Executive Board Minutes 9/20/20

E-Board Check Ins

Isa

• Onstage intimacy workshop

• New member came to office hours!

Rob

• Went to SAO training yesterday

Natalie

• Onstage intimacy workshop

• Posted about one acts and combat

• Sent along one acts pitches to Sunny to go over rights

Sunny

• In touch with SAO about mask making

• Student organization day! 

  • Treasurer training - repetitive stuff that we already knew

• Dues link is up and running

  • Two options: $1 dues ticket, donation ticket for anyone who wants to give more

• Created redbubble account

• Started working on producing challenges 

• Looked into One Acts rights and everything’s good

• Onstage intimacy workshop

Kendall

• Looked into youtube channel

• Asked permission for posting - p much everyone is good

• Made event for onstage intimacy workshop

• Posted reminders abt about one acts, inspiration project, elements of theater workshop

• Looked over Sunny’s producing challenges

Zach

• Sent recordings of Mamma Mia

• Posted about mask making in facebook group

• Talked with Sunny about fabric stuff 

• Talked to Rayvon, put in the order, got the samples 

• Onstage intimacy workshop

Elements of Theater Workshop Review

• Important Takeaways from Onstage Intimacy

  • Desexualized language in the rehearsal room

    • Using objective & non gendered language to identify movement

  • New vocabulary is super helpful

  • Boundary practices - emotional boundaries

    • A cast member’s emotional boundary may align with that of a character, but if they are not using safe and comfortable ways to access that, then that character may not be the best choice for them

      • Moving away from pulling from personal trauma for a role 

  • When directors pitch, they need to have a clear idea of their intentions with intimacy - this should already be in their mind

    • Incorporating this info into the audition forms so people are prepared

    • Expectations, tone of the rehearsals 

    • Content they are sending to eboard

  • “How are you going to get there within your own personal boundaries?”

    • Actors having impact in their roles, not being manipulated

• Review

  • Thinking about length

  • 5 hours mark threw people off

  • Making sure people know that they can come & go, don’t have to stay for whole time

  • Q&A for people who can’t come who still have questions - google form

  • Post event sooner - Wednesday before 

    • Post both October ones soon!

  • Personally inviting people - we can each invite people to the event

GMs

• Need a GM for amendment review

Inspiration Project

• We have 2 writers and 2 directors at this point 

• Thinking about one team ?

• Verdict: take the next week to reopen Inspiration project applications entirely 

  • Then we can look at the teams again

SARP Reminder: it’s this week yay!

SAO Scheduling Training Recap

• Basically things that we knew already 

• All events must be on engage

One Acts

• Four pitches!!! Carrie, Julia, Emma, Chris

• Passed along pitches to Sunny to look at rights

• Haven’t sent out doodle poll for auditions yet

  • Emma & Julia are peer mentors

• Thinking of moving auditions to Thursday/later in the week so people have more time

Sunny & his Intellectual Property

• Redbubble - WE NEED PRODUCTS

• ST MERCH CONTEST YAY

Executive Board Minutes 9/13/20

E-Board Check-Ins

Isa

• GM and OB’s GM

• Tons of Already Home work

• Went through Engage and made an email list

  • Created a new member list

• Preliminary email to all new members with interest form 

  • 12 responses!!!!!

  • Answered any questions they had

• Spent time with SAO - purchase request, W2 form from speaker, etc

• Meet & Greet

• Went to Directing Workshop!

Rob

• GM, Meet & Greet

• Decided on office hours - 12-2pm on Wednesdays 

Natalie

• GM, Tech Meeting, Meet & Greet

• Emailed other groups about COMBAT info

  • Changed so that COMBAT signups are due the day before 

• Assassins!!!!!

• Directing workshop

Sunny

• “I lost assassins”

• Directing Workshop, Meet & Greet, GM

• Sign up forms

• More research into redbubble stuff

Kendall

• Advertised for the GM, sent an email inviting new members

• Posted everything on the website - forms, guidelines etc

• Sent the GM Recap email

• Made events for this weekend

• Went to meet & greet!

• Made elements of theater workshop promo, gonna make the rest of the events

• Went to Babatunde’s workshop

Zach

• Made SM/TD forms & tech forms

• Mask making interest forms

• GM, Meet & Greet, tech GM

• Signed key contract

Open Board

• Redbubble & Paypal

  • Need identification for Paypal - 

  • Use the personal account of the treasurer to take in the money, withdraw and manually submit in engage

  • Sunny will get to work on creating everything to set up our Redbubble! 

