Editor’s note: Open Call is a weekly column in which we ask arts and cultural leaders to share their perspectives on emerging from the COVID-19 crisis and welcoming back audiences.
“There is always a squad, collaborators, a body that supports change occurring.”
— Sage Crump
When Delaware Shakespeare completed its Antiracism, Access and Equity Policy in February of 2021, there was at least one thing I knew: we were going to need some help.
I’m a 46-year-old white guy. When it comes to cultural sensitivities, I have blind spots. I could not authentically and effectively implement our new policies myself.
On top of that, I’m leading a theater dedicated to a prototypical “dead white guy” writer. If Del Shakes was really going to become a company where a diverse cross-section of artists and audiences are free to be their fullest and best selves, we were going to need to expand the artistic leadership team.
Del Shakes was not alone in reaching this conclusion. Throughout 2021, there was a trend of theater companies adding associate artistic director positions staffed by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) theater artists.
Del Shakes decided to go in a more experimental direction and, we think, with a cooler name.
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In July 2021, Del Shakes established the Artistic Squad, a rotating, two-term collective of four to five artists, bringing ever-evolving points of view to the artistic leadership of the organization and allowing more collaborators to contribute to the long-term growth of Del Shakes.
There are other companies who proceeded in similar innovative fashions. The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia currently has three co-artistic directors, who rotate as lead artistic directors in different years. Avant Bard Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, has a five-member artistic leadership team, funded by a donor who is underwriting the $75,000 salary for each member of the partnership. (Del Shakes would happily accept similar funding to support the Artistic Squad!)
The Squad builds on staff experimentation started during the COVID-19 pandemic and addresses issues identified during the creation of Del Shakes’ Antiracism Policy.
In July 2020, Newton Buchanan, Bi Jean Ngo, and Emily Schuman joined Del Shakes for a planned six-month period as associate artists, thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The initial purpose was for the associate artists to create new programming for the COVID era (outdoor, socially-distanced, virtual, etc.). The team did so with wild abandon, creating events that took place at the Delaware Art Museum sculpture garden, inside Fort Christina, and on the fire escape stairs at the OperaDelaware Studios.
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It was immediately clear to the board that there was great value in having the creative vision of the company come from more minds than just mine. With more diverse leaders, programming is created the allows for entry points for a wider scope of the community. For instance, for the event at Fort Christina the associate artists decided to include a Lenape tale and a piece of oral history from the Underground Railroad.
After the murder of George Floyd, the associate artists, particularly Buchanan and Ngo, were involved in a major way in creating antiracism policies and action plans.
During this process, Del Shakes identified progress in increasing the racial diversity of casts, creative teams, board of directors and audiences. However, until the addition of the associate artists, the year-round administration had never included a BIPOC staff member. Based on the success of the associate artists, the planning team set to work identifying sustainable models for including artists on the staff structure and increasing diversity.
It was Buchanan and Ngo who came up with the idea to shift the associate artist structure to become the Artistic Squad, with artists rotating in and out of a leadership collective.
“Del Shakes is a company where I find myself always wanting to say yes, so a chance to have my voice be a bigger part of the organization was meaningful to me,” said Squad member Newton Buchanan. “At the same time, it’s nothing but good for Del Shakes if more artists can be a part of the vision. A rotating Squad will hopefully lead to productions and company culture with a wider embrace for all kinds of humans.”
In July 2021, Buchanan, Ngo and Schuman were joined by Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez and Izzy Sazak as the first iteration of the Artistic Squad.
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Squad members are mid-career theater artists with multiple creative skillsets and past experience with Del Shakes. The Squad is a part of season planning, casting, and artistic oversight. Squad members also participate in artistic programming when appropriate, and are major components in community engagement work. One member of the Squad will serve as a voting member of the Del Shakes Board of Directors.
“It’s refreshing and heartening to see an artistic institution like Del Shakes committing to a culture of care and equity through this rotating team of diverse artists,” said Squad member Izzy Sazak. “I’m proud to be a part of such an incredible team of creators and culture shifters, working with the kind of vision and commitment that Del Shakes is modeling.”
Buchanan, Ngo and Schuman finished their time on the Squad last year, as new members rotated on. This year, Del Shakes welcomes Mariah Ghant and Eric Mills to the Squad. Mariah and Eric played Titania and Oberon in our September production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Rodney Square.
I will be forever grateful for the way Bi, Emily and Newton helped to shift Del Shakes’ company culture. I know we are a different organization than we were at the beginning of 2020. And I’m excited to work with Eric, Izzy, Mariah and Rachel as the Squad evolves its practice of collective artistic leadership.
Help is here, and with it an exciting path for Del Shakes to create more authentic engagement with a broader reach of our community.
David Stradley is producing artistic director of Delaware Shakespeare.
