A Note on Keen's Commitment to Serve

Keen Company is acutely aware that we cannot fully live up to our mission of identification and connection until our organization and spaces are safe and welcoming for everyone. Learn more about Keen’s mission and ethos here.

Inspired by and in support of the efforts by the Broadway Action Network and other BIPOC theatermakers, Keen Company began thoroughly examining our policies and practices. As a public commitment to become an anti-racist theater, Keen published an outline of our next steps towards addressing systemic racism within the company. The full original message posted on 10/30/20 can be found here.

As an on-going practice, Keen will continue to map out our commitments each season. The below is a living document, which will evolve and grow along with our staff and organization. The most recent updated was done on 10/1/21.

KEEN COMMUNITY COMMITMENTS:


To lead by example, the Keen Company Board of Directors commits to the following actions:

  • Annual Anti-Racist training for all members. (on-going)

  • Vote in at least two new BIPOC board members. (by July 2022)

  • Formalize a standard leadership succession plan. (by July 2022)

  • Publish all board member bios on the Keen website. (by July 2022)

  • Assist the Artistic Director in cultivating at least two new BIPOC members for our Advisory Council. (by July 2022)

To better budget our values, Keen Company commits the following practices:

  • Annual Anti-Racist training for all full- and part-time administrative staff. (on-going)

  • Artist compensation for fundraising events and talkbacks. (on-going)

  • Annual vendor audit. (beginning July 2022)

To expand our artistic community and serve our industry and audiences, Keen will continue the work of disrupting our primarily-white networks by:

  • Prioritizing the hiring of BIPOC staff as positions become available. (on-going)

  • Actively seeking out connections with new BIPOC playwrights, directors, designers, actors, stage managers, and technicians. We particularly want to acknowledge the necessity of hiring culturally-competent costume, wardrobe, hair, and makeup personnel. (on-going)

  • Deepening relationships with current BIPOC alumni artists across all of our programming. (on-going)

  • Committing to increased hiring of BIPOC artists across all disciplines, with an eye on specific targets for future seasons. (on-going)

To increase transparency, Keen will implement the following public initiatives:

  • A Land Acknowledgment will be spoken at public events and at the start of each rehearsal process, as well as included in all programs. (on-going)

  • Language will be added to all programs welcoming unpoliced audience responses and reactions. (on-going)

  • An on-boarding guide for all artists and independent contractors to demystify schedules, contracts, company procedures, and all other expectations. (in-process, finalized July 2022)

  • An annual report including season budget will be published at the end of each fiscal year and available on our website as well as sent directly to all subscribers, individual donors, and institutional funders. (in-process, finalized July 2022)

To promote advocacy, Keen has sent letters to the following organizations to address larger systemic issues we cannot tackle alone:

  • Encouraged Actors Equity to provide annual free Anti-Racist training for all members, allow for flexibility in LOA contracts which would ease the burden of tech schedules, and cover artist mental health counseling under union health plan. (most recent letter sent 10/29/20, next letter 2022)

  • Encouraged SDC, USA, and 802 to provide annual free Anti-Racist training for all members, break down barriers of entry for young BIPOC directors and designers, and cover artist mental health counseling under union health plan. (most recent letter sent 10/29/20, next letter 2022)

  • Encouraged ART/NY to provide free or low cost annual Anti-Racist training for freelancers, on-staff DEI professionals available to consult members, micro-grants for anti-racist initatives, and better efforts to increase engagement with Indigenous theatermakers. (most recent letter sent 10/29/20, next letter 2022)

  • Encourage Theater Row (where we are a resident company) to include a Land Acknowledgement in all program templates as well as posted in the physical venue, commit to Anti-Racism in all its activities, provide anti-racist training for all staff, investigate pro-rated venue rental days to ease the time constraints around tech schedules, and increase engagement with Indigenous theatermakers. (most recent letter sent 10/29/20, next letter 2022)

Keen Company is committed to further de-centering whiteness in our Keen Company family and among the artists featured in our Off-Broadway productions, Playwrights Lab, and Keen Teens. Keen Company pledges to continue to educate ourselves on specific and actionable ways to be anti-racist.

Accessibility

Keen Company continues to work to make our programming truly accessible to all audience members. We currently offer touch tours and audio described performances for low-vision patrons, as well as large print and braille programs and audio guides. We also offer ASL interpreted performances for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons. All venues utilized by Keen must meet ADA accessibility requirements. Keen continues to work to make this website complaint with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA. For specific information on accessibility information for current programming, follow the link below.

Contact Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein directly with any questions or concerns at jonathan@keencompany.org or 212-216-0963.