better. While our productions are filled with youth and teens of all colors, our staff and our artists are not. This has to change and has to change now and as we move forward. As we start to reopen the space and move forward and be able to hire staff again we need to make sure that we are bringing in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to join the staff.”
– Janine Nina Trevens, Executive & Producing Artistic Director
Ongoing Antiracist Work as an Organization
We’ve updated our board requirements and bylaws and restructured our board plans to be more anti-racist. These updates emphasize the many different ways board members can contribute to the organization that are unique to their personal experience.
The Arts for All Initiative provides free tuition to BIPOC identifying students to attend TADA!’s award-winning arts education classes and theater training programs. Since the scholarship program began in June 2020, 42 additional children have participated in TADA! classes and camps, and no family has been turned away.
The Arts for All initiative includes full-tuition sponsorships, financial assistance, and payment plans. TADA! is firmly committed to the belief that all children should have access to the arts in a safe space, no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or socioeconomic background.
TADA! has launched its brand new Arts Mentorship Program for theater careers beyond onstage. Teen Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Resident Youth Ensemble members will be matched with a BIPOC Mentor who is a theater professional in a career that young people are interested in learning more about and gaining basic experience.
TADA! is diversifying where we post our job offers and actively seeking BIPOC job posting resources so that we have a more racially diversified pool of applicants.
We are working toward having at least 50% of the staff being BIPOC. We know this will take time but this is a major goal.
The TADA! Education Program has completely rebooted its Teaching Artist roster and its goals are outlined in the new Education Overview.
Rebooting the Teaching Artist program included creating a responsive hiring rubric based on TADA! Teaching Artist Competencies. The competencies and rubric will be reviewed yearly and evolve based on the programming needs for the fiscal year. Through this process, we ensure we are serving and supporting the changing needs of our students, schools, and department.
As an antiracist and multicultural organization, we value and amplify the voices, imaginations, knowledge, cultures, and leadership of black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). TADA! is committed to hiring BIPOC Teaching Artists who align with our mission, vision, and department values. It’s important that our students work with mentors and role models that reflect the communities we serve.
TADA! Staff is offering teen-led forums for our Resident Youth Ensemble Members to have an outlet to discuss current events and the state of our world.
As a staff, we have been examining our existing culture within TADA! to begin making changes, including an ongoing anonymous anti-racism feedback form for better reporting of and responses to incidents
We have also attended many trainings and webinars on what anti-racism actually means and how we can change individually, as an organization, and within our communities.
For more Educational Resources on antiracism and Black Lives Matter, click here.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Justice
One of the steps we’re taking now to help support and expand our actions is crafting an EDIJ (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice) Plan to make TADA! more inclusive and equitable.
The EDIJ Committee is being assembled now, with meetings planned from February through June 2021. The Committee will be comprised of a diverse group of TADA! Past & Current Staff, Ensemble Members, Ensemble Parents, Alumni, Alumni Parents, Past & Current Artistic Staff, Past & Current Board Members, Past & Current Teaching Artists, and some funders and partners.
The committee will be tasked in reviewing existing policies & procedures, set timelines and goals, and create a plan for our continued improvements. Antiracist work is ongoing, and we hope to continue learning and growing in the many years to come.