Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Core Values At Terry Knickerbocker Studio

Our DEIB Value Statement

We are committed to creating a brave space in which people of all races, ages, national origins, religions, abilities and disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and socioeconomic statuses feel safe and encouraged to bring their fullest self to the craft of acting. Representation of diverse voices is a necessity to truthful storytelling in our art form, and we strive to cultivate and amplify these voices within our classrooms, staff, faculty, and online presence. We are committed to investigating our blindspots, working to dismantle white supremacist culture, and being an anti-racist institution.

Comprehensive DEIB Study

In May of 2021, we engaged DEI consultant Jason Craige Harris. He identified organizational strengths and blindspots using a multi-dimensional approach. First, he held individual in-depth interviews with staff, and facilitated both mixed identity and students of color focus groups with alumni, current students, faculty, and the former Diversity Committee.

He then undertook a comprehensive audit of our policies, practices, and marketing efforts, reviewed our curricular frameworks, and examined our hiring practices, performance evaluations, and admissions process. He produced an extensive, comprehensive report on his findings, and we communicated these findings to the community.

Based on his report, Jason helped us to clarify our commitment to specific actions. We acknowledge that this work involves a constant state of reflection and honest assessment and takes a deep commitment from moving from theory to practice

Our Commitment to Future Action

Community

We commit to examining the hiring criteria/hiring services/job descriptions we’ve used up to this point, and to making sure to engage recruiting services that are connected with and committed to hiring staff members of color.

We commit to begin gathering demographic data on our students in order to better understand who makes up our student and non-student community. This info can then inform targeted recruitment efforts in the future, in order to increase overall diversity in our student body.

We commit to being increasingly mindful of representation of POC at the Studio and ensuring meaningful opportunities for our students to engage with artists of color through our TK Actor Talks, the readings we produce, and the productions that we encourage students to see.

Curriculum

We commit to taking a comprehensive look at the curriculum for all of our classes, with the goal of making curriculum more inclusive and relevant. We will be ensuring our faculty members continually renew their commitments to always teaching their work through a DEIB lens.

We specifically commit to seeing what innovations/adaptations we may need to make to the traditional Meisner curriculum and “Meisner scenes” to create the most inclusive classroom environment possible.

We specifically commit to seeing what innovations/adaptations we may need to make to the curriculum/casting advice given in our Career Essentials Program—is there a way our teachers can better speak to students of color going out into the industry? Can they focus on bringing in more industry guests of color?

Training and Communication

We commit to providing DEIB training for all students, faculty, and staff on an ongoing and regular basis. We aim to begin this in Winter/Spring 2023.

We commit to creating, solidifying and announcing a new structure for students, staff, and faculty to report DEI issues within our Studio—including the establishment of designated, trained DEI Leaders on staff, as well as a group of trained DEI Point People—faculty and staff members.

We commit to offering affinity spaces for students of color and other underrepresented groups at the Studio.

We commit to re-examining and solidifying our Community Norms across all classes at the Studio—including stated pronouns and the land acknowledgment.

We commit to, at minimum, annual reviews of all of our DEI work and initiatives so we can remain accountable, and further commit to changing as necessary in response to said reviews.
This work is ongoing, reflective and iterative.

We commit to offering affinity spaces for students of color and other underrepresented groups at the Studio.

Harm Acknowledgement & Reflection

When we began our process of vigorously examining DEIB at our Studio over two years ago, it was important to us to create space for many voices to reflect on and share their experiences here. As a part of that process, we were made aware that some people in our community have had experiences that were not in alignment with our core values. And specifically, we recognize that students from underrepresented backgrounds and even more particularly students of color have had experiences at the Studio where they’ve been left feeling a lack of acceptance or belonging, as though their identities were not worthy of celebration or respect.

We want to acknowledge the harm that has happened. We want to apologize for the harm. We want to say we are grateful for all those who have come forward to share candidly about what they’ve experienced. We hereby commit ourselves to redoubling the work of repair, which means we work toward a Studio where this harm no longer happens. And, because no one individual or organization is perfect, if it does ever happen, then we commit to being more responsive than we’ve been in the past.

We urge all members of the Studio community––but particularly staff, faculty, and students in positions of power, leadership, or privilege––to join us in this commitment, as each of us, as we interact with one another, have a responsibility to uphold dignity and pursue repair when needed.

Actionable Steps for DEIB at TK Studio

We acknowledge the need to intentionally incorporate DEIB principles into our studio’s foundation, and have created a timeline of relevant events and specific actions we have taken to document our progress. This is an ongoing collaboration with our community, and we will continue to update this tool in the interest of transparency and accountability. Please explore the timeline below.

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Spring 2019

The Diversity Committee is proposed and begins to take shape.
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Fall 2019

2nd Year students form a Diversity Committee, and plan several initiatives
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Summer 2020

Town Hall discussions are held on Anti-Black Violence and AAPI Hate in order to engage students, alumni, and faculty, and to foster community conversations.
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Summer 2020

The Studio holds a Zoom reading of Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 featuring current students
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Fall 2020

We achieve Allyship with Broadway for Racial Justice.
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Fall 2020

The Studio hosts Jurnee Smollett for a Zoom TKActor Talk
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Spring 2021

We offer a course on the Black Arts Movement and Black Theater and Film History for the first time, taught by Victor Peterson
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Spring 2021 - Fall 2021

Jason Craige Harris undertakes a comprehensive review of DEIB at TKStudio, publishing his assessment in November 2021.
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Summer 2021

The Studio hosts Jonathan Majors for a Zoom TKActor Talk
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Fall 2021

We review and update our application to better reflect our DEIB values, and based on Jason’s review
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Spring 2022

We write our Land Acknowledgement and post it throughout the Studio space.
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Summer 2022

We run our first ever Summer High School Program, with a faculty and a student cohort that is majority POC
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Summer 2022

The Studio offers group discount theater tickets for students to see A Strange Loop.
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Fall 2022

We write our Casting Policy for our Student Handbook, which states that when a faculty member “casts” any scenes, etc, that explicit conversations are held around identity–; if you’re playing a role, then your identity is a part of that performance.
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Fall 2022

The Studio requires all 1st and 2nd Year students are to attend a Post-Colonial Theatre and Film workshop taught by Jonathan Gonzalez
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Fall 2022

The Studio offers group discount theater tickets for students to see Ain’t No Mo’, Death of a Salesman, and Where the Mountain Meets the Sea