To Our Community,
The unique circumstances intersecting widespread civil rights protest in our country and the Covid-19 "pause" has given every theatre company the opportunity to gaze inward and inspect its own complicity in the systemic racism endemic to our culture. Not only to inspect, but also to affect positive change.
We believe that arts administrators have a responsibility to hold themselves to a high standard of behavior as the field implies a mandate for both reflecting the world as it is and suggesting the world as it could be or might be. These mandates cannot be accomplished in a way that serves justice if those holding power in the arts industry do not embrace justice.
House of Ithaqua acknowledges the following problems in its organization, each followed by an action we pledge to take:
1. Elevating white writers as a default. All five of House of Ithaqua's productions thus far have been by white playwrights.
Action: We will postpone the planned April 2021 production of "Sophia" until later in the year and substitute it for a production by a writer of color. The selection of this production will be a springboard to prompt overall change in the manner by which we curate scripts, and we pledge that at least one of the three full-up productions we produce each year will be by a writer of color.
2. Elevating white performers as a default. Although House of Ithaqua holds open auditions we have not been diligent enough in advertising these to local communities of color and therefore have produced plays employing a sizable majority of white actors.
Action: We will consult with prominent members of under-represented communities about how to best disseminate our auditions to those communities. By intentionally seeking work written by writers of color we also anticipate more roles that must, by way of the text, be performed by actors of color. We further reaffirm that we consider no roles to be inherently white.
3. Until now, House of Ithaqua tickets have been set at a fixed rate with discount provisions only for students and seniors. We acknowledge the intersection between racism, classism and poverty and seek to find an audience that wholly represents Ithaca.
Action: Money should never stand between a person and art. Starting in April 2021 ALL tickets to House of Ithaqua shows will be charged on a pay-what-you-will basis. Although this is a financial risk we believe that theatre-goers have a fundamental stake in their community and that those with means will happily respond to this policy by paying an amount commensurate with what they can afford, thereby proving it viable.
House of Ithaqua remains dedicated to bringing a particular brand of art to Ithaca - performances of horror, thrillers and the supernatural that provide for raw, gripping and cathartic experiences. It's wrong to implicitly bias such experiences toward white creators, white performers and white audience. Dear friends, we will aim higher.
We cannot wait to see our collaborators and audience again. More importantly we cannot wait to see both groups grow.
Yours,
House of Ithaqua
Executive Staff