Delaware Shakespeare

Delaware Shakespeare website

Donate Now!
  • Home
  • Performances
    • Summer Festival: The Tempest
      • Tickets – Summer 2021
      • Festival Schedule & Activities – Summer 2021
      • Cast & Creative Team
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Behind The Scenes
      • Hospitality Tent Packages
    • Community Tour: Twelfth Night, A New Musical
      • Tour Performances
      • Studio Performances
      • Cast and Creative Team
    • Shakespeare, Poe & Fiends
    • Shakespeare + St. Valentine’s
  • Learning
    • Community Cornerstone: Merry Wives Jam Session
    • The Bridge
    • Nancy B. Lynch College Apprentice Program
    • High School Internships
    • Juvenile Justice Acting Classes
    • Education
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Advertise
    • Sponsor
  • About
    • Vision, Mission, and Values
    • Diversity
    • Arts Journalist Insights
    • Sponsors & Partners
    • Donors
    • Production History
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Jobs
  • Contact Us

Anti-racism Next Steps

August 21, 2020 by William Shakespeare

In late May, Delaware Shakespeare released an anti-racism statement in support of the Black Lives Matter protests against the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and too many more members of the Black community.

In the following days and weeks, the theatre industry, along with many other industries in our country, has engaged in a process to look within itself and identify how it is complicit in upholding structures of white supremacy. Delaware Shakespeare has joined in this process, and acknowledges these actions are far too long in coming.

Delaware Shakespeare acknowledges and expresses gratitude to BIPOC theatre artists for their labor in driving these necessary actions and the demand for accountability.

As we move forward, Delaware Shakespeare commits to becoming an anti-racist theatre, which, in the words of Nicole M. Brewer, promotes “anti-racist ideas, values, and policies that counter the oppression of any people” during every aspect of our work.

We recognize that central to this process for Delaware Shakespeare is asking the question, “In what ways can a theatre dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare, often held up as the epitome of white European culture, authentically and consistently advance principles of anti-racism?”

In the short-term, Delaware Shakespeare has taken the following steps to turn its Black Lives Matter statement into action:

  1. Held June 30 online discussion on “Othello and Systemic Racism” with Lindsay Smiling and Newton Buchanan, which raised $1,400 for the Delaware Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow.
  2. Hired four part-time associate artists for the duration of 2020 through NEA CARES Act grant, two of whom are BIPOC artists. Associate artists will be developing and implementing COVID-safe programming.
  3. Begun a six-week staff and board book study of Ibram X. Kendi’s “How To Be An Antiracist” as part of YWCA Delaware’s “Dialogue to Action” program (to be completed by end of August).
  4. Scheduled cultural competency training with YWCA Delaware to be held at September board meeting.
  5. Posted current Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-related action steps from 2019-2021 Strategic Plan on website, which includes goal of doubling non-white audience members at our Summer Festival in two years.
  6. Brainstormed diversity metrics that we will measure and report each year (% BIPOC board, staff, actors, creative team members, audience). Retroactive stats dating back to 2016 can be found HERE.
  7. Begun amplifying at least one social media post from a BIPOC arts and culture organization or individual artist each week.

In the long-term, Delaware Shakespeare has established a board-level working group tasked with developing anti-racism policies within six months (by the end of January 2021). This process shall include, but not be limited to:

  1. Holding Sharing & Recommendation Sessions with BIPOC artists and audience members to allow for the sharing of their past experiences with Delaware Shakespeare and offering recommendations for improvement
  2. Developing an anti-racism code of conduct to be issued to and accepted by every board member, staff, artist, and production crew
  3. Developing anti-racism board/organizational policies
  4. Compensating BIPOC artists and audience members for participation in developing these policies and participating in the Sharing & Recommendation Sessions
  5. Establishing ongoing anti-racism training procedures
  6. Developing an anti-racism statement to be read at every first rehearsal and annual board meeting
  7. Developing a Land Acknowledgement to be read at every performance, first rehearsal, and annual board meeting
  8. Examining the #WeSeeYou White American Theatre BIPOC Demands; assessing how Delaware Shakespeare has fallen short in creating the supportive work environment detailed in the document; including policies to address shortcomings in overall anti-racism policies

