NEW YORK -- âHamiltonâ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda hopes to increase diversity on Broadway and in theatres across the country with a new initiative announced Thursday.
The Representation, Inclusion and Support for Employment Theater Network â or R.I.S.E. Network, for short â is launching a directory of diverse offstage theatre professionals to make it easier for them to get hired for jobs ranging from stagehands to producers and general managers.
âThere has been a lot of talk since 2020 about diversity and change,â Miranda told The Associated Press, adding that the directory is coming at a âreally wonderful time because theatre, as a system, has learned to say the right things.â
âNow,â Miranda said, âitâs about backing that up.â
According to a 2021 report from the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, which studied Broadway shows in the 2018-2019 season, 100 per cent of general managers and 94 per cent of the producers were white. White actors were cast in 80 per cent of the lead roles in musicals and 90 per cent of the lead roles in plays.
Steps have been taken to improve diversity in the theatre since then â most notably âA New Deal for Broadwayâ in 2021, negotiated between Black Theatre United and Broadway shows and their touring productions.
With R.I.S.E. Network, Miranda wants to make it easier for those hiring for offstage jobs to find diverse applicants.
âR.I.S.E. is really about making sure that the beautiful mosaic of people you see -- if you see a production of âHamiltonâ or you see a production of âMJ (The Musical)â or âFat Hamâ on Broadway -- is also reflected backstage, that itâs not just the folks in front of the footlights,â Miranda said, âBecause there are incredibly talented practitioners and carpenters and makeup designers and wardrobe folks who also deserve that shot.â
Wilson Chin, the New York-based set and production designer behind Broadway shows âCost of Livingâ and âPass Over,â said he hopes R.I.S.E. becomes widely used by those hiring in the theatre.
âPeople keep saying, âWe canât find anyone,â but weâre out there,â said Chin, who is currently working on several projects, including âTurandotâ for the Washington National Opera and the new Hunter S. Thompson musical for La Jolla Playhouse. âWe just have to be found. Having us all in one place is great for us to be seen.â
Miranda said he got the idea for R.I.S.E. Network from director Ava DuVernayâs ARRAY initiative, which features a database of women and people of colour working in the film and television industries in offscreen jobs. He began working with his friend, composer Georgia Stitt, who developed Maestra, a directory for female composers, conductors, arrangers and other musical jobs.
The Miranda Family Fund provided the seed money to build R.I.S.E. Theater Network and will help support the directory, which is free for those looking to work and looking to hire.
Adam Hyndman, R.I.S.E. Networkâs project director, said it will launch Thursday with nearly 1,000 theatre professionals in the directory and will look to expand after its launch.
âTheatre-making exists everywhere,â Hyndman said. âThere is diversity in all corners of the United States and in stories that can be told. We see the sky as the limit for the user base.â
Robb Nanus, executive director of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit that fights racism through storytelling, said his group supports R.I.S.E. Networkâs efforts because it provides the connections needed to create change in theatre hiring practices.
âThey understand the complexities of pipeline issues, that itâs not just about putting names in a database,â Nanus said. âItâs about understanding how to support people holistically and how to make connections between people who want to work and people looking for team members.â
Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, the trade association representing commercial theatre, said she loved the idea for R.I.S.E. Network as soon as she heard it.
âThereâs a sincere interest by the theatre community all over the United States to ensure that we diversify not only on stage, but backstage and in the audience,â she said. âSo this will help us do that.â
St. Martin said increasing diversity in the theatre not only creates more vibrant productions, but also more robust interest from audiences.
âThis is good for business and the right thing to do,â she said.
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