Lin-Manuel Miranda launches R.I.S.E. Network to improve diversity on Broadway
“Hamilton” 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 – or R.I.S.E. Network, for short – 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.
“There has been a lot of talk since 2020 about diversity and change,” Miranda told The Associated Press, adding that the directory is coming at a “really wonderful time because theatre, as a system, has learned to say the right things.”
“Now,” Miranda said, “it’s about backing that up.”
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 – most notably “A New Deal for Broadway” 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.
“R.I.S.E. is really about making sure that the beautiful mosaic of people you see -- if you see a production of ‘Hamilton’ or you see a production of ‘MJ (The Musical)’ or ‘Fat Ham’ on Broadway -- is also reflected backstage, that it’s not just the folks in front of the footlights,” Miranda said, “Because there are incredibly talented practitioners and carpenters and makeup designers and wardrobe folks who also deserve that shot.”
Wilson Chin, the New York-based set and production designer behind Broadway shows “Cost of Living” and “Pass Over,” said he hopes R.I.S.E. becomes widely used by those hiring in the theatre.
“People keep saying, ‘We can’t find anyone,’ but we’re out there,” said Chin, who is currently working on several projects, including “Turandot” for the Washington National Opera and the new Hunter S. Thompson musical for La Jolla Playhouse. “We just have to be found. Having us all in one place is great for us to be seen.”
Miranda said he got the idea for R.I.S.E. Network from director Ava DuVernay’s 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. Network’s project director, said it will launch Thursday with nearly 1,000 theatre professionals in the directory and will look to expand after its launch.
“Theatre-making exists everywhere,” Hyndman said. “There 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.”
Robb Nanus, executive director of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit that fights racism through storytelling, said his group supports R.I.S.E. Network’s efforts because it provides the connections needed to create change in theatre hiring practices.
“They understand the complexities of pipeline issues, that it’s not just about putting names in a database,” Nanus said. “It’s about understanding how to support people holistically and how to make connections between people who want to work and people looking for team members.”
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.
“There’s 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,” she said. “So this will help us do that.”
St. Martin said increasing diversity in the theatre not only creates more vibrant productions, but also more robust interest from audiences.
“This is good for business and the right thing to do,” she said.
-----
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation U.S., with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Trump charged over classified documents in 1st federal indictment of an ex-president
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Freeland's budget bill passes House after Poilievre pledges to block it
The federal budget implementation bill passed the House of Commons on Thursday, after days of Conservative attempts to block it.
Supreme Court of Canada won't hear unvaccinated woman's case for organ donation
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
Special rapporteur David Johnston cuts ties with crisis management firm Navigator
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference has ended ties with crisis communications firm Navigator, his office confirmed on Thursday.
How the lack of gravity in space impacts astronauts’ brain
What happens to the brain when you take gravity away? According to a new study looking at astronauts both before and after space travel, that experience causes physical changes that researchers believe requires at least three years between longer missions to recover from.
Are more interest rate hikes on the way? Here's what experts say
In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s unexpected rate hike, economists are pointing to further tightening in the near term.
'Tremendous amount we could be doing': Expert shares tips for preventing, adapting to wildfires
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
10-year-old girl survives more than 24 hours alone in the rugged Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Wildfire battles continue as heat, air quality alerts affect most of Canada
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.