At Shaking the Tree, we are committed to transforming our theatre by actively identifying and dismantling white supremacy, anti-Blackness, transphobia, homophobia, and all other forms of oppression. Our board and staff have set clear benchmarks for diversity across our organization, with a specific commitment to maintaining at least 50% BIPOC representation among our staff and contract hires for productions. We have exceeded this goal for the past two years, with 65% of our artistic hires and staff identifying as BIPOC during the 2023/24 season.

September 2024 Commitments & Updates:

• Shaking the Tree’s executive and general staff will meet quarterly throughout the 2024/25 season to discuss and advance anti-racism and anti-bias efforts.
• We remain committed to achieving 50% BIPOC representation on our board. Though progress has been deliberate, we have increased BIPOC representation from 12% in 2022/23 to 22%, with a projected increase to 30% in 2024/25.
• We prioritize the well-being of all employees and contractors, using feedback from post-show surveys to improve working conditions. Two examples of comments we received during the 2023/24 season include:
  • “Best and most ethical theater I have ever worked with. So genuinely kind and considerate of all aspects of technical theater and gives people space to make mistakes and grow from them.”
  • “I’ve never felt more heard or seen!”
• In our 2023/24 season, we provided multiple ticket discount options to ensure financial accessibility, including student/youth, Under 30/Over 60, and the $10 Helping Hand tickets. We issued 1,713 discounted and free admissions out of 2,651 tickets sold. Notably, 32% of ticket buyers were first-time attendees, down from 48% in the previous season—a sign that many first-time attendees are returning.
• Ticket prices will remain consistent in the 2024/25 season.
• We continued to elevate BIPOC artists and collaborators during the 2023/24 season. For We Wrote This With You in Mind, 82% of the team identified as BIPOC. Across all four productions, 65% of collaborators were BIPOC.
• We successfully presented Nothing Left to Lose: A Multimedia Summer Festival, showcasing work and artists that traditionally wouldn’t be seen in theatre. We’re excited to share the results of our ongoing Open Space Residency in next year’s update.

July 2023 Commitments / Updates:

• Shaking the Tree staff continued to meet weekly to check in about anti-racism & anti-bias work during our 2022/23 season, & will continue these weekly meetings in our 2023/24 season.
• Shaking the Tree is committed to continuing our work towards 50% BIPOC representation on our board. The work towards this commitment has been slow moving. The question we continue to bump up against is how do we do this authentically without feeling like we’re checking a box just to get our numbers to 50%? We are continuing to build relationships with BIPOC community members who support our work, and are actively searching for new board members. During the 2022/23 season we increased our Board’s BIPOC representation from 12% to 22%. 
• Shaking the Tree has continued to prioritize the wellbeing of all employees & contractors by using the information gathered from post-show surveys to upgrade working conditions. 
• In our 2022/23 season we offered multiple ticket discounts to support financial access from diverse economic backgrounds, including student/youth, Under 30/Over 60, and a $5 Helping Hand ticket option available to anyone. Overall, we provided 1,600 discounted and free admissions out of 2,606 tickets sold, and 48% of our ticket buyers were first-time StT attendees. This is up 40% from our first time attendees in 2021/22.
• In 2023/24, Shaking the Tree is raising all of our ticket prices slightly to cover the inflated costs of making theatre. We have decided to raise our Helping Hand tickets from $5 to $10, as we still wish to provide tickets at an accessible price point. 
• In our 2022/23 season, Shaking the Tree continued to elevate AAPI voices through our programming. The play In A Different Reality She’s Clawing At The Walls included a 57% AAPI & 86% BIPOC team. Shaking the Tree will continue to elevate AAPI voices in our Winter 2024 production. 
• In our 2022/23 season, Shaking the Tree presented Nothing Left To Lose: A Multimedia Summer Festival, which featured work by artists whose work is not traditionally seen in theatre. We commit to expanding on this by offering The Open Space Residency, which is designed as a space for emerging artists to explore & experiment with their work. We believe that these kinds of offerings expand accessibility for a number of emerging artists, and provide platforms for their work. 
• Shaking the Tree is wondering what pay transparency would look like, & how this would affect our work towards dismantling hierarchy in the workplace. We are committed to continuing this conversation within our organization, and opening it up to our collaborators. ​
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In an attempt to hold ourselves accountable, we will continue to publish yearly updates on this page about further commitments and the progress of our ongoing work. If you wish to have dialogue with us about our commitments & progress, please contact us at [email protected].