LOVE & RESPECT

When Founding Artistic Director Donald Bianchi established Dobama Theatre in 1959, he did so to produce important new plays for the Northeast Ohio community with a culture of “love and respect” – a phrase that he signed letters and notes with throughout his tenure and a tradition that Dobama continues to this day. 

What is “love & respect” at Dobama Theatre?

To love is to care for each person who works with Dobama by supporting them in their entirety, not just in regard to the work they can do for the organization. To respect is to revere each individual’s work, training, words, feelings, time, life experience, and world outside the theatre’s walls. “Love & Respect” is extended to artists, audiences, staff, volunteers, supporters, and the community at large.

The Love and Respect Document

In the summer of 2020 Dobama Theatre, like so many other organizations, found itself in a unique time. The convergence of a shutdown due to global pandemic and a renewed focus on the epidemic of racism in America that resulted from BIPOC activism following the murder of George Floyd created a moment when we found it essential to intensely examine our practices and those of the American Theatre.

Dobama formed a Task Force consisting of staff, board members, community representatives, and a skilled facilitator to create a plan of action. Weekly Task Force meetings were held from September through January. This document is the result of that work.

The Dobama Theatre Board of Directors unanimously adopted the Love & Respect Document on March 8, 2021. Dobama has made this commitment to action and we will be held accountable.

The Love and Respect Document is a living document for anti-racism action and the next steps in creating a culture of authentic inclusivity at Dobama Theatre. The document is divided into three parts: The People, The Work, and The Process. The People come first in this document, as they also do in our core values. These steps care for the whole person and create a larger, more equitable table for all to pursue our mission together. The Work outlines what actions are being taken to root out white supremacist and patriarchal structures and to replace them with organizational tools built on consensus, communication, trust, and circular management models. The Process describes how we will move forward in equitably representing and investing in the community we serve, and how we will continue to assess our progress, remain accountable, and determine further action in years to come.

The Clean House Standards

Dobama Theatre is a CLEAN HOUSE THEATRE. This means we are committed to being a space free of harassment based on sex, gender, race, religion, class, ethnicity, nationality, political belief, or ability. We are committed to being a safe environment that fully allows us to challenge ourselves, our audiences, and our communities; that supports creative risks of mind and body; and that establishes the freedom to create theatre that represents the full range of human experience. Click below for the full document and to read more about the standards.

FOCUS PROGRAM

Fostering Opportunity for Communities
Underserved on the Stage

The FOCUS Program aims to provide exposure, training, mentorship, networking, and direct paid professional opportunities for early-career theatre designers, technicians, and stage managers from underserved and underrepresented communities including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Disabled, Deaf, and Neurodivergent theatre practitioners.

Kathryn V. Lamkey Award

In Spring 2019, Dobama Theatre received the prestigious Kathryn V. Lamkey Award from Actors’ Equity Association for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion On and Off Stage. Dobama Theatre was honored with this regional award by the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) for making representation in hiring a priority and providing ongoing opportunities for underrepresented artists.

The theatre received the Kathryn V. Lamkey Award at the annual “Spirit, a Celebration of Diversity” event in Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater on March 11, 2019. Named after a former AEA Central Regional Director, the “Kathy” recognizes important work in equity, diversity, and inclusion.

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY

The American Theatre requires immediate systemic and structural reforms. It begins with a full examination of past and current practices, followed by quick, sweeping changes. That begins with us. Doing better than most is far, far from good enough. Equity is not graded on a curve. We recognize that systemic racism exists in our organization. We are the problem. We must root these problems out, top to bottom. We have all been born into a society built on white supremacy, so we must constantly and consistently check ourselves as part of the ongoing and unending work of anti-racism and anti-bias. This is not new information. But we've come up woefully short in our work. There is so much more we must do. This ends now.

We have made this commitment to anti-racist action and we will be held accountable.

It will take all of us to make our theatre community locally and globally equitable. Artists, staff, executives, supporters, and audiences must all work tirelessly in this effort. This is the priority - not time, not money, and not making everyone comfortable. No more excuses. We must do more - much, much more - and we must do it now.

- Nathan Motta, Artistic Director, Dobama Theatre
June 9, 2020

Statement of solidarity

from June 1, 2020

DOBAMA THEATRE MISSION:

Dobama Theatre is dedicated to premiering important new plays by established and emerging playwrights in professional productions of the highest quality. Through theatrical production, community engagement, and education programming, Dobama nurtures the development of theatre artists and builds new audiences for the arts while provoking an examination of our contemporary world.