Upright Citizens Brigade Reveals Plan to Diversify Leadership

Upright Citizens Brigade has announced that it plans to diversify its leadership, the New York Times reports.

The group's founders, Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, also revealed that they are seeking nonprofit status.

A statement was sent in an email this weekend, saying that control of the theaters was going to be passed on to "diverse individuals." The statement said that they are working to address "the questions of systemic racism and inequality within the theaters."

The new board will review the company's audition and hiring processes, and the theatre will facilitate a system for anonymous reporting of "complaints related to race, sexual orientation and safety."

This announcement comes after the UCB faced criticism from comedian Keisha Zollar, who claimed she "worked as a Diveristy Coordinator at an institution where I was NEVER PAID in money for my work." She did not mention UCB by name, but the theatre responded with, "Thanks so much Keisha for bringing this to our attention. We have reached out to you via phone and email, and look forward to resolving this as soon as possible."

The email stated that the founders "will no longer handle day to day operations of the training center" but it is unclear if Poehler, Besser, Roberts and Walsh will play any role in the UCB moving forward.

Read the original story on New York Times.

In April it was announced that the company would be closing down its New York locations, but is "open to the possibility of again having our own facilities in New York in the future if we can find an economically feasible way to do so."

This came after the news that the organization would be laying off theater staff at its locations on both coasts.

The theatre's locations in Los Angeles remain open.

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