Shattered Globe Theatre’s Transparency Statement

Note:  This statement about the anti-racist work we have done, and the actionable steps we will continue to take, is an ever-evolving draft. We acknowledge that we will never finish doing this work. To reflect that, we will continue to adjust and edit this statement as we progress in our organizational anti-racism journey. Our hope is that in doing so we will keep our audience and community up to date with the work we’re doing, and keep our practices as transparent as possible.

To understand our practices of decision making, refer to this document, which details how we make budgetary, artistic and organizational decisions.

This page was last updated in June 2022.

Shattered Globe Theatre is aware of the deep necessity for anti-racism work in our theater and we are committed to educating ourselves, learning and becoming a more transparent and antiracist organization.  

Since June of 2020, we have noted the call of the We See You White American Theatre collective and listened to the concerns and the righteous anger of many artists and professionals of color with whom we work in the theater community.  We acknowledge that racism and white supremacy are pervasive elements in our daily lives because they are integral to the history of the United States.  We pledge to take decisive steps in an effort to dismantle the legacies of whiteness and thereby to contribute to the creation of a truly democratic and socially just United States.  

Change for the better, along with the creation of truly dignified and humane worlds, is possible. As a theater, we can call upon our artistic and professional powers to enact new possibilities.  Our art can show us the way toward securing the lasting and authentic transformation toward racial equality and social justice that we are determined to pursue.    

We acknowledge that this is a long, ongoing process.  SGT will continue to learn as we commit to the essential work of dismantling racial superiority and all the hierarchies of domination in order to achieve a truly democratic, egalitarian and admirable theater.  

These are the steps we have already taken:
Please note that while we have completed tasks and made many steps forward, this work is ongoing. We continue to work toward and further the steps we have already taken. Many of the things we have already accomplished have been internal to the folks already part of our company. To see a full breakdown of what we are currently working on, both internally and in reimagining our structures & procedures, see below. 

  • We have refined SGT’s Mission Statement, aimed at both more accurately stating our values and goals, as well as underlining the importance of anti-racism work in the ensemble theater space
  • A line item for antiracism personnel and training has been established in the yearly budget.  At present, we know that the added positions will include an “EDI officer” (wording from #WeSeeYouWAT) for our productions on a case-by-case basis, as well as funds for continuing antiracism training for ensemble, board and artists who work with us. 
  • SGT Board, Ensemble and Staff have committed to ongoing antiracism training. As of April 8, 2021, twenty-one ensemble and Board members have attended “Introduction to Systemic Racism” training by CROAR (Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training) to establish a working vocabulary, as well as a basic knowledge of the history of racism in our country and the insidiousness with which racism embeds itself into our social relations; four ensemble and Board members attended a similar workshop led by CROAR; six staff, Ensemble and Board were part of activist/artist Nicole Brewer’s training which established a foundational knowledge of how racism presents itself in our art form. One staff and one ensemble member attended Bystander Intervention & Prevention Training by ALSO (Alliance of Local Service Organizations), and two staff members attended a Land Acknowledgement workshop. And one ensemble member attended Hollaback’s Bystander Intervention to stop anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harrassment. The entirety of SGT’s Staff and Ensemble additionally attended or watched a recording of a personalized training by local Chicago Actor and EDI Consultant Tania Richard at the end of 2021.
  • An SGT Anti-Racism Committee of two staff members, four ensemble members and one board member met weekly June of 2020-May 2022 to develop policy which will be presented to a newly recruited paid Anti-Racism Advisory Committee. This Anti-Racism Committee work continues with the SGT staff who incorprate Anti-Racism practices into our administrative and prodicing work, and facillitated by quarterly meetings with our Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, composed of BIPOC Chicago theatre artists. These artists are paid to share their expertise and opinions, and to help SGT form new policy as we endeavor to permanently diversify the voices in the Ensemble. 
  • Monthly Open Anti-Racism Meetings are hosted for SGT’s Board, Staff, Ensemble, and all who are currently working on SGT productions to present new articles and ideas for our continued education.
  • SGT has surveyed our ensemble, associate artists, the last three cohorts of proteges and all artists who have worked with SGT in the last three years for their input and reflections on the working environment SGT has created.  120 surveys were sent and there was a 35% return.
  • At the begining of 2022 we welcomed in six new ensemble members and six artistic associates who are majority poc artists.
  • In 2021 we launched Global Playwrights Series: a new play development program for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Neurodiverse, and dissabled writers. Five artists (four BIPOC artists) were hired as script readers in addition to AmBer Montgomery, Sandy Shinner and Nate Santana, who are producing the program. We have selected three women of color with workshops and productions in the scheduling process. There were 14 semifinalists which included a diverse range of LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse, and Disabled writers, all of whom we intend to maintain communication with going forward.
  • We have intentionally shifted our season selection process to amplify historically marginalized voices with changes to our hiring and casting practices to prioritize BIPOC artists in all areas of production. Our long-term goal is to have 50% or more BIPOC designers on all shows in our season.
  • We have made steps to decolonizing ticket practices with a waived ticket program.
  • We adjused our tech schedule to eliminate 10 out of 12s.
  • We have created a transparent conflict resolution path for Staff, Ensemble, and priduction teams.
  • We have developed a transparent workplace Code of Conduct and Harm Reduction plan.