• YouTube

  • Since N2N, videos have been linked in drives, not uploaded privately to youtube

  • Could be a great platform for producers, for adding new videos 

  • Follow up with people at the Directing workshop today and make sure they’re good with it going on youtube

• Special Projects

  • Emailed Liquid Fun & OB with COMBAT schedule and space agreement

  • They will send their list of directors, writers, techies, actors

  • Moved COMBAT signups to be closed on Thursday the 24th

  • One Acts submissions closing this Friday - the 18th

    • Rights - usually not that expensive

  • Post tonight ish about special projects

    • Reminders - one acts pitches, COMBAT sign ups, etc !

  • Oof - an acting major signed up

  • Send an email to fall directors asking for interest

  • Case by case basis for whether or not writers can also hold other roles 

• Mentorship Project

  • Working on preliminary matches

  • People seem excited !!!!! yay

  • Really cool people with great interests

• Already Home

  • Producing!

    • Themed challenge - overarching idea for the message they should try to convey through their marketing

    • Different marketing tactics

    • Fits with the theme as a whole - what IS theater, stripping everything down to what it can be, what it is during a pandemic

    • Sunny & Kendall will brainstorm

  • Website work

  • Weekly meetings Monday nights at 9pm

    • We can stop by if we want!

  • Let’s have the rest of the creative team come to board too

• SARP Training

  • SUSIBU 2 - Monday Sept 21, 6:30 PM EST

  • SUSIBU 1 - Tuesday Sept 22, 6:30 PM EST

Executive Board Minutes 9/6/20

Check Ins

Isa

• 700 Beacon stuff is safe and sound

  • Could not find Evan’s speaker

• Splash!!!

• Sent an email to Dean B with questions we still have

• Worked on Already Home interest form

• Wrote up Division of Power draft for Inspiration project

• Final edits on documents we were working on

Robert

• Splash

• Sent Steve key contract

Natalie

• Went to Splash!

• Assassins stuff with Devon

• COMBAT stuff - rules, structure, forms, etc.

Sunny

• Filed event registration for mask makings & workshops - should be approved within the next 2 weeks

• Senior gift giving - Stage Troupe is not included on that?

• Splash

Kendall

• Officially announced our fall season

  • Graphics on fb and instagram

• Updated the website for fall

• Splash graphic & went to splash

• Have the email list ready to go for next email

• Sent out GM reminders

• GM Presentation slides

Zach

• Talked with Natalie about COMBAT

• Talked with Sunny about mask making stuff

• Made an interest form for mask making that people can fill out

• Edited TD Applications for Already Home

• Worked on Inspiration Project Applications

• Got a couch from Playwrights!

COMBAT

• Liquid Fun and OB are in

• Need to work on the timelines since not everyone is participating

• 1.5 hours in the Space at a time, only 8 people can be in person & have to show their quarantine clearance badge

  • Developing a schedule to make sure people don’t run into each other

• A little bit of tech access for props and costumes, they’ll be delivered to actors

• contract/agreement so people understand what they can take out and when they need to return it by

• 6 hours instead of 12 - keep screen time low 

Expectations for social & informal events/membership expectations

• Will go up on the website tomorrow hopefully, after Sunny looks it over

Already Home

• Libretto done by the end of this week, music done by the end of the month

• Then we will go into casting, sign ups, etc

• TD Responsibilities - key player in the creative team as a whole

Tech/TD/SM Apps

• Took a quick look at these

• September 18th - writing/directing/sm/td/producer apps for inspiration project

  • All TD applications 

Directing Workshop

• Babatunde sent us a summary! It looks amazing

One Acts Submissions

• COMBAT & One Acts stuff Tuesday

• Tuesday night GM Recap email

Book Club

• We won’t be able to announce the specific play tonight - Natalie wants to read first

Executive Board Minutes 8/30/20

E-Board Check-Ins

Isa

• Two mentorship meetings - went super well!

• Communicated with leaders for elements of theater workshops!

