Forum Theatre Convenes a Town Hall on Diversity and Inclusion in the Theatre

Hey Folks! Tomorrow, September 21st, from 4:00pm to 6:30pm, Forum Theatre is convening a Town Hall on diversity and inclusion in theatre. I'm serving as a Breakout Session Facilitator alongside Jiva Manske (Educator and Organizer for Human Rights & Social Justice) and Jordana Fraider (Projects Coordinator at (e)merge art fair).

Here's what they have to say about it and why you should attend and participate:

As Forum celebrates its 10th season, we are looking back not only on what we have done, but on how we move forward. For the past few years, Forum has worked to address issues of gender, race, and class inequality through our art. We have done so in order to better realize our mission to“tell stories about who we are as a local, national, and global community.” 

The purpose of this Town Hall will be to gather our stakeholders--artists, audience members, and neighbors--around the idea of making diversity and inclusion essential core values of Forum Theatre. Essentially, we have decided to explore changes in our mission and practices of the organization and we need you to be a part of this conversation. It is only by actively engaging with and listening to our community that we can accomplish true, lasting and meaningful change within our organization.

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About the Town Hall

The day will begin with a matinee performance of Agnes Under the Big Top and then transition into a variety of action-based conversations culminating in a final gathering to state next steps.
 
Forum Theatre believes that our art is a reflection of our community and that a multitude of voices are necessary to truly grapple with the issues of today. We'd like to make sure that all of the right voices are being heard and hope you can join us.
 

The schedule:
2:00pm - Matinee of Agnes Under the Big Top (Click here for ticket information)
3:30-4:00pm - Break
4:00-6:30pm - Town Hall
 
If you're unable to attend, follow the conversation on Twitter with #ForumTH
For questions, click here to contact Artistic Director Michael Dove.
 
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Forum Theatre @ Round House Silver Spring
8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD

AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP: A TALL TALE
by Aditi Brennan Kapil
Directed by Michael Dove
Featuring: Joy Jones*+, Annie Houston+ (bobrauschenbergamerica), Nora Achrati+ (Church), Ed Christian (The Language Archive), Jon Jon Johnson, and Jason Glass.
Photos by Melissa Blackall.

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Happening Today on Twitter - #ForumTH 

Today, September 20th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm (EST), Forum Theatre will be hosting a national and global conversation about diversity and inclusion ahead of this Saturday's Town Hall at the theatre.

Artistic Director Michael Dove will moderate the conversation and all are invited. This open-access discussion will focus on what efforts are being done in the theatre field to promote audience/artist/aesthetic diversity, the ways we are making our theatres more inclusive, and ways that we can measure that progress.

The twitter conversation will help provide broad context to the town hall event on Saturday which will focus on Forum's specific local community and actions moving ahead.

To join the conversation, search for #ForumTH on twitter and be sure to include #ForumTH in your messages and responses.

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