Who We Are

These Standards were drafted by a diverse collective of LA theatre artists. The group was majority BIPOC, majority female, intersectional, intergenerational, and included representation from the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized populations. We recognize that this document is by no means an exhaustive list, nor does it represent every BIPOC stakeholder; it is a living document that will continue to evolve as we learn new and better ways to build an equitable, sustainable, and anti-racist theatrical ecosystem.

The LA Anti-Racist Theatre Standards were drafted by:

    •  A’raelle Flynn-Bolden (she/her), Actress, Chaos Facillitator, Playwright, BLKLST Founding Member // Black, Queer
    • Armando Molina (he/him), Producing Artistic Director, Company of Angels // Latino, cishet male, able-bodied.
    • Carene Mekertichyan (she/her), Artistic Associate for Social Justice at Independent Shakespeare Co., Co-Founder of Yerazad Coalition // Black Armenian Woman, cishet, able-bodied
    • Celia Mandela Rivera (she/her), Actress, Director, Educator, Artistic Associate st Skylight Theatre, BKLST Founding Member // Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, first generation born, cishet woman, able-bodied
    • Daniel Shoenman (he/him), Artistic Director of The Inkwell Theater // cishet, white, Jewish, able-bodied
    • Desiree Mee Jung (she/her), Actor // Asian-American, cishet woman, able-bodied
    • Graham Wetterhahn (he/him), Founding Artistic Director of After Hours Theatre Company // white, cishet, Jewish, invisibly disabled man
    • Herb Hall (he/him), Actor, Director, Educator, BOD Victory Theatre Center // Caribbean-black, military BRAT, bilingual (English/German)
    • Kendall Johnson (he/him), Associate Artistic Director of Coin & Ghost // Black man
    • Michaela Bulkley (she/her), Executive Director of Unnamed Theatre Project // cisgendered, able-bodied, white, queer woman
    • Nancy Renee (she/her), Co-Founder & Co-Producing Director of Towne Street Theatre, actor-director-producer-costume designer // black, female, 35-year theatre professional
    • Rachel Berney Needleman (she/her), director, producer // Jewish, white, cishet woman
    • Sean Cawelti (he/they), Artistic Director of Rogue Artists Ensemble // white, queer
    • Tiana Randall-Quant (she/her), Actor, Writer, Certified Intimacy Captain, BLKLST Founding Member // Black, able-bodied, cis-gendered queer woman
    • Zach Davidson (he/him), Artistic Director of Coin & Ghost // cishet male, white, able-bodied, very Jewish 

…with additional insight, guidance, and support from over 140 local artists, including: members of the Black, Indigenous, Latinx/e, AAPI (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Indian), and white communities, with intersectionality with the LGBTQ+ community (including trans and nonbinary artists), immigrants, people with disabilities, artists of two or more races, and many, many more. We are incredibly grateful to all who helped create and shape this document.