The board and staff of Theater Latté Da are undergoing an organization-wide assessment to rebuild and reimagine our processes, plans and purpose with an anti-racist lens. 

Since July of 2020 Theater Latté Da has employed the following actions towards that goal.

UPDATE: MAY 2023

We were excited to begin 2023 with a critically acclaimed new production of Hello, Dolly!, which played to one of the largest audiences in TLD history.  Featuring a primarily BIPOC cast led by Regina Marie Williams in the title role and directed by Artistic Associate Kelli Foster Warder, the production shined a light on Black business owners and women entrepreneurs of the era, adding to a tradition of racially diverse casting for this show that began in 1967 when Pearl Bailey took over the role of Dolly and led an all-Black cast on Broadway. Historical research for the TLD production drew inspiration from a wide range of sources, including Black-owned Minnesota businesses from the past century. 

Our current production, the world premiere of the musical We Shall Someday by Harrison David Rivers and Ted Shen, also directed by Kelli Foster Warder, focuses on BIPOC stories as well, sharing the experiences of three generations of a Black family grappling with inequality, violence, oppression and the impact of generational trauma. The production has the potential to reach more than 5,000 patrons over a four-week run from April 19-May 14, 2023. 

In support of the artists carrying the emotional burden of telling this challenging story, TLD for the first time allocated wellness stipends to the company to be used at their discretion to choose the kinds of care and comfort that best meet their individual needs.

In Summer 2022, Kelli Foster Warder’s role at TLD shifted from Associate Artistic Director and Director of Impact as a growing number of freelance opportunities emerged that required more of her time and attention. We are incredibly proud to have Kelli continue her affiliation with TLD as an Artistic Associate, we continue to celebrate her artistic accomplishments at TLD and elsewhere, and we humbly and gratefully acknowledge her extraordinary leadership in our journey to become a more anti-racist organization. 

In support of the next phase of our IDEA work, we engaged Dr. Ramón Pastrano, founder of the consulting group Third Sphere, to work alongside our staff and Board of Directors. Dr. Pastrano and his team have begun their work with the TLD staff, Board IDEA committee, and Board of Directors. Major components so far have included: 

• Expanding administration of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to include all full-time staff and all Board members in order to grow in our cultural competence. 

• The establishment of a staff IDEA leadership council composed of TLD staff members from a range of backgrounds, departments and seniority levels. 

• Ongoing workshops for staff and Board covering various approaches and strategies to advance our work toward greater inclusion, diversity, equity and access.

In the wake of Artistic Director Peter Rothstein’s announcement that he will depart TLD at the end of June 2023 after 25 years of leadership, Evolution Management Consultants (EMC), a BIPOC-led firm, was selected to work with us on a national search for his successor. Among their factors leading to our selection of EMC were their commitment to conducting an equitable process, their proactive approach to seeking a diverse pool of applicants, and their commitment to anti-bias training for stakeholders in the search process. 

• The core search committee of 11 was intentionally structured to include a mix of Board members, staff, and artists from our community, including BIPOC representation.

• During their site visit in March, EMC met with numerous constituencies of TLD and our broader community, including a town hall meeting with TLD’s alumni artists and a session designated specifically for BIPOC artists to be able to share their perspectives in a safe and confidential environment. 

Since our last update, we have continued our focus on living out our values and commitment to becoming a more equitable and anti-racist organization. Recent activities include:

• We have continued the practice of IDEA conversations being a part of first rehearsals and production meetings. 

• “IDEA sighting” sessions open each of our all-staff meetings, providing an ongoing forum to elevate and discuss instances relating to our IDEA work at TLD, within our personal spheres, our community, nationally, and in popular culture. 

• We met our goal of at least 50% BIPOC representation in casting for the 2021-22 and 2022-2023 seasons. 

• We have completed hiring processes for multiple staff positions incorporating anti-racist and more equitable practices, including extended posting periods, posting on culturally specific job boards, intentionally diverse application review and interview teams, publication of salary ranges and pay rates in all postings, and an evaluation process that deemphasizes staff hierarchy and promotes unbiased individual input from a range of stakeholders. This process has resulted in a marked increase in applicants self-identifying as BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or disabled. 

• We launched an open captioning program for the 2022-23 season and are presenting a weekend of open captioned performances during each production run.

UPDATE: MARCH 2022

We are once again devastated by the killing of a Black man by a police officer in our city. Our thoughts and prayers for justice are with the family of Amir Locke, a young man about to launch a music business, whose life was unjustly cut short at age 22. 

We are currently in rehearsal for Jelly’s Last Jam, featuring the story of a young Black musician as he helps launch jazz music into what we know today. It is not lost on us that this, TLD’s first all-Black cast, in a show centering on music and community, justice and legacy, is happening now.

Since our last update, we have continued our focus on living out our values and commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization.

• As we have returned to live theater, we have been able to put into place our commitment to DEI training and conversations being a part of first rehearsals and production meetings. We are hosting in-depth training for our collaborators in February and April for all theater makers on our current season. 

• Our senior staff, including our recently hired Managing Director, have all taken the Intercultural Development Inventory to identify areas of growth to intercultural competence for our leadership team. 

• Our TLD staff is reading and discussing a book, Allies and Advocates: Creating An Inclusive and Equitable Culture, by Amber Cabral.

• We are so grateful to Native Pride Arts for their partnership in developing a land acknowledgement and relationship to intentionally partner with Native artists and storytellers. Read more here: https://nativeprideproductions.com/about

• This season we have raised the pay for all of our contracted theater makers.

• We've committed 20% of our advertising dollars to BIPOC-owned and operated media outlets.

