JUNE 2020

Updates and Upcoming Events

ANNOUNCING!!! MN THEATER STANDARDS DOCUMENT WORKING GROUPS VIRTUAL MEETING JUNE 22ND!!!

Dear TALC Friends,

Oh my, what a world we find ourselves in! We were just starting to gain some momentum with our work on the MN Theater Standards (MNTS) document when COVID19 hit, causing us to have to cancel our panel discussion on March 16th. How is it possible that that was 12 weeks ago?!?

There has been so much grief in our theater community. Many of us found ourselves bumbling around trying to make sense of a post COVID reality. Some of us went into high gear, cranking out masks for front line workers, or putting our energy into renovating a bathroom. Still others found it difficult to do much more than make sure we got a shower and healthy food in our bellies every day. Those responses and everything in between were completely appropriate to the circumstances, and we all did what we needed to in order to deal with the stress in different ways. If you are reading this now we are glad you have successfully navigated the last 12 weeks and we say to you, “Hello friend! We missed you.”

It felt like an odd thing, to try and concentrate on the MNTS document in the midst of so much grief over lost work and fear for our ourselves and those we love. Giving everyone space to do what they needed to do in that moment felt right. We decided to give it a little time before diving back into conversations about working standards when we don’t even know when we will be able to get back to the business of making live theater.

Just as we were getting ready to start things up again, George Floyd was murdered and we were thrust once again into survival mode. We have been able to focus on little else than making sure we are safe and supporting our BIPOC community. It’s been amazing to see so many of our theater folk stepping up, using their skills to help a community in crisis. You are truly inspirational.

Once again we felt it was inappropriate to pull attention away from the grieving of the community and tackling the tasks directly in front of us. As we have moved through these past two weeks, we have had conversations with BIPOC members of the theater community and it has become clear that the work we are doing in TALC, striving to create safe spaces for all theater makers, can be integral to amplifying the needs and lift up the voices of BIPOC artists, so we are taking initiative to get the conversation rolling again now. We understand that not everyone is in a place where they are able to take focus away from family and friends right now to join us. To those people, please take care of yourselves and know we are here for you, and we will be here when you find your way back to us.

 We have already had several community conversations and we are at a point where we feel it is time to start creating the document. We don’t know when we will be able to get back to the business of making theater, but when we do, we can be ready with the MNTS.

Below you will find information regarding our first working group meeting, which will be held via Zoom on Monday June 22nd from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. We will be breaking into smaller groups and each group will have a section of the document to work on. We anticipate it will take a few meetings to create the document, so if you are unable to join us on the 22nd, there will be other opportunities to contribute. There is a form to fill out below if you are interested in doing this work with us. Please fill it out whether or not you are able to attend on the 22nd so we can get a sense of how many people are interested in working on this project over the summer.

We are so grateful to be on this journey with you. Seeing people's faces on a flat screen is a sad substitute for the real thing, but we will have to settle for this for now.

Warmly, 

Laura, Elena, and Maria 

LIFTING UP VOICES

"We See You, White American Theater"

On June 8th many of our friends and colleagues from around the country put out a statement – We See You White American Theater.

To read the statement and sign the petition you can click the box below.

We need to change. We must stop hurting our friends.  The revolution starts with ourselves.  This must be part of the conversation. 

Working Groups Background Information

We have created a Google Doc for the notes that were taken during the small break out group conversations on February 17th at The History Theater. These notes are our guide to moving forward with creating the MNTS. You can access them by clicking the link below if you would like more information about how these categories were identified. The notes are color coded for easy reference so you can see what category the suggestions from the February 17th meeting fall under. Many of them fall under multiple categories. 

Choosing Categories for Working Groups

The following five categories were identified by the TALC meeting attendees on February 17th at the History Theater. Each category has three or more sub-categories. The subcategories with the *** are the specific ones we will focus on for the meeting on June 22nd .

We are asking everyone who is interested in participating in the creation of the MNTS to fill out the Sign Up Form, which you can access below, even if you are unable to attend the June 22nd meeting. Each of us brings different skill sets, view points and talents to this work. In the Sign Up Form you will be asked to rank your first three category choices that you are most interested in working on, as well as which sub category most interests you, or best fits with your specific skill set or lens. The categories and sub categories are:

1) BEST PRACTICES

        -POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ***

        -COMMUNICATION

        -REPORTING AND PROCESSING

2) HEALTH AND SAFETY

        -CONSENT ***

        -RESOURCES

        -TRAINING

3) ACCOUNTABILITY

        -OVERSIGHT ***

                -BOARD OF DIRECTORS

                -COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL

        -TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE/POWER STRUCTURES

4) AREA NEEDS

        -PRODUCTION DEPARTMENTS ***

        -STAGE CREWS

        -DESIGNERS

        -TECHNICIANS

        -THEATER ADMIN/DEVELOPMENT

        -FRONT OF HOUSE/BOX OFFICE

5) REPRESENTATION

        -BIPOC ***

        -DIFFERENTLY ABLED

        -EDI

        -ACCESSABILITY 

        -CHILD ACTORS

        -EDUCATION

                -STUDENTS

                -TEACHERS

        -PATRONS

        -VOLUNTEERS

In addition to the group work on these five categories, we need support in the following areas as we create and launch the document. Please indicate in the sign up form if you are able to help with the following:

• TECH SUPPORT / IMPLEMENTATION

1.         -SOCIAL MEDIA / MARKETING
2.         -PLATFORMS AND SHARING

                -AS DOCUMENT IS BEING DEVELOPED

                -LAUNCHING DOCUMENT

                -LONG TERM USE AND MAINTENANCE

Our Meeting on the 22nd will last for 90 minutes. We will all gather together in the main Zoom room to start the meeting, then we will break off into smaller working groups that will focus on the following subcategories:

• Policies and Procedures
• Consent
• Oversight
• Production Departments
• BIPOC

 We will take a brief break then reconvene to discuss next steps. If you are unable to make it for the entire meeting, just come when you are able or leave when you need to. We want your input and respect your time, so take care of your own needs as we do this work together. Please click the button below to access the sign up form. Once you have signed up, a Zoom link for the meeting will be emailed to you. Thank you for taking the time to contribute to this important document!!!

UPCOMING TALC MEETINGS & EVENTS

June:

June 22nd- Working Group Meeting via Zoom at 5:30pm

July:

July 11th- TALC Admins will be speaking to the Catalyst Arts Town Hall Meeting participants about the work we are doing. Meeting begins at 10am. For more information about Catalyst Arts, you can access their Facebook Page here

July 13th- Working Groups continue working on the MNTS via Zoom at 5:30pm

August:

August 10th- Working Groups continue working on the MNTS via Zoom at 5:30pm

September and Beyond:

As we move through the creating of the MNTS we will have a better idea of timeline for of launching this document and how we will circulate and get buy in from the institutions it is intended to inform.

Updates for future meetings can be found on the TALC website meeting page. Click on th button below to access the page.

THANK YOU!!!