1. Equity, diversity, inclusion, & belonging
  2. Racial Equity Action Plan
  3. Land Acknowledgement
  4. Community Agreements
  5. EDIB Goals & Accomplishments

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) at Shotgun Players

Our commitment to an inclusive community takes center stage at Shotgun Players. Explore how we champion EDIB (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Beloning) principles and strive to make our spaces affordable, accessible, and free of bias and injustice. Read Shotgun's Values statement.

Anti-Racism Commitment

We acknowledge that Shotgun Players is still a predominately white organization that has benefited from systems of white supremacy in its many manifestations. We are driven to use the privilege of our organization not only to be allies to historically oppressed communities, but also to dismantle the hierarchical structures of oppression. We are working hard to make our theatre safe and more inclusive for staff, artists, and audiences.

Our EDIB Goals

We are dedicated to fostering inclusivity and accessibility in all our endeavors. Explore our past achievements and see what we're currently working on.

PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND 2023 GOALS

Our EDIB Initiatives

Discounted Tickets & Memberships

We make the theatre we produce accessible to anyone, regardless of their economic status. We offer many opportunities for discounted tickets including: a full week of pay-what-you-can performances at the beginning of each production and discounted tickets for working artists, people 25 and anyone in the community who expresses a need. 

The Make a Difference (M.A.D.) Program

The MAD Program provides opportunities for emerging and early career theatre artists and audiences to enjoy and engage with the transformative power of live theatre creation and performance. The core of the program is $10 tix for folks 25 and under, paid fellowships on our mainstage productions, and work trade in exchange for rehearsal space at Studios. Visit our M.A.D. page for more information about the program.

Accessible Facilities & Policies

The Ashby Stage is equipped with a wheelchair-accessible entrance and seats available for every performance. Patrons may also request special accommodations if they have hearing, sight, mobility, guide dog, or other access needs. Visit our accessibility page for more information about the accessibility of our facilities.

Gender-Inclusive Restrooms

Every restroom at the Ashby Stage and in our rehearsal studios is all-gender. Why did we do this? We want to make our facilities accessible to people of all gender identities. Signage outside the door identifies the facilities in each restroom.

The Shotgun Players EDIB Committee

The Shotgun Players EDIB Committee includes members of staff, company,  board, and other community artists. The EDIB Committee works closely with the staff and outside consulting firms to further our commitment to anti-racism and the rejection of white supremacy. We aim to move the organization forward by focusing on—and improving—equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging in the following four areas:

  • The stories that we tell and the people who write them.
  • The composition of the company, staff, and board, ensuring our decision-making processes are inclusive and equitable.
  • The artists, technicians, and collaborators that make the work we put on our stages and in our spaces.
  • The audience that comes to experience and participate in our work.
We’re committed to:
 
  • Fostering a spirit of ambition, innovation, risk-taking, and reflection.
  • Creating ever more inclusive and accessible experiences.
  • Cultivating ever stronger relationships with our whole community.

2023 EDIB Committee members: Louel Señores, Mary Ann Rogers, Chard Nelson, Katja Rivera, Susannah Martin, Cathleen Riddley, and Patrick Dooley.

How are we doing? Please send thoughts to edicom@shotgunplayers.org

Our EDIB Values

Accessibility

We create a theatre experience that is inclusive of patrons and artists of all abilities. Specific accessibility initiatives this year include assisted listening devices, audio description, Haptic tours, and WCAG AAA web accessibility.

Nonviolent Communication

We provide staff and company training in NVC, so we can offer a safe environment for communication and address assumptions that cause harm in our interactions.

Diversity in Both Stories and Storytellers

We commit to “shift the spotlight” so we can showcase the excellent work of marginalized communities and to prioritize intersectional identities and stories in our productions.

The Shotgun Players Board EDIB Committee

The Shotgun Players Board of Directors established a separate EDIB (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Committee in August 2020. The committee's purpose is to implement activities that support all board members to promote the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging by identifying strategies to remove systemic bias from our board culture. Our goals are to ensure that the board culture is safe and welcoming to all, regardless of age, race, gender/sexual identity, religion, ability, and socioeconomic/financial status.

Ingrained board culture and ways of working can be hard for new members with different backgrounds and experiences to embrace. Inviting new board members is not just about creating a seat at the table. It's also about our ability to evolve in order to connect and learn from the insights offered by different members of our community. In 2023, we made the decision that the Board's EDIB Committee would take leadership of Shotgun's Board cultivation activities, including recruitment, onboarding, engagement, and belonging.