ACTION & ACCOUNTABILITY

The Coalition Theater has been hard at work to make our organization a more anti-racist community. This page serves as the hub for information about steps we are taking, steps we plan to take, and updates as we go along. We are committed to changing our practices to ensure the comedy on our stage features a diversity of different voices and backgrounds.

What is the Action & Accountability Committee
On August 21, 2020, an open letter was sent to the Board of Directors of Coalition Theater by the RVA BIPOC Project, a group of Coalition performers of color, outlining concerns around racial equity and inclusion that they didn’t see being addressed at the theater. One of the demands in that letter was for the Board to form an Action and Accountability Committee (AAC).

The AAC was formed by the Board on November 4th, 2020 and is made up of Coalition Theater members who applied to serve. Its purpose is to help come up with a Statement of Intent (SOI) related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that the theater will commit to, then to make recommendations on how to implement and operationalize those intentions, and periodically report publicly on how well or poorly the theater is doing with this implementation.

AAC Mission
To build an explicitly anti-racist Coalition Theater community that prioritizes the inclusion of BIPOC students, performers, and staff.

AAC Charge
The committee has created a living Statement of Intent that outlines the steps that the theater will take to address the issues of inclusion and equity, as outlined by the letter sent by the RVA BIPOC Project. The committee is working to enact the plan as outlined in said statement, as well as maintaining communications with the Board, the Coalition, and other stakeholders on the progress of the ongoing plan, the evolving needs of the community, and the adoption of any amendments therein.