Theatre Programming
Ford’s Theatre is committed to diversifying all aspects of its programming.
- Artistic staff is engaged ongoing dialogue with BIPOC colleagues and artists across the country, including the Black Artist Coalition (BAC), a group of Black theatre-makers in the D.C. area.
- Ford’s has renewed its focus on BIPOC and women playwrights to expand the stories and themes we produce and celebrate.
- All theatrical projects are evaluated with an eye toward radical inclusion.
- Sheldon Epps joined the Ford’s Theatre artistic team as Senior Artistic Advisor in August 2020.
- Ford’s has an all BIPOC casting team.
- The artistic programming team is majority BIPOC.
- BIPOC actors have represented more than 50 percent of all hired actors during the past three theatrical seasons.
- The Ford's Theatre Legacy Commissions will engage an unprecedented number of BIPOC playwrights to write new theatrical works intent on expanding our understanding of the complex issues surrounding the United States’ racial history and give voice to previously unknown BIPOC figures and/or stories. The Inaugural group of five playwrights was announced in May of 2021.
- Our virtual and podcast Cabinet Conversations series is an artistic directive that streams interviews with scholars, artists and national leaders as they think aloud about the future of the arts, civics and history.
Production
Weekly meetings with production and artistic staff are held to assess, evaluate and adapt our policies to ensure inclusive and anti-racism practices.
EDI and anti-racism training is standard practice for the entire production staff—all hired artists, backstage personnel, front of house staff, daytime visit volunteers and ushers.
For the 2021-2022 season, Ford’s has implemented:
- Comprehensive production schedules for each show.
- Five-day rehearsal weeks.
- No more “10-out-of-12" hour technical rehearsals.
- Culturally appropriate dramaturgs and consultants as necessitated by each production.
- All artists are compensated for any production-related work outside of rehearsals and performances.
Visitor Experience
Ford’s has developed a set of audience Rules of Engagement to welcome our visitors and encourage them to experience Ford’s on their terms.
Museum Exhibition and Education Program
Ford's Theatre aims to make lasting and impactful change that prioritizes and highlights inclusivity in our storytelling and in our organization as a whole.
Starting in 2017, Ford’s embarked upon a comprehensive reimagining of our Interpretive Plan, including a series of foundational truths, or historical statements that the institution will not debate, with the support of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and HG&Co.’s Kate Haley Goldman. Those are:
- The Civil War and John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln were motivated by the desire to perpetuate an economic, political and social system of white racial superiority, of which slavery was an integral part.
- Political violence happened at Ford’s Theatre. Such acts are serious and have long-ranging implications for all aspects of society.
- Lincoln was an extraordinary leader, and, like all of us, was a fallible, complex human being, whose legacy continues to evolve.
Implementing the foundational truths and the Interpretive Plan has led Ford's to make changes to our practice, including:
- Shaping our educational programming to focus on thinking critically about memory and memorialization.
- Intentionally including African-American voices and other voices of people of color in the historical narratives on our website and in all our educational initiatives.
- Adding silhouettes of people of color to expand the range of default silhouettes used in first-person accounts on the website.
- Future plans to reimagine the museum exhibit experience in ways that immerse visitors in Civil War-era Washington, so that the diverse stories of those Lincoln encountered are told with care and given the space they deserve.
- Including staff in a week-long training about teaching race with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, followed by a months-long facilitator training with Challenging Racism, a non-profit based in Arlington, VA. These trainings led to partnerships with Challenging Racism and the Center for Inspired Teaching as additional ways to strengthen our teacher workshops and resource materials and to develop new strategies for centering student voice in our oratory programs.