The LDI panel "Shaking Things Up: The Case For Diversity" took place on Saturday, November 20, in the XR Lounge on the show floor at LDI2021. Following the session, the panelists Brite Ideas CTS lighting designer, project manager, and virtual event lead Ebony Madry and Disney Live Entertainment production manager and partner at Production On Deck David “DStew” Stewart, and multi-award-winning lighting designer and Texas Christian University associate professor of professional practice, classical & contemporary dance, Roma Flowers answered audience questions sharing real-world strategies and advice for furthering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
This important Q&A was sponsored by Claypaky, Pathway Connectivity, PRG, and Main Light.
See also: Making The Case For Diversity: Part I
Question: I’m a high school educator and I have an honors level class with kids of color or who have different gender identities. During the panel session there were suggestions that having an MFA is not useful for joining the industry. I struggle with the idea of moving away from education as a path.
Stewart: That’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a "yes and" proposition. If you want to get a masters absolutely go for it. But not everyone can and that should not preclude them from having access.
Madry: Adding to that, it is also your job as a teacher to show them different routes. You don’t have to go to a four-year college program, there are other paths to be an artist.
Question: What are some of the most powerful business reasons for diversity?
Stewart: Studies have shown the higher your diversity is, the higher your profits are. This is because diversity brings a multiplicity of perspectives. Once upon a time people didn’t do theatre for black folks because they thought they didn't have the money to come. Now they don’t come because they don’t see themselves represented. We represent billions of dollars in income, and that’s just from people of color and women, there are so many different vantage points that need to be catered to, different ages, abilities, neurologically diverse people and others.
Question: How do I go about being a better ally for people who don’t have the same privileges I have had?
Madry: That’s a beautiful and important question. Don’t just be a voice for them when they are with you, be a voice when they are not with you. When you look around a meeting and only see men in the room, ask the question, “Hey are we planning on diversifying this team?”
Stewart: Be personally responsible for disrupting harmful narratives in those spaces. I belong to a Facebook group for black men and we can talk about anything, but our one rule is we don’t speak disparagingly of women. You can still have the freedom to talk, but make that rule about others.
Flowers: When you make decisions on who is going to work on this or that project, you have the power to say no. Stay on top of equity and inclusion in your workplace.
Stewart: Brené Brown says to be courageous, you also have to be vulnerable. It takes courage to say no to established people but make it your job as well as ours.
Flowers: On that note, you may also have to be vulnerable financially. Ask yourself if you cannot change the environment as an ally do you need to quit that toxic job or keep supporting that organization?
Question: I come from an engineering background and I’m used to being the only woman in the room but in the entertainment industry I feel anxious and uncomfortable networking. What has helped you start those conversations?
Stewart: That is one of the reasons we started the Gateway Program so we can be a wing person for you. While we are here [at LDI2021] I can help you, I bring a little bit of gravitas standing next you.
Question: I’ve worked on diverse shows but the audience doesn’t reflect the show. How do we change that?
Stewart: Geography might play a role there, trying to reach a diverse audience. Sometimes theatres will give tickets away during Black History Month to black churches without knowing whether the members can afford tickets for themselves. What they should be doing is reaching out to them the rest of the year and asking what those communities really need from the theatre.
Madry: Theatres need to tell stories for us, not just about us.
Stewart: It’s not just slavery and suffering! Our stories can be uplifting as well!
Question: I’m on a hiring committee at an academic institute and we are four white people. I want to make sure that if we bring in people who are not white they feel supported.
Madry: That’s a hard question because it goes back to intent. Is the organization in the right place to support people who are not in the white community?
Stewart: The core of inclusion is listening. My daddy said you have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth, use them in that ratio. Ask people why they don’t want to be part of your organization. Face those hard truths. Go to the community and find out your reputation and then address it.
Madry: Be transparent. Say, in the past we’ve done this and we want to change.
Questions from Michael Tellez, Diversity in Design scholarship winner: [The scholarship winners] had a heart-to-heart about what we consider to be empty promises. When people say we stand with such and such then there is no action. How do we stop this?
Madry: Call them out. “You said you were going to do X, when do you plan to execute this?” Make them understand you have an expectation and give them a deadline.
Stewart: [President] Biden said 'If you show me your budget, I will tell you your values.' If you have no budget to make changes and put it on the backs of black and brown people, they will burn out and leave. When you look at an organization go to Guidestar.org and find out what the top earners are making. If an artistic director is making $800,000 and they are trying to bring someone on board for $24,000 you know what their priorities are and that’s not going to work.
Question: How do we survive in the face of a pandemic, reduced grants, and lack of community support?
Stewart: The only way we can do business is if we have an audience in front of us, which was hard during the pandemic. But some aspects of entertainment grew. Young people are like, have you seen TikTok? You have to look around corners and see what’s coming next. Live entertainment is competing with Hulu and other streaming services but behind all those things are production people, performers, creative folks. Diversify so you can do all those new things because entertainment is not going anywhere but the way we experience it is.
Question: Sometimes people call me Sweetheart or Sunshine at work and assume I don’t know about something even though my background is in engineering. How do I get past that?
Madry: Tell them your name again and if they don’t listen call them Sweetheart.
Stewart: Ask them why they think that’s OK. If someone says an off-color joke I ask them why they think that’s ok. If you don’t call them out they will keep doing it.
Question: As a person of color and an artist, how do you stay resilient?
Flowers: What’s the alternative? I rely on the joy and satisfaction of the work itself.
Madry: I have people I can really talk to and be honest with. They help me navigate a situation. You can also lean on allies when you know they have your back.
Stewart: I get it from my parents. When do you think we got rid of the last slavery law? A hundred and fifty years ago? A hundred years ago? The last one to go was June 12, 1967, Loving vs. Virginia. When my parents got married they couldn’t go to certain states because they married. That is resilience.
See also: Making The Case For Diversity: Part I