Equity in Theater and Our Community
A Q&A with Angelica Perez-Johnston, DPA
Office of DEI + School of Drama
written by
Cally Jamis Vennare
CFA Magazine: How do you and your office work towards helping us all understand and move beyond uncertainty to understanding of the sometimes divisive view of DEI?
Dr. APJ: Our office is committed to meeting people where they are in their journey of identity development. We try to contextualize the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion in such a way that it invites opportunities for conversations while doing our best to suspend assumptions and judgment. We welcome anyone from our community to enter a space of discovery and in doing so, encourage growth. That said, we don’t shy away from using the words necessary to educate people on the realities of the work that we do.
CFA: You are charged with working with all five schools in CFA. Can you speak about a project or initiative that you have taken on with a school and what you hope to come of it?
Dr. APJ: The School of Drama has a longstanding and articulated commitment to the work of diversity, equity and inclusion. Their desire for continuous growth and reflection and, in collaboration with the amazing School of Drama leadership team, we have been able to have some very meaningful conversations. We meet on a consistent basis to identify the ways in which we could foster growth while increasing belonging and inclusivity for our students, faculty and staff. As a result, we worked together to develop a pilot of pre-production conversations for students this academic year.
This pilot will address all student groups within a production cohort prior to the first day of rehearsals. This proactive approach provides students with the opportunity to engage in an understanding of a variety of situations that can often arise when working together to produce creative works. We will also develop shared language around understanding bias, culturally responsive approaches to communication, and how to address content that may impact some of our community members.
CFA: What other social dynamics were taken into consideration in the pilot’s creation?
Dr. APJ: The School of Drama has always been aware of, and brought attention to, how to work with sensitive content within performances. Expanding upon that work to develop a more proactive approach opens opportunities to frame understanding and developing coping strategies, particularly around topics that folks may have had previous life experience with. I reviewed the scripts and notes from the student pitches and season selection committee for this academic year and what had already been identified as content concerns. The more nuanced situations that a person with expertise such as mine can identify and address, increase the ability to normalize conversations around moments that may cause emotional or physical distress. It’s also important to articulate that we will not ever be able to identify all of the situations that may impact an individual based on their life experiences.
The philosophy of our office is that while students have the support systems in place, both within CFA and the university at large, we need to work on preparing them with the necessary coping strategies and tools to work through moments of micro aggressive behavior — experiences that can be impactful from an identity perspective, etc. We can equip them to have more engaged and meaningful conversations.
Because in the reality that will become their world — on Broadway or elsewhere — they might not have this same level of support. I want to make sure we have done enough to prepare them for the mental and physical labor of engaging in topics that are uncomfortable to them.
CFA: This is not a passive approach for DEI, is it?
Dr. APJ: Absolutely not. This is a proactive approach to supporting individuals who are engaging with material on real life topics that relate to diversity, equity and inclusion in a multitude of ways.
I want our office to be the first thought during preparation, not the place to go when it all falls apart. We are working towards shifting away from the reactionary model of DEI practices and into a space that is proactive, welcoming and normalizing of asking for help and having conversations. We equip our students with the knowledge and language to articulate when they may need additional support, no matter what the reason. We also recognize our limitations and certainly provide the necessary referrals to students to our external support providers such as CaPs, etc.
CFA: Will you provide these support tools for CFA faculty and staff?
Dr. APJ: Yes. One hundred and twenty percent! In addition to students, one of our main priorities is to increase the sense of belonging for our entire CFA community. I’m proud to say that while we are enriching students on an individual basis, we are also equipping our faculty and staff to engage in this work more intentionally.
We provide ongoing professional development opportunities as well as individualized support for faculty and staff. We start each academic year with a faculty and staff retreat and provide additional capacity-building workshops throughout the year that are tailored, based on assessment of experiences within the college. This year, we will expand our opportunities to two comprehensive institutes in addition to regular professional development: The Inclusive Leadership Institute in the fall, and the Culturally Responsive Pedagogical Practices Program in the spring. Both learning opportunities are cohort-based and run through the entire semester. Each culminates in a “capstone” project of the participants choosing where they will identify an area within their scope of work to develop an intervention for and implement in the subsequent semester.
CFA: What do you hope will result from your CFA student and faculty DEI programs?
Dr. APJ: I hope students, faculty and staff know that I want to create a space where everyone feels as though they are invited into the conversation and that their contributions matter. DEI goes beyond what is typically defined as race and gender work. We strive to empower our community and ourselves with the capacity to increase equitable practice, question our assumptions and be open to the notion of growth and change.
We have taken the opportunity to acknowledge both student, faculty and staff voices in this process and create something that is structured, meaningful and supportive at CFA. By doing so, we are equipping our community with the tools to not only understand what's occurring right now in the world of identity and marginalization, but also to be able to be vulnerable enough to say: “I'm going to grow with this, learn as things develop and evolve, and acknowledge the basic humanity of each individual.”
