KML Response to BIPOC Equity Action Plan

August 04, 2020  /  Allison Page

Killing My Lobster is dedicated to enacting anti-racist policies throughout our organization. We are committing to transparent change in response to the demands of the many artists who contributed to the BIPOC Equity Action Plan for performing arts organizations. We recognize that these demands have been a long time coming and that the theatre industry has long been a place of inequity, racism, and anti-Blackness. We also recognize that the comedy industry and its many PWIs and groups often do not engage meaningfully in these conversations, to the detriment of BIPOC comedians and students. We invite, and will continue to invite, other comedy focused institutions to join us in committing to necessary, meaningful change in our industry, and will freely share any of the mentioned supporting documents below with any comedy organization, individual, or team who would like to access them.

Not every aspect of our work is completely mirrored in the traditional theatre world, and thus in these demands, but there is significant crossover. These demands and other changes will be addressed below. These commitments are by no means an “end” to this work, which will be ongoing and evolving and to which we are committed long term.

COMMITMENTS:

  • A BIPOC Casting Associate will be hired to assist both with our annual general auditions and invited callbacks for the KML Acting Pool, as well as the individual casting meetings during which directors cast their ensembles

  • All directors and instructors must utilize our Equitable Casting Guidelines document, created with input from BIPOC stakeholders and regularly updated, in order to cast ensembles for class reads, as well as to cast the individual sketches in productions and class reads, which includes final review of all casting choices by a second party

  • In addition to our Fellowship Programs, we are launching a KML Scholarship Program for BIPOC students to take writing and acting classes at no cost, with applicants accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year (the application will be available starting this week)

  • Annual anti-bias and anti-racism training for all staff, directors, and instructors (beginning Jan. 2021)

  • Hiring of a BIPOC Artist Resource to be present at kickoff for each production and on call for duration of the writing process, rehearsals, and performances

  • Instituting a Needs To Create form for all artists to name their needs before production kickoff to ensure these are met throughout the process 

  • 100% of writing teams will include BIPOC and women writers 

  • At least 60% of writing positions in a given season will be filled by BIPOC, trans, non-binary, and/or queer writers

  • At least 60% of performer positions in a given season will be filled by BIPOC, trans, non-binary, and/or queer performers 

  • At least 60% of director positions in a given season will be filled by BIPOC, trans, non-binary, and/or queer directors

  • Continued use of, and updates to, our Best Practices While Navigating Identity Based Content document which is reviewed by the entire team at kickoff of all productions, with physical copies prominently displayed in our rehearsal space

  • Creation of Student Bill Of Rights and Artist Bill Of Rights prominently displayed in our rehearsal and classroom space

  • Updated Code of Conduct explicitly stating KML’s anti-racism policies and consequences for breach of those policies, prominently displayed in our rehearsal and classroom space

  • Continue practice of post-production anonymous surveys and post mortems, attended by BIPOC Artist Resource.

  • Continued partnership with 826 Valencia, teaching writing workshops for  under-resourced youth, the majority of whom are BIPOC students

  • Abolish any remaining culture of free artistic labor by instituting pay for performers in writing class reads 

  • Continue practice of promoting BIPOC KML artists to new leadership positions (director, head writer, instructor) as well as bringing in BIPOC directors from other organizations 

  • Continue to guarantee that 100% of identity focused productions will be entirely led by artists with those lived experiences

  • Addition of dedicated page on the KML website for updates on present and future commitments as associated with the BIPOC Equity Action Plan, and all related developments, with links to relevant documents 

  • Publishing of KML’s artistic values and commitment to equitable and anti-racist practices in our production programs and on our website 

  • Linking to fiscal report on our website for financial transparency 

ITEMS WHICH REQUIRE MORE DISCUSSION AND/OR RESEARCH:

  • Updating Mission, Vision, and Values explicitly stating our commitments to inclusion, representation, intentional collaboration, and anti-racism

  • Reexamination of Board expectations and process for joining 

  • Updates to the Employee Handbook including aforementioned Code of Conduct changes as well as reworked chain of reporting 

  • Examination of artist pay in all areas of the organization 

  • Acquiring more thorough demographic survey information from artists, board, staff, audience, and students

  • Exploring additional partnerships with BIPOC youth organizations 

  • Exploring partnerships and outreach with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ led organizations, both in the performing arts world and otherwise 

  • Reexamination of comp and discounted ticket policies 

  • Overhaul of sketch pool used in acting class curriculums to ensure many opportunities for representation of BIPOC students in the written material they interact with 

  • Identifying future opportunities for additional BIPOC staff hires 

We are grateful to the contributors of the BIPOC Equity Action Plan and the resulting changes stemming from its existence. KML has always been a place for artists to create new work, collaboratively. That can’t happen effectively without a guarantee of safety, earned trust, equity, and shared respect. It can be a risky endeavor to open up your thoughts and ideas to a room full of people and work on them together, but we are dedicated to creating an environment where that level of openness feels as safe as possible, where Black Lives Matter, and where these values are supported by the staff and board, and reinforced by the policies and processes at KML.

Our website will be updated in the coming week with links to current versions of the above named documents.

If you have any questions regarding these commitments, you can contact Allison directly at allison@killingmylobster.com or reach us at the contact form here: https://www.killingmylobster.com/contact-us

We believe laughter and comedy are not created in a vacuum, and there's nothing funny or edgy about ignoring the needs of the very artists who bring so much joy to others in a world full of heaviness and oppression. All of these measures are necessary, and as this list expands, so too does our ability to create the best work of our organization's history, together.

Allison Page, KML Executive Artistic Director

Kevin Kosik, KML Board President