After a year of virtual theatre performances, PlayMakers Repertory Company – the professional theatre company in residence at UNC – announced an in-person season for 2021-2022. Previously, as part of an anti-racism accountability statement, the company committed to 50 percent or more playwrights in their season being from Black, Indigenous, People of Color and other diverse or underrepresented populations.
In January, PlayMakers Repertory Company released an anti-racism accountability statement to assess and evaluate their own practices to create equitable, antiracist policies in the company.
In addition to committing to 50 percent diverse playwrights in its seasons, the company committed to diversity in directors and creative teams as well as expanding its Access, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Vivienne Benesch, the producing artistic director at PlayMakers Repertory Company, said the five mainstage show season includes three playwrights of color, three female playwrights and all five productions will be directed by women.
“The best conversations are diverse conversations,” Benesch said. “That goes on every level, starting with the writers that you have, then the directors that you bring, then the actors that are creating. At every level, finding both representation that is authentic and intentional, but then also making sure that there is inclusion and diversity that is meaningful.”
The first of the in-person productions is Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth,” set for November.
Four other in-person productions will occur beginning in January through May. These include: “Stick Fly,” “Mother Russia,” “A Wrinkle in Time,” and “How I Learned What I Learned.”
Benesch said a main focus in addition to amplifying diverse voices within the planning of the season was to select plays which evoked joy and celebrated human connection.
“This past many, many months of being disconnected has been an appreciation about the power of human connection in so many ways,” Benesch said. “So, we wanted to kind of look at that and celebrate that from a diverse group of voices.”
Benesch said every production will also feature two performances where audience members will be socially distanced.
It’s not just patrons returning to the theaters, of course. Actors are trading their bedrooms for the Paul Green Theater. Sergio Mauritz Ang is entering his third and final year in the UNC department of dramatic art Professional Actor Training Program where he has performed in two mainstage PlayMakers Repertory Company productions prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
He described PlayMakers as a place of inclusivity and said its selection of plays reflects hearing the voices which represent America.
“This year will just be a lot of learning and growth,” Ang said. “At the end of that anti-racism statement it says that, ‘These are not our first steps and by no means our last. They are not perfect. And they are not enough. But they are steps forward.’ That really rung true to me. There are these things in place but it still takes the entire community to really make changes ahead in the industry as a whole.”
Benesch echoed Ang’s sentiment as PlayMakers and the theatre industry continue adapting anti-racism policies.
“We have to move at the speed of trust,” Benesch said. “If you move faster than that you’re going to try to do things or make changes that you are not prepared to stand by or that an organization is not ready to handle.”
For more details on the PlayMakers 2021-2022 season, click here.
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