Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) Fund

The summer of 2020 made us pause and reflect on our mission as a resident ensemble theatre company bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for all. While we aspire to this ideal daily, we have historically fallen short at ensuring that “for all” extends beyond individual programs to the broader audience, Board, staff, and leadership at CSC. We have listened to the lived-experiences of our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) colleagues and friends and heard them when they say they have felt excluded, exploited, not welcome, diminished, and silenced. It is up to companies like ours to be a part of the solution.

Facilitating community conversation (“feeding the dialogue”) is a foundational principle of our work, but we recognize that it is an unfulfilled promise if the “dialogue” is only among a small group of homogenous individuals. CSC risks becoming irrelevant to our community and our stakeholders if we do not acknowledge and address this moment in an authentic and forthright way.

Simply said, CSC wants to live the change we aspire to see in our community.

Your contribution to the DEIA Fund supports:
• ongoing Anti-Racism and DEIA training for all CSC employees
• funding for DEIA-focused recruitment, donor and audience cultivation, marketing, engagement, and outreach efforts
• commissions of new plays by BIPOC playwrights, women, and members of the LGBTQ community
• improvements to accommodations for visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, and neurodivergent audiences at Mainstage and Park productions
• new initiatives and programs created to support strategic DEIA Plan goals

“One of the best indicators as I experience a theater is how your audience feels about the work for your African-American audience, I feel like they felt seen. That’s super important to me. Are you engaging your audience base by allowing them to feel seen and represented onstage? And it looks like you all are already doing a stellar job at that for everyone.” – Patron after Fences

“I adore CSC, not only because of your amazing productions, but because of your incredibly supportive environment. Since we are a gay couple, my girlfriend and I are usually wary of going out on public dates. But we felt safe the whole time at CSC, and instead of the usual glares we got smiles when we held hands. So thank you.” – Patron after Twelfth Night