Our equality statement

After Chance staff made their initial statement on June 1, members of the Chance Resident Artists and Board started the process of creating an updated statement and a list of commitments that Chance Theater will undertake. Below is our commitment to the role we will play for change in our community. If you have any questions or would like to join us in achieving our objectives, please email the EDIA Committee at [email protected].

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  — Martin Luther King, Jr.

The recent high-profile acts of violence against Black citizens in this country are shining a spotlight on a systemic problem that has existed for far too long and must be addressed. We believe that Black lives matter and we stand in solidarity with Black artists, patrons, and members of our community, as well as those all over this nation who protest injustice.

Our mission as a theater has always been to bring our community together, to help us better understand each other, and to promote new ways of thinking. Now, more than ever, we must stand together, insist on empathy, and find new solutions to these old problems.

We believe that the purpose of speaking out against white supremacy and race-based violence is to uplift the underrepresented and support unity; it is not something that should divide our community. We speak out to identify systemic racism and to affirm our responsibility to seek immediate and lasting changes to create a more equitable society.

Love and understanding are the only answers to hate. And they carry the most power when we stand united.

We commit to:

• the incorporation of anti-oppression and anti-racist updates to our core values and mission statement.
• the creation of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.
• increasing representation of BIPOC and other underrepresented voices on our staff, resident artists, and board of directors.
• color-conscious and anti-oppression practices in hiring and casting of our productions.
• amplifying BIPOC and other underrepresented voices through our productions, education programs, and outreach initiatives.

We have a lot of work to do. We promise to do better.