ACCOUNTABILITY & INCLUSION

Inclusion is a Practice

At STAGES Youth Theater, we believe every young person deserves to experience the joy, confidence, and self-discovery that theater can offer. Creating a truly welcoming community isn’t something we accomplish once and then check off a list. It’s ongoing work. It requires listening, learning, changing, and acknowledging when we’ve gotten something wrong.

Our work asks us to meet kids where they’re at. That means continually examining whether our programs, policies, teaching practices, casting processes, facilities, and culture actually reflect that promise – for every child and every family. Some changes we’ve made have been small. Others have fundamentally reshaped how we operate. Many more are still works in progress.

Rather than present ourselves as having the answers, we’d rather be transparent about the questions we’re asking, the changes we’re making, and what we’re still learning. This page isn’t the end of that conversation. It’s one place where we share it.

What Accountability Looks Like at STAGES

THINKING ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY & INCLUSION AT STAGES

Our blog is where we share reflections on our teaching practices, accessibility, inclusion, casting, community conversations, and the ways we’re working to better serve young people and their families. Sometimes we write after we’ve made a change. Sometimes we write while we’re still asking questions. We believe there’s value in being open about both.

We aren’t always posting often or consistently, but we are committed to sharing what we are learning, celebrating, or still grappling with as we move forward. We will post updates here as we have them. If you have feedback, ideas, or questions, we’d love to hear from you. The conversation – and the work – continues.