We’re looking for more members to join us, so if you’re interested please contact the office at admin@walterdaletheatre.com.
Initiative Statement:
We recognize and honour that we are living and creating on Treaty Six territory and we embrace the spirit of Tatawaw, a Cree phrase meaning “welcome, there is room.”
We recognize that we live in a community that is diverse; however, not all groups may be able to participate in our theatre due to certain barriers. These barriers may exist within the larger theatre community or within our own organization or indeed may exist at the personal level making participation difficult. Through practicing equity, our goal is to recognize and work to remove existing barriers so that groups that have not been able to participate in our activities are actively included.
The Equity Committee wishes to help create organizational beliefs and policies that will make Walterdale Theatre more reflective of and more engaged with the greater Edmonton community it serves. We wish to demonstrate, through meaningful action that promotes inclusiveness and respect, that all are, indeed, welcome, and together we can create.
Terms of Reference:
Objectives:
Research and Needs Assessment:
Review and bring forward for consideration the findings and learnings from previous Walterdale initiatives and from the experiences and training of committee members.
Undertake any additional research necessary to discover the needs of diverse theatre communities and consider how those needs might be met within Walterdale.
Education:
Making available materials and/or workshops which introduce existing members or interested community members to the best policies and methods for how to approach various community theatre topics, which may include writing submissions, casting, auditions, rehearsals, and production processes in an inclusive and equitable manner.
Making available materials and/or workshops which introduce existing members or interested community members to diverse forms of community theatre, including from other parts of Canada and the world.
Outreach:
Forging connections with diverse communities in order to enhance communication with those communities about the opportunities available at Walterdale.
Increase the engagement of those communities with Walterdale for both taking advantage of the existing opportunities and for creating new opportunities.
Capacity-building:
Opening the theatre to the sharing of diverse artistic practices, (including art forms, philosophies, and cultures), for the benefit of both internal members and external community members.
Locating and making available resources or workshops to increase the awareness of and appreciation for diverse theatre practices and theatre publications from other approaches, cultures, philosophies, and theories.
Scope and Deliverables
Scope:
The Equity Committee, as a committee established by the Board of Directors of Walterdale Theatre, is responsible for researching, developing, and recommending policies and/or procedures designed to support the objectives above. The Board of Directors will be responsible for the implementation of recommended and approved policies and procedures.
Deliverables:
Specifically, the deliverables of the Equity Committee between January 2021 and September 2021 will include:
1) Developing a work plan based on the above Objectives.
2) Identifying at least one or two key issues affecting the participation of underrepresented communities in Walterdale.
3) Overseeing the production of the Postmarginal project.
4) Supporting the Artistic Director in their initiatives for the 2021-22 season.
Committee Membership, Roles, Responsibilities, and Term
Membership:
All Walterdale activities take place within an overarching culture of volunteerism. All creative, technical, production, front of house, promotion, building, and membership activities are carried out by volunteers except for one paid part-time administrator responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the theatre. This volunteer ethos has been central to Walterdale’s success for over sixty years. However, we also recognize the requirements of volunteering may create some barriers.
To help diverse community members participate in the work of the Equity Committee, we are committed to finding ways to help alleviate those barriers on a case-by-case basis.
The committee will have a minimum of five and a maximum of ten members, roughly comprised of one-third Walterdale board members, one-third Walterdale general members, and-one third community members.
All members of the committee will be granted membership in Walterdale Theatre Associates, with the following privileges:
Two (2) complimentary tickets to each Walterdale production (subject to limitations imposed from COVID)
Free admittance to workshops hosted by Walterdale.
It is important for members of the committee to engage with Walterdale productions as participants or audience members to ensure an appreciation for the work that Walterdale members do.
Roles:
A member of the Board of Directors and one other person should Co-Chair the committee.
Responsibilities:
The Co-Chairs of the committee will set agendas, take turns chairing meetings, and prepare reports of committee proceedings. The Co-Chair who also sits on the Board of Directors will be responsible for reporting back to the Board on committee work, receiving feedback on committee initiatives, and reporting back board decisions.
Term:
Terms of committee members shall be for one year. Committee membership will be reviewed in conjunction with the election of the new Board of Directors each year. This is usually done in late September or early October of each year.
Schedule of Activities
Meetings:
Meetings of the committee will be held on the second Monday, every second month. Other meetings may be called if needed.
Initiatives:
The schedule for completion of initiatives created by the committee will be determined along with the work plan for each initiative.
Walterdale Theatre acknowledges that our theatre is located on Treaty 6, a traditional territory of the Cree and has been an important trading place of the Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Nakota Sioux, Dene, and Métis peoples of western Canada for many thousands of years. We also recognize and honour that we are Treaty people and therefore seek to uphold the spirit and intent of this Treaty.