We will share our actions throughout this process, and invite your feedback to these ongoing efforts. We understand that transparency and accountability are necessary to earn the ongoing trust of BIPOC artists and audiences. Delaware Shakespeare intends to build a more just and equitable theatre organization, and hopes that our actions can contribute to larger-scale, positive social change in our community.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Black Lives Matter

View “Anti-Racism Next Steps” Shakespeare is not a voice we naturally turn to for racial justice. There are elements of his work that are problematic for Black artists and audience members. But at his best what Shakespeare tries to do in his plays is to see every person as a full and complete human being. […]

Hip Hop or Shakespeare? Quiz Night

Hip Hop or Shakespeare? Quiz NightFebruary 4 at 7:00pmOnline via ZoomPay-What-You-Decide  Think you can tell your 2Pac from your Shakespeare? Join us for a virtual quiz night to find out. In this fun interactive program, you’ll learn about the surprising connections and poetic similarities between the wordplay of the Bard from Avon and hip hop artists […]

An ancient tale told anew

by Gail Obenreder, Arts Journalist-in-Residence To end a challenging season – an amalgam of virtual events and safely distanced outdoor presentations – Delaware Shakespeare rounded out 2020 with an online reading of a challenging play, William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. After a year spent offstage, exploring the canon’s scenes, monologues, and nooks and crannies, Del Shakes actors […]

Building Bridges Through Culture

by Christian Wills, Arts Journalist-in-Residence The topic around race and culture among Shakespeare productions is an ongoing conversation with those in the theatre. Audience members can gleam onto an actor’s struggle between their true selves and what’s being represented on stage. For Del Shakes, the discovery of what a culturally-specific production is and how impactful […]

Book Drive for Brevity Bookspace

This holiday season, we’re inviting you to take part in a Diverse Book Drive to support Brevity Bookspace, a mobile bookshop that aims to provide all humans of Wilmington with woke words and wisdom! Take a look at this book list of titles by culturally diverse authors, make some purchases (due to COVID-19, Brevity is requesting new books only), and then drop-off at Grace United Methodist Church. Brevity will […]

Shakespearean-esque stories at Fort Christina

by Christian Wills, Arts Journalist-in-Residence Performing arts and Mother Nature go together like cheese crackers and fine wine. Throughout history, many have seen countless outdoor plays; be it on college campuses or outdoor arenas. Many can be seen from up close or in your neighbor’s backyard. For Del Shakes, a similar, yet unique experience was […]

  • New Castle County

    Matthew S. Meyer, County Executive. New Castle County's Rockwood Park is the summer home of Delaware Shakespeare. www.rockwood.org

  • Delaware Division of the Arts

    Delaware Shakespeare is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on delawarescene.org.

  • Janssen's Market

    Delaware Shakespeare is delighted to have Janssen's Market as our Picnic Sponsor. www.janssensmarket.com

  • Highmark Delaware

    Highmark Delaware is our Children's Activity Tent Sponsor.
    www.highmarkbcbsde.com

  • Swigg

    Swigg is our Wine Shop Sponsor.
    www.swiggwine.com

  • Delmarva Power

    Delmarva Power have generously donated assistance and resources to Delaware Shakespeare. www.delmarva.com

Summer Festival Location

Rockwood Park
4651 Washington Street Extension
Wilmington, DE 19809
Map This

Mailing Address

4 S. Poplar Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Phone: 302-468-4890
Contact Us Online

About Del Shakes

We envision a Delaware where people from all walks of life celebrate and explore their shared humanity through the lens of Shakespearean works.
Read More

Links

Buy Tickets
Donate
Volunteer
Press Room

Contact
News
Blog

Copyright © 2021 · Outreach Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in