Victorian Lyric Opera Company is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Expansion (DEE) across every facet of the company. We believe that commitment to DEE fosters a safe and positive working environment for our artists, staff, and patrons. Furthermore, this work is essential to addressing the systemic injustices against historically unrepresented and marginalized people in the performing arts.
After an extensive audit of our policies and procedures, the Board of Directors has taken actionable steps toward creating a more equitable and expansive organization including, but not limited to:
- Implementing a Member Code of Conduct, outlining our Anti-Discrimination/Harassment policies.
- Discarding the practice of color-blind casting in favor of color-conscious casting for all productions.
- Creating a financial assistance program to help cover the costs of performing with the company for those in need.
- Providing surtitles in multiple languages for our fully-staged productions.
- Expanding our marketing/outreach efforts to focus on historically underserved communities in the Greater DC region.
- Creating a standing DEE committee on the Board of Directors to continually assess our efforts and push us forward toward equity in the arts.
*This is by no means an exhaustive list and we will continue to update this page with policies and new initiatives as they arise.
What is DEE?
Diversity - A collective of human beings and their identities coexisting in a space.
Equity - Fair treatment and opportunities for all, regardless of their visible and invisible identities.
Expansion? - Credited to DMV actor Rikki Howie, expansion is alternative to inclusion (as commonly used in the phrase, "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion") and puts the focus on outcome as opposed to intent of our policies and procedures. Rather than simply include new people and communities in our already established modes of operating, we are challenging ourselves to expand what it means to be a community theater company where new voices can have a true impact on how the company runs going forward.
Equity - Fair treatment and opportunities for all, regardless of their visible and invisible identities.
Expansion? - Credited to DMV actor Rikki Howie, expansion is alternative to inclusion (as commonly used in the phrase, "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion") and puts the focus on outcome as opposed to intent of our policies and procedures. Rather than simply include new people and communities in our already established modes of operating, we are challenging ourselves to expand what it means to be a community theater company where new voices can have a true impact on how the company runs going forward.
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We want to hear from you! Feel free to share any thoughts, concerns, or suggestions regarding diversity, equity, and expansion at VLOC.
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