For us, our values are not just a collection of words, but rather an essential lens through which we operate and make decisions. It’s important to us to share them with you – our community – of artists, audience, donors, and partners – as values in practice.
As you read through them, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback. We are evolving and growing, both as people and as an organization, and your support is invaluable to that process.
As you read through them, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or feedback. We are evolving and growing, both as people and as an organization, and your support is invaluable to that process.
“People over things”
Ensuring universal compensation for all artists and staff members
Accessibility/Openness/Human-Centered
Using a human lens to remove barriers that prevent artists and community members from participating in our full breadth of programming
Transparency
Being radically transparent in our communication substance and style and expecting the same in return
Community
Endeavoring to be a part of not only the theatre community but also the broader non-profit sector in the DC area
Authenticity/Values-Driven
Committing ourselves to making financial decisions that are informed by and reinforce these values
Ensuring universal compensation for all artists and staff members
- Maintaining our founding commitment to hiring theatre artists from the local community whenever possible and to fairly compensate artists for their talents
- Acknowledging that not all compensation needs to be salary and individuals have varying needs
- As we grow as an organization, investing in the people who make up the organization first over more things
- All job candidates, whether for artistic or administrative roles, will be evaluated holistically with respect to education and/or personal experiences
- Time off needed by administrative staff, for any reason, can be taken as needed without restrictions, absent blatant abuse of the policy
- Maintaining our founding principal that places an importance on the value of our artist’s time:
- Continuing our practice of no more than five workdays of rehearsals per week and no more than four hours of rehearsal per day
- Minimizing the days and times performers are called during the rehearsal period
- Limiting the length of tech days to eight hours of work for performers
- Prioritizing working diligently and with focus to complete tasks in a timely manner that minimizes frivolous wastes of time
Accessibility/Openness/Human-Centered
Using a human lens to remove barriers that prevent artists and community members from participating in our full breadth of programming
- Recognizing and valuing the different thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints that every individual possesses and taking care to incorporate those expressions collaboratively into our events and productions
- Striving to always work with best practices (and continually evaluate them); not being beholden to prior methods just because that’s how it was always done
- Continually prioritizing creative problem solving at every level of the organization by encouraging new and/or different ways to look at issues or problems that arise and coming up with solutions that best fit us as a company, the artists we employ and our community members
- Continuing to offer reasonably priced tickets to our events and productions, including maintaining industry priced tickets for any local theatre artist or administrator
Transparency
Being radically transparent in our communication substance and style and expecting the same in return
- Disclosing budgets with all artists who work with us for an event or production
- Supporting intervention whenever racism or oppression is observed whether an individual is the witness or witnesses such behaviors in us and maintaining our no retaliation position
Community
Endeavoring to be a part of not only the theatre community but also the broader non-profit sector in the DC area
- Supporting both other theatrical as well as non-theatrical organizations in our community – we are not a silo
- Allocating funds for and regularly attending DC Theatre productions
- Being part of equitable ways to identify and promote new artistic talent within the DC Theatre Community
- Maintaining our founding commitment to interact with our audiences to continue the discussions beyond the performance
Authenticity/Values-Driven
Committing ourselves to making financial decisions that are informed by and reinforce these values
- Improving our focus on balancing the tradeoffs and ecological effects of our design choices for productions
- Continuing to offer reasonably priced tickets to our events and productions, including maintaining industry priced tickets for any local theatre artist or administrator