Consortium Of Asian American Theaters And Artists Joins A National Alliance Of Theater Coalitions Of Color To Survey The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (CAATA) announces their participation with a national alliance of theater coalitions that advocate for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latino/x, and Middle Eastern & North African) theater-makers to survey both the immediate and projected long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theaters and theater practitioners of color. The survey also asks what actions BIPOC theater-makers have taken in response to the pandemic. Information gathered in the surveys will be distributed to participants and beyond.

BIPOC communities in the United States have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including higher infection, hospitalization, and death rates, along with higher rates of unemployment and economic hardship. The survey is specifically centered around gathering data on how the pandemic has affected BIPOC theater-makers and is being conducted in two parts, one for BIPOC theater companies, and one for BIPOC theater practitioners.

"Through the gathering of this BIPOC-specific information, we intend to strategically leverage support for our communities and work to analyze and dismantle the racist systems that cause BIPOC theater artists and organizations disproportionate harm," said CAATA President Leslie Ishii. Ishii added that along with CAATA, participating theater coalitions include Black Vitality Commission, Black Theatre Commons, Black Theatre Network, Latinx Theatre Commons, Middle Eastern North African Artist Theater-Makers Alliance, Alternate Roots, and Indigenous/First Peoples/Native American theater groups, informal networks, and communities. Ishii concluded with,"The survey is being conducted in solidarity with the We See You White American Theatre movement," referring to a collective of theater-makers that work to address the scope and pervasiveness of anti-Blackness and racism in American theater.

"This survey is designed by theater leaders/practitioners of color, and our goal is to gather information "by us, about us, and for us" [respectfully citing W.E.B. DuBois on Black Theater). The BIPOC/BITOC Commons Building Survey Design team gathers the information using these surveys to give us (BIPOC/BITOC) collective data to tell OUR STORIES," said Associate Professor, Lucy M.S.P. Burns of the UCLA Asian American Studies Department.

Both versions of the survey are now available online. The form for theater organizations is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BITOCorganizationsofcolor. The form for individual theater practitioners is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BIPOCtheaterpractionersCOVIDsurvey.

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