Belonging

YAA’s Commitment to Belonging

Young Artists of America® (YAA) acknowledges that discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, nationality, and ability are global, societal problems that can not be tolerated. We believe it is our responsibility to educate the next generation of artists and build community and understanding among students, artistic collaborators, and audience members. 

Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is a central part of our mission and core values as a performing arts organization. We pledge to be an authentic part of the solution within our sphere of influence. 

As we believe our community is made stronger when we welcome all stories and storytellers, we will intentionally work to create an environment where teaching artists, staff, board, and students are representative of our entire community and feel their voices are welcomed, valued, and heard. We pledge to celebrate varied perspectives, as through our differences, we can empower students and audiences to explore our commonalities.

We will invest resources to develop, organize, and support initiatives that foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Finally, we recognize that as we listen, reflect, learn, and grow in our understanding of these issues, this statement, and the commitment it represents, will evolve. 

In order to build community and understanding among students, artistic collaborators, and audience members, YAA is committed to:

  • Seeking out and listening to students, faculty, and staff from varied backgrounds, to understand their experiences in our program and learn if they feel their voices are welcomed, valued, and heard.

  • Prioritizing increasing diversity among our board of directors, teaching artists, staff, and students.

  • Recruiting students from schools in under-resourced communities.

  • Distributing new scholarships specifically focused on supporting more BIPOC students.

  • Featuring guest performers from schools/programs with diverse student bodies.

  • Presenting free concerts in neighborhoods and venues not usually served by performing arts organizations.

  • Uncovering and discussing themes about racial, gender, and economic disparity in our chosen material.

  • Approaching repertoire in ways that explore humanity by challenging norms, values, and traditional narratives.

  • Holding everyone at YAA— teaching artists, staff, board, and students— accountable to reflect the goals of this DEIA statement through their actions and words, beginning with restorative justice and healing. 

Sincerely,

The YAA Board of Directors and Staff
September 2022

If you’d like to learn more, start a dialogue, or suggest other ways YAA can meet our promise, please reach out.

Efforts to Improve Access for Students and Audiences of Color

As we announce our upcoming 2020-2021 season, everyone at YAA— leadership, staff, and board members— reaffirms our commitment to excellence and racial equity. 

Through our artistic programming, community collaborations, and organizational culture we strive to champion high caliber storytelling that gives young artists opportunities to explore themes about race and disparity that challenge non-dominant norms. 

However, the events of the past few months have shown us that we must do more. We commit now to clearly calling out racial injustice and communicating the actions we will take to help build an anti-racist community. 

Specifically...YAA affirms unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, and that we must do whatever we can as an organization to bring an end to systemic racism. In the coming year, YAA will take specific actions— some new, and some which are already part of our organizational DNA.

Prioritizing racial equity has always been a part of YAA’s organizational DNA since its inception. We are committed to launching new and emphasizing ongoing initiatives aimed at improving access to our programming for students and audiences of color. 

Continuing Efforts

In the coming year, we will continue to:

  • Recruit students from schools in under-resourced communities

  • Offer more than $60,000 annually in tuition assistance, through funders like the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation

  • Include guest performers from schools/programs with diverse student bodies in at least one of our productions

  • Intentionally choose or approach repertoire in a way that challenges nondominant norms, values, and narratives about race, gender, and class inequality (We have recently produced Ragtime and Parade, both of which place race at centerpiece of the narrative.)

  • Uncover and discuss themes about racial, gender, and economic disparity in our chosen material.

  • Commit to color-conscious/gender-conscious casting and continue presenting diverse casts for each of our productions

  • Offer blocks of free tickets to aspiring first-generation college students through the Montgomery County ACES program

  • Present free concerts throughout the area, in neighborhoods and venues not usually served by performing arts organizations 

New Initiatives

We now commit to:

  • Distributing new scholarships specifically focused on bringing in more BIPOC students, in partnership with specific schools in our community.

  • Prioritizing increasing diversity among our board of directors and staff, with a goal of having their racial makeup reflect that of our home in Montgomery County, MD. While our board and staff already include people of color, we know we can do more. 

As we look forward towards the future, we recommit to creating a safe and engaging artistic community for all students. This is neither the beginning, nor the end, of YAA’s stand against systemic racism. As we work to give students the highest quality musical theatre training and performance opportunities, we promise to prioritize YAA’s racial equity initiatives for this season...and for all seasons in our future!

Sincerely,

Ollen Douglass, Board President
Lisa Larragoite, Executive Director
Rolando Sanz, Producing Artistic Director
Kristofer Sanz, Music Director
Terry Eberhardt, Associate Artistic Director
August 2020

If you’d like to learn more, start a dialogue, or suggest other ways YAA can meet our promise, please reach out.