For all intents and purposes, cue has been a mostly one-man operation for a few years now-- transitioning from a collection of young theater artists of different stripes to a much smaller production company that collects my personal work under a single umbrella. That said, cue was founded in 2014 around the principals that 1. creating our own work was the most empowering approach to finding our place in the industry, and that 2. gathering different people together would always be more powerful, more fun, and more reflective of the world we were making art in. Community, whether as active collaborators or as audience, has always been apart of the spirit of the endeavor.
Like so many others, I have felt a tremendous sadness and anger standing beside my neighbors in the streets of New York as we call for the justice long overdue for our black siblings. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and Nina Pop, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Freddie Gray, Ahmaud Arberry, Emmett Till, the list so long it might as well be infinite, forever incomplete, knowing that so much of the cruelty and dehumanization of Black people in this country has been buried and covered up by the same system that perpetuates such violence.
In the face of these tragedies, Black women, Black men and Black GNC people have welcomed allies into their ranks with a grace and tolerance that many of us hardly deserve. This is a time to listen to these leaders, to stand beside them and to learn. I have found strength in accepting the messy nature of allyship, aware that I have made mistakes in the past, been called out for them, and may continue to make mistakes in the future and be called out for them, too. Just like learning to be an artist, being an ally takes practice, it takes flexibility, and a constant willingness to be taught.
I am reading as much as I can, listening carefully to the voices of activists from the Black Lives Matters and Abolitionist movements, and reflecting on the ways I can pursue the creation of art in a more equitable way that acknowledges and reckons with the profound disparity of opportunity and institutional/financial support between white and BIPOC artists. I am devoted to continuing the independent research and conversations with colleagues around my responsibility as an ally and a creator to not only tell my stories, but to uplift the stories of others and more actively support facilitating the work of BIPOC. Whether it is through mutual fundraising, employment, or by volunteering administrative support; I am actively considering ways I will be able to facilitate this commitment moving forward.
I am extremely grateful to the revolutionaries, colleagues, and friends who have educated me time and again on issues of race and social justice, and I look forward to doing whatever I can to continue educating myself and creating work in the pursuit of a more just and equitable world. Below you will find a few resources I have found in an effort to make engagement in the fight more accessible for cue’s supporters. 8 to Abolition is a resource created by Mon Mohapatra, Leila Raven, Nnennaya Amuchie, Reina Sultan, K Agbebiyi, Sarah T. Hamid, Micah Herskind, Derecka Purnell, Eli Dru, and Rachel Kuo that breaks down eight crucial steps towards abolition of the police. The Marsha P. Johnson Institute works toward specifically protecting and defending the human rights of Black transgender people. Transform Harm is an amazing resource hub on a mission to end violence that helps educate on the alternatives to carceral justice. The National Resources link tree was gathered by writer and law student Indigo, whose work you can support here.
We share the following letter because we have supported white fragility and supremacy in the American Theatre. We have been seen doing so by the community of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) theatre makers, and we see ourselves and our actions in this letter. We share this to amplify the voices of BIPOC artists and administrators in our field, and to hold ourselves accountable for our actions.