What’s next for us? What are we currently working on?

Internal Tasks (Education & work for current Ensemble, Staff & Board members)

  • Creating strategy for consistent EDI/Anti-Racism training for staff, ensemble, board and contracted artists
  • Creating a recurring position as EDI Specialist for each SGT Production. 
  • Creating guidelines for intervention/disruption, specifically for talkbacks.
  • Developing a plan for an annual anti-racism audit 
  • Developing a plan for annual evaluation of executive leadership
  • Developing a succession plan

Tasks to Restructure the Company: 

  • Auditing of all SGT’s vendors will be done to prioritize businesses owned by BIPOC entrepreneurs, local businesses and those who, after researching, support Black Lives Matter and other BIPOC causes.
  • Examining Ensemble Membership and pathways to membership within Shattered Globe. At present, SGT has 28 Ensemble members, 7 of whom identify as BIPOC. The ensemble experience is one of the core values of the theater, and all members recognize the importance of providing access to ensemble membership for BIPOC artists, as well examining the ways SGT’s membership process has historically favored white artists. 
    • This goes hand in hand with a similar examination of policy around Artistic Associates. SGT currently has 18 associate artists, 8 of whom identify as BIPOC. 
    • We are creating a new, transparent policy about roles of Ensemble and Artistic Associates, the path to Ensemble membership, and the company’s relationship with the unique Protégé Program (which already has a written commitment to cast at least 50% of artists who identify as BIPOC). 
    • It is our goal to continue to expand membership in a thoughtful, intentional and sustainable way, while continuing to support the ensemble and welcome and collaborate with more BIPOC artists. 
  • Researching and creating connections with Indigenous groups and organizations across Illinois and in Chicago and investigate ways we can partner with and support them. 
  • Building a working relationships with a BIPOC Photographers, Graphic Designers, and Consultants, in addition to as researching options for BIPOC owned printers, press contacts and videographers.
  • Writing transparent hiring guidelines.
  • Creating a strategy for collaborating with more BIPOC designers & production staff with a long-term goal to have 50% or more BIPOC designers on all shows in our season.
  • Writing a sample agreement between AD & Guest directors 
  • Re-evaluating minimum gift for board of directors membership, and create strategy with Board of Directors to diversify the board. 
  • Re-evaluating the Season Selection process

An update addressing #StopAsianHate after the March 16, 2021 attack in Atlanta, Georgia

Shattered Globe Stands in Solidarity with the Asian and Pacific Islander Community

The board, ensemble and staff of Shattered Globe Theatre is appalled by the racist and murderous attacks in Atlanta. We condemn this hate crime as well as the recent escalation in hate crimes aimed at the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Stopping this violence will take all of us to support the AAPI community and take action.

To publicly support #StopAsianHate and hold ourselves accountable to being an anti-racist organization, SGT wants to lift up resources for the fight against anti-Asian American hate and violence.

This is a list compiled by DC’s Wooly Mammoth Theater which we would like to share with you. If you have any additional resources to add, please email sshinner@shatteredglobe.org.

SGT’s Statement On the Events of Jan 6, 2021

As recent political events have revealed, America is saturated with racial and sexual violence and white militarized supremacy, realities that are deeply rooted in our society.  The attempted coup on January 6, 2021 was an overt and hostile opposition of the norms of constitutional democracy along with the values that animate demands for racial equity and justice. The defense of democracy, the uplifting of social justice, and the dismantling of racial hierarchy requires vocal advocates and allies from all sectors of our neighborhoods, communities and cities. SGT pledges to oppose all manifestations of white supremacy and racial injustice and to add our voice, in the name of justice and freedom, to calls for eradicating racism, wherever and whenever it may emerge in our lives.

SGT’s Statement of Solidarity and Support for Black Lives Matter (June 2020)

Shattered Globe Theatre stands in solidarity with the Black community and all those protesting the murder of George Floyd and the systemic state violence against Black Americans. We must use our voices and our actions to step up against the ingrained racism that Black Americans experience every day. 

We are an ensemble of artists devoted to telling stories that seek to empathize with the different lived experiences of our fellow human beings. We are incredibly grateful to director Wardell Julius Clark and all the amazing artists of Kevin Artigue’s Sheepdog for passionately using art to illuminate the issue of police violence against the Black community. In each program for Sheepdog, the dedication read: 

“In Remembrance: We honor the lives of Jeremie Reid, Kajieme Powell, Keith Lemont, Stephon Clark, Terrance Crutcher, De’Von Bailey, JaQuavion Slaton, Maurice Granton, Patrick Harmon, Terrell Eason, Samual Dubose, Andrew Dixon, Gregory Griffen, Mario Woods, Philando Castile, Walter Scott, Laquan McDonald, and the countless others who have lost their lives at the hands of those who have sworn an oath to protect and serve us all.”
The violence inflicted against Black Americans continues unabated, and the list of tragedies grows longer. Shattered Globe condemns these most recent senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. 

We stand with the Black community. We see you. We hear you. We will listen and learn. We commit to using our resources and our work to put words into action. We pledge to support equity and racial justice as we work hard toward meaningful change. Racism and white supremacy have no place in a just society. 

-The Ensemble of Shattered Globe Theatre