MTEA Creates Representation Committee And Offers Free Webinar On Race, Equity And Inclusion In Musical Theatre

In June of 2020 the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance (MTEA), an international organization of teachers and professionals, created a much-needed committee for Representation, Equity, and Inclusion (REI), led by MTEA's newly appointed Lead Diversity Officer, Tim Espinosa of Fullerton College. "The mission of this committee will be to address systemic inequities that have plagued our colleagues and students in musical theatre education for far too long. Together, this committee will create and implement immediate actions that can be taken to further the cause of increasing equity for students and faculty in both the academic and professional arena of musical theatre. Committee members will work to develop a unifying mission statement, engage in candid and open dialogue with fellow faculty and staff across the globe, work towards building action plans that can immediately be implemented by faculty and private organizations to effect positive change, develop an MTEA scholarship fund, and collaborate in preparing for our upcoming webinar that will specifically address the racial inequities that exist in musical theatre education and performance," said Espinosa.

On July 15th from 7 to 10 PM EDT, MTEA's REI Committee will host a free Zoom webinar entitled Race, Equity, and Inclusion in Musical Theatre Education. The free three-hour webinar is open to the public and will be divided into three sixty-minute topics. The first topic will focus on practices for strengthening racial equity in the classroom, the second topic will focus on increasing racial equity in the rehearsal and production process, and the third hour will discuss creating greater equity within the college audition/recruitment process.

Guest speakers during the webinar will include Adriel A. Hilton, Ph.D., dean of students and diversity officer at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Kent Gash, Associate Arts Professor at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and Founding Director of the Tisch New Studio on Broadway. MTEA's Representation, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will host as well as present. The founding members of the REI Committee are Rufus Bonds, Jr. (Syracuse University), Leo Yu-Ning Chang (Marymount Manhattan College), Tim Espinosa (Fullerton College), Brittany Chanell Johnson (Howard University), Marty Austin Lamar (Howard University), Ellen Lettrich (The Fund for College Auditions), Wilson Mendieta (Chapman University), Gwendolyn Walker (Penn State University), Autumn West (Oklahoma City University/OCU Care), and Kim Varhola (Keimyung University).

MTEA was founded in 1999 as a means for teachers of young professional artists to come together and exchange ideas, methodologies, and solutions to common challenges in the academic settings of universities and conservatories. The organization has grown to include member institutions spanning the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Membership provides not only an online forum for discussions pertaining to musical theatre training and the exchange of ideas and resources but also access to our annual conference, which alternates between US and international locations.

The Zoom Webinar link is: https://zoom.us/j/92616133157

This event is free and open to the public. Users may log in at 7 PM EDT on Wednesday, July 15th using the meeting ID 926 6161 33157. No password is required. For more information visit www.musicaltheatreeducators.org.

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