• We have expanded our media list to include 17% new BIPOC reporters, writers, producers, and media partners. 

• We have expanded accessibility services with the inclusion of large print format programs and are currently auditing our digital communication platforms for accessibility and inclusion.

• Through new partnerships in our community, we have committed to adding Braille programs and captioned performances in the 2022-2023 season.

The work continues in real and tangible ways at TLD. Please reach out to us if you have questions or ideas of how we can continue to grow and change in these areas or you would like to participate in one of our IDEA training conversations. Please refer to our website for earlier updates on this work.

We are grateful for all of the theater makers engaging with us as we continue to grow in our understanding and ability to create equitable, inclusive environments that bring artists and audiences together. 

UPDATE: MAY 2021

Leadership

• The TLD Board has committed to a goal of at least 40% representation of Black, Indigenous or people of color on our board over the next 3 years. 

• The Board has been engaged in anti-racism training advised by the new IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity and access) board committee. This training and board commitment will continue to include more training sessions dedicated to deeper understanding of IDEA and how it impacts TLD and the industry including a change in the board orientation process to align with this new commitment and more integration of the work of the staff and the board.

• Senior staff have been invited to attend board meetings to promote transparency, accountability, and cooperation.

• The Governance committee, responsible for board recruitment, will be intentionally racially diverse with a goal of no board committees being homogenous by or before 2023.

• TLD staff continues to meet bi-monthly for training and planning dedicated specifically to IDEA and anti-racism. Each weekly staff meeting begins with an ‘IDEA sighting’ to give space to discuss what we are learning and seeing around us.

• The 2021-2022 budget is informed by our IDEA work and goals and is reflected by an increase to make time and provide resources to reach those goals.

• We are currently working with a BIPOC-led Human Resources firm to build new job descriptions and hiring practices through a DEI lens.

Artistic/Production

• TLD continues to ensure that all creative teams include racial and gender diversity.

• Each TLD project begins with a reading of our anti-racism commitment statement and opportunity to discuss it.

• Production budgets reflect this commitment through added rehearsal and tech time.

• The production process will include anti-racism training for all cast, crew and musicians.

• 51% of the new work projects we have in development thiss year are led by BIPOC artists.

• No BIPOC artists will be ‘the only’ in meetings and rehearsals.

• DEI training will be a part of the pre-production design process for each fully staged production in the season.

• We will identify an IDEA liaison for each production to provide another avenue to share concerns and communicate expectations to promote a safe space and clear expectations.

• We have held listening sessions with BIPOC artists and have integrated that feedback into our organization going forward.

Communication/Marketing/Engagement

• We are expanding partnerships and access for free and reduced tickets.

• Reallocated marketing spends to meaningfully include BIPOC owned and led media partners.

• All of our digital content contains captions generated inside the production process.

• Intentionally developing a more inclusive media list.

• Expanding and developing partnerships  with BIPOC owned and operated media partners

• Engaging donors and funders in conversations around our work in IDEA. 

• Building a partnership with Native artists to share space, build relationships and create a land acknowledgement built on mutual respect, humility, and partnership.

These are a few of the steps we have been taking towards fulfilling our commitment to IDEA and becoming a more anti-racist organization. This is ongoing work and as we prepare to re-open for live performances there is more to come.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 15, 2020

• We formed a board Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Access (IDEA) committee. The committee’s charter includes ensuring the finances and budget reflect the commitments to this work, consulting on artistic programming and providing recommendations on policy and practices as it relates to representation, inclusion, and racial equity. 

• We hired Kelli Foster Warder as Associate Artistic Director & Director of Impact. Kelli, a long time Theater Latté Da artist, will be a part of our artistic leadership team on season planning, developing community engagement and leading our anti-racism and inclusion work.

• We have added a budget line for IDEA efforts with resources dedicated to advancing this work.

• We have worked rigorously as a staff, board, and leadership team to create an organizational anti-racism statement outlining our privilege and opportunity. This statement will be shared at the beginning of all rehearsal and production processes, reviewed regularly by staff and board and updated to reflect the on-going commitment to the work.

• We have created a dedicated IDEA page on our website designed for accountability and transparency. This is part of a larger communications plan to engage audiences and artists directly in these efforts.

• Our staff has bi-monthly IDEA meetings focused around training and implementing this work. IDEA is an agenda item at the weekly full staff meeting and each member of the staff has responsibilities to measure and demonstrate progress.

• In the Spring of 2020 we launched NEXT UP, an intensive laboratory investing in the future of new musical theater. Five of the nine scheduled works are led by BIPOC artists. 

• We have planned listening sessions with BIPOC artists as part of our assessment and desire to engage our artists as we create anti-racist policies and safe spaces for our future work together.

• Building a production process that includes IDEA training for production and design teams prior to starting the work with continuing support opportunities throughout the process.

• Commitment to building safe and equitable practices for our rehearsal process that includes, training and identifying an EDI representative, transparent disclosure of creative teams at the time of actor offers, no homogenous creative teams, and culturally conscious and inclusive audition processes. 

• Theater Latté Da has one of the longest rehearsal processes in our region and does not schedule 10 out of 12s. We have employed 5-day work weeks and will continue to work with our artists to build a 5-day rehearsal week. 

• We are conducting a review of institutional processes to root out unconscious and explicit bias.

• In October of 2019 we began a new strategic planning process highlighting 3 strategic directions with an intentional focus on inclusion. We are realigning and redefining this directive in light of our anti-racist commitment. 

This is a progress report that represents our resolve. We are committed to continuing this work, to change and grow and see our industry embrace anti-racism and move forward with equity.