Village Theatre’s Culture of Care and Accessibility

At Village Theatre, we believe in the power of storytelling. It is our responsibility to tell stories onstage that shine a light on everyone’s lived experiences and reflect the world around us. From the shows we select to the artists who bring those shows to life, we are committed to curating a collection of stories that investigate, challenge, and celebrate the very essence of theater – the human experience. Similarly, we are committed that our classrooms and educational spaces are a place where every student can blossom and shine.

We have identified several commitments that guide our organization in the decisions we make regarding what stories we tell, who tells them, and why we choose to tell them.

Commitments

• We conduct a formalized script review process with the lens of equity and anti-racism, using both internal and external script readers.
• Although the center of our work continues to be classical musical theater, we commit to regularly producing work by and about people of color and other marginalized individuals in our Mainstage season.
• Through our New Works program, we will continue to develop the next generation of musical theater writers, with a special eye toward underserved and marginalized voices. 
• Through our Youth Education Art Without Boundaries program, we are committed to providing avenues for BIPOC and underrepresented students to highlight and develop their artistry and talent.
• Village Theatre practices identity- and ability- conscious casting for both the Mainstage and Youth Education programs.
• In both our Mainstage and Youth Education program, we are committed to hiring creative personnel from the wide wealth of talented designers both in our Puget Sound region and nationally who bring a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives to each production, as well as culturally specific knowledge of the stories we are telling.

Village Theatre believes that supporting our entire staff behind the scenes is paramount to ensuring equity and accessibility.

We continue to shape and reevaluate our internal goals and communications, recruitment and hiring practices, and employee training requirements and opportunities. We center our goal of building a culture of belonging and professional development by striving to be an organization where staff feel they are authentically valued, can find opportunities for growth, and are seen and heard.

Commitments

• We mandate anti-racism orientation for all employees who work with us for more than a week. That orientation is also shared with all contractors who work with us for more than a week.
• Visiting artists and production staff are surveyed during and after each production process, and results are shared with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) committee, Executive Leadership, and our Board Leadership.
• We conduct annual reviews and exit interviews of our full-time and part-time employees to examine current work culture, and to identify and address employee concerns.
• We survey our staff annually to allow for sharing feedback and satisfaction with the organization.
• We strive as an institution to give people their schedules as far out as we can, understanding that different work areas have different needs and requirements in scheduling.
• For non-seasonal staff positions, job applicants’ identities and educational institutions are redacted, and candidates are evaluated and scored by a demographically diverse hiring committee.
• We list our job postings on industry-specific websites and social media groups that are designed to connect employers with a diverse workforce.
• We seek out and employ subject matter experts for production needs.
• When there is physical intimacy on our stages of a romantic or sexual nature, we hire intimacy consultants.
• We have a full-time Human Resources Manager, who reports to our Director of Operations.
• We disseminate a reporting policy during our Mainstage productions for all employees, visiting artists, and production staff, to report instances of racism, racial harm, sexual harassment or harassment of any sort. This is reviewed at first rehearsals and shared frequently in meetings. 
• We have built a standardized and equitable pay structure for all Mainstage actors and for Mainstage/Youth Education designers, musicians, directors, and teaching artists. 
• Teaching artists are compensated for curriculum building time.
• We provide mentorship opportunities for students through our Technical Theater Program, our Summer Independent Program, and Mainstage observerships in order  to create pathways to a wide range of positions in professional theater.
• We create community agreements among students on the first day of classes and rehearsals.
• We provide compensation for work that goes substantially beyond the scope of an employee’s original role and/or department.
• We provide free audition workshops for both Youth Education and Mainstage artists.
• We offer more than the required number of open calls for our Mainstage productions so as to improve access for all.
• We provide funding to the Western Washington Training Trust to support the training and growth of our technical theater staff.
• Our DEIA committee, comprised of staff from many departments and levels of the organization, identifies concerns and crafts policy recommendations.

Village Theatre commits to provide a welcoming and respectful space for all who join us. We invite patrons, artists, staff, and students of all identities, ages, backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, genders, gender expressions, races, sexual orientations, incomes, abilities, and nationalities to our programming. 

Commitments

We are expanding how we identify, connect, and engage with all members of our communities.  We have identified and addressed certain barriers by creating programs such as:

• Pay What You Choose performances for every show in both locations, as well as tickets priced as low as $30 for every show beginning with the 2025-2026 season.
• Discount codes for community groups & schools.
• The TeenTix program, which enables youth ages 13-19 to purchase $5 tickets and gain enrichment through attending arts events.
• Scholarships for at-need students with financial aid; no student is turned away due to inability to pay.
• Braille and large-print programs for Mainstage productions.
• A hearing loop and assisted listening devices for patrons at our Francis J. Gaudette Theatre, Everett Performing Arts Center, and Hunt Family Theatre.
• American Sign Language interpreted and Captioned performances for Mainstage productions (schedule available on show pages).
• Accessible seating in all of our venues.
• Audience content guides for all productions.
• Pre-show emails that are sent to all ticket purchasers, which include notes about sensory access concerns (such as strobes, gunshots, haze/fog, etc).
• Soundproofed “Family Rooms” in the auditorium of our Francis J. Gaudette Theatre.
• Email addresses for members of our Executive Leadership team in every Mainstage playbill.
• Regular usher training in safety procedures and welcoming our patrons.
• De-escalation and bystander training for all House Managers and Box Office staff members.
• Additionally, we are developing systems to allow patrons to add access needs to their patron accounts to better inform us of how we can support them.

If you witness or experience behavior inconsistent with these values, please speak to management: email our Director of Operations, Heather Berry, at directorofoperations@villagetheatre.org or call (425) 392-1942 x134.