Nashville Children’s Theatre is the city’s theatre- a place of and for the community we celebrate, aiming to be a safe and brave space for all. Because we acknowledge EVERY young person’s creative and personal potential as well as practice mutual RESPECT, our institution is dedicated to Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility. We will further establish internal organizational systems, processes, structures, and an equitable culture so all feel welcome. We are devoted to anti-racism because it is our mission to reflect our beloved, evolving community and we fervently believe EVERYONE HAS A STORY.

Where we are…

• We publicly name and acknowledge the American Indian land the theatre sits on and the people who once lived there
• 30% of our board identifies as BIPOC
• The NCT Hatchery is invested in amplifying the voices of BIPOC and women artists
• The Family Access Membership, or FAM, provides a pathway for students and families to receive needs-based scholarships to classes and ticket discounts for our professional shows.
• Discounted field trip tickets for schools serving low-income students.
• One Sensory Friendly performance for each show in our main stage season and inclusive practices in our classrooms.
• Pay what you can tickets available for every performance.
• In the fall of 2020, the entire staff is participating in TYA USA’s Antiracism in TYA webinar series

Where we are headed…

• We will review practices, policies, and procedures through an antiracist lense in order to identify and address the systems that need to change.
• We will hire at least 50% BIPOC artists each season
• We will put more BIPOC on our staff and board
• We will diversify our staff recruitment channels, publish salary ranges, and cultivate an inclusive organizational culture in an effort to hire more BIPOC staff and interns.
• We will share antiracism learnings and resources with our audiences and community regularly
• We will ask all of our vendors if they have antiracism and anti-oppression policies and practices and push for them to be published if they are not.
• We will seek out new BIPOC led vendors
• We will develop the resources to cultivate BIPOC teaching artists
• We will elect an EDI officer for each production
• We will lead first rehearsals, casting notices, and major meetings with a reading of our anti-racism statement
• We will continue to perpetuate a safe workspace with 0% tolerance policies on discrimination, harassment, and oppression.
• Board EDI training.

In addition to sharing these commitments on our website, we will review our progress on an annual basis, publishing it in our Annual Report.