Dismantling White Supremacy in Theatre
The core of Profile Theatre’s mission is to center writers whose visions broaden our perspective and deepen our collective compassion. The playwrights a theatre chooses to produce are a reflection of its values, and because we value love and compassion, we choose works that we hope will deepen our understanding of the world and foster compassion for each other.
Like a majority of theatre companies, for too long we centered writers who are predominantly white, cisgender, heteronormative, able-bodied, and male. We did not at first acknowledge our place in perpetuating white supremacy in theatre by predominately mounting works by white men. However, if we truly seek to deepen understanding and foster compassion, then we must listen to diverse voices so that we can have a fuller understanding of each other and ourselves.
In 2016, we sought to begin addressing the root causes of inequity in theater and identified Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (EDIA) as top organizational priorities. We believe that by centering writers (and actors, designers and directors of similar lived experience) who are wom*n, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color in our mainstage productions and engagement programs, Profile can create a joyful and accepting space where Portlanders can develop stronger, more lasting ties with each other. By coming together to experience a rich diversity of stories each season, our audience members will see their lives and the lives of their neighbors reflected on stage. Hearing and feeling each others’ stories can help us break down barriers, develop closer relationships, and nurture a sense of belonging and mutual understanding.
Over the last ten years, all of our mainstage productions were created by and with playwrights, actors, directors, and creative staff who are members of the global majority. We continue to increase the number of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color that serve on Profile’s board and staff, as well as increasing our use of vendors from underserved communities.
In addition to our mainstage and human resource efforts, our Community Profile program supports local community members as they develop their voices in curated affinity groups with lived experiences similar to their own. To date, we’ve worked with military vets, people living with HIV, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Black women, community health workers, BIPOC LGBTQIA+ Youth, many experiencing housing insecurity, immigrants and first/second generation Americans, trans+ community members, and AANHPI folks. Through year-long sustained engagement, these community members engage with and respond to our mainstage work, share their own stories with the greater community, and through writing and sharing, develop lasting relationships and their own creative voices. Each has left an indelible mark on the company and has influenced many of our practices. These engagements are transformational for community participants as well as for Profile Theatre itself. With each cohort, we learn more about our neighbors and how we can be a more equitable, inclusive theatre community.
An example of how we integrate EDIA in our practices can be seen in our Community Commitments, which were created and adopted in 2020 in collaboration with a community council of diverse individuals. These commitments guide every performance or project that we engage with, and give us the framework and accountability structure for artists and community members to come together to experience great theater that promotes empathy, introspection and a deepening of our shared humanity.
Lastly, we create community-invested theater productions through deep, multi-year partnerships with writers, local organizations, and community leaders. In 2017, Profile embarked on its first community-invested theatre piece in partnership with National Medal of Arts Awardee Ping Chong + Company. Working in close collaboration with more than 30 Portlanders living with chronic illness and participating in our 2018-2019 Community Profile cohort, we commissioned Ping Chong + Company to create an oral history project helping 6 community members tell their own stories of resilience, hope and wisdom living with chronic illness or caring for someone who does. Subsequently, we committed to building a body of work over the next decade of community-invested theatre pieces, in collaboration with partners with a variety of processes.
For our current community-invested piece, we are commissioning a work from Cuban-American playwright Michael John Garcés and director Bruce Lemon, in collaboration with artists from Cornerstone Theater, an LA-based company with nearly four decades of experience creating work through deep collaboration with place-based communities. Over multiple residencies, and through a process called “story-circles,” Michael, Bruce and a cohort of local BIPOC men and youth will create a new piece of theatre exploring masculinity in BIPOC communities told by the community members themselves. We anticipate producing this community-invested piece in 2027. Our goal is to highlight community stories alongside the stories of our mainstage Featured Writers.
This project is part of Profile’s long-term goal to bring our community engagement to the mainstage and to forge partnerships among local communities and national theatre artists. This work amplifies voices of underserved communities, reflects their stories back to them, and shares local experiences with the greater Portland community.
