Update - February, 2021
February 2, 2021
February marks a special month for us here at Milwaukee Rep, and one we’ve been looking forward to for many months.
As we look at the world today, the need to celebrate the past, present, and the hope of the future is stronger than ever. Our celebration of Black History Month, at its core, celebrates, uplifts, and honors the rich Black theatrical history of the past, present, and future. It reminds us all that we are more alike than not and must never lose hope or faith that when we stand together and speak truth, Milwaukee Rep and our community are stronger.
We are excited to launch “We Rise: MKE’s Celebration of Black History Month”in partnership with 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. This celebration will honor the tremendous contributions that Black artists, administrators have made to Milwaukee Rep and our entire city. We are proud to present these virtual events each Monday night in February at 7:00 pm CST via Facebook Live and YouTube Live.
More details on the local and national artists and administrators participating in “We Rise: MKE’s Celebration of Black History Month” can be found here.
The work to engage our community is also realized through REPair Divides programming. REPair Divides is a virtual dialogue series in partnership with the Zeidler Group that focuses on a piece of performance art that positively provokes conversation and action among audience members. Recent programming has included deaf cultures and representation, an intergenerational panel on "blame and deflection between generations as it relates to social activism," and a conversation on "when to talk to your kids about race." With a focus on the Milwaukee community, our series has also been seen by audience members across the country, making Milwaukee Rep a beacon of light for crucial conversations in a safe and supported environment.
Of course, our vital internal equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) work continues. After months of work involving our staff and leadership, we are pleased to officially launch our internal campaign as a team on February 4. Our official campaign name will be revealed, along with the roll out of first quarter 2021 trainings and workshops. We’re ending the celebration with a dance party because it always good to have a party with a purpose!
We are continuing to facilitate crucial conversations among our leadership and dedicated staff. These conversations have yielded tremendous fruit for our team, resulting in a better understanding of one another and a desire to celebrate, not merely acknowledge and respect, our differences.
A critical component of our work is our ED&I Strategic Plan. We are putting the finishing touches on this plan, which will guide our ED&I work for the next three years.
Finally, we recognize the critical work we are doing to achieve a more equitable company is incomplete without involving our board leadership. To that end, we are convening our Board of Trustees on February 11 to actionize the role trustees play in advancing our ED&I initiatives.
As ever, we appreciate your support and hope to see you at one of our live virtual events to celebrate Black History Month.
Greg Oberland
President, Board of Trustees
Warren Buliox
Trustee & Chair, ED&I Committee
Mark Clements
Artistic Director
Chad Bauman
Executive Director
Tammy Belton-Davis
Chief Diversity Officer