• Watched REMO videos

• Liased with Lisa from custodial - should be getting the keyboard tomorrow

• SARP scheduling

• Already Home stuff; interest form

• Emailed Crystal all the student theatre photos

• Met with Michael G

Rob

• The thing from Siena = drive with all of the recordings

• Sat in for Isa with performance leader meeting with Dean B

Natalie

• Looked over joint statement

• Reviewed Isa’s documents

• Went to mentorship meeting

• Spoke with Devon about assassins

Sunny

• Helped with OB statement

• Mentorship 

Kendall

• Finalize joint statement, coordinated with OB to send it out

• Mentorship meeting :)

• Sent out an email with the fall plan

  • Wrote descriptions for each event

• Made cover photos and graphics so we have them ready to post when voting ends

• Met with Michael 

• Responded to emails about fall interest (and annoying shirt lady)

• Watched REMO videos, brainstormed for splash a bit

• Edited party culture conversation guide/membership expectations/social event guide

• Made list of amendments to draft for the GM

• Started the GM slideshow

Zach

• Met with Michael

• Jeffery from Playwrights wanted to store something in the Space

• Found out that the fire alarm is in the boiler room

• Went over dates for mask making

Steve

• Digitized key forms 

Fall Open Board

COMBAT

• Should be next weekend… Natalie will reach out to her counterparts and gauge interest

One Acts

• Push back to Oct 23-24?

• Holding auditions

Elements of Theater Workshop schedule

• Sep 13th - Directing 

• Sep 20th - Onstage Intimacy

• Oct 4th - Writing

  • Read a 10 minute play, talk about how it’s written and format

  • How playwrights move through the world

  • Micro-cosmic experience

  • Offer to read anything

• Oct 11th - Choreography

• Nov 1st - Producing

• Technical Workshops

  • Mask making - Saturdays?

    • September 19th

    • October 3rd

  • Lighting, other tech stuff

Inspiration Project

• Open applications - open for a week

  • Close them and group people together

• Inspiration Project Vision Statements → due Oct 4th

• Casting → week of 19-23

• Final Scripts Due, cast lists due → week of 26

• 3-4 week rehearsal schedule

• Signups - rank your interest/roles you want to hold

  • Zach wants separate applications

  • director/writer application - they can indicate their preference

    • Writer can say if they’re interested in a co writers

  • Then producer, TD, SM applications

  • There can be co-writers

• Isa will develop a draft interest form

• Requiring written check-ins every week throughout the process, then have one person from the team coming into board once rehearsals start

  • OR invite them to come into board because it’ll be zoom and they can just call in

• Writer’s power: will it change after the script is finalized? How much power will they have over the rehearsal process and actors? Can they change the script once rehearsals start?

  • There has to be a final point by which the script cannot be changed

  • They shouldn’t have equal power to the director

    • Guest director at the initial read through/first rehearsal, can share thoughts with director & actors, but after that point they pass the power over to director & their script must be finalized

    • Becomes a supportive role after finalized script

• Division of power that changes when they go into the rehearsal room

  • Isa will draft this division of power

• SM’s power → how can we better support our SM’s?

Mentorship Program Updates!

• Went super well!!!

• Lots of virtual bonding ideas

SPLASH

• Registered on REMO heck ya

  • Get link through engage, go in during the time

• 1-3

  • 3 40-minute sections

  • 1-1:40 - Isa, Kendall

  • 1:40-2:20- Natalie, Rob

  • 2:20-3- Zach, Sunny

• Graphics - whiteboard? Can we write on it?

  • Chat can be used - we can send a graphic/flyer

• Eboard Policy: voted to have SUSIBU/SARP training for leaders in Troupe

SUSIBU/SARP:

• Nail down what day of the week works for everyone

First GM Preparation

• Let’s not go over the amendments at this meeting

• Meet on Saturday to go over everything

Already Home

• TD assigned by Zach, Producers assigned by Sunny

• Consolidating applications into one interest form

Final notes on:

• Membership expectations

  • Dues → each semester

  • Membership expectations at the end of emails

  • Requiring SM/Director/TD/producer to go over it at first meetings 

  • Application to join a special project (not paying dues) includes a check mark in which they have to agree to abide by the expectations (expectations are embedded)

• Expectations for social and informal events

• Party culture conversation guide prior to publishing

  • Mentor leader: Isa for now, always a member of eboard

Performance group meeting recap

• Rundown of what other groups are doing

• Aaron Goldberg (BU Bands) → more info on their health & safety protocol, we can reach out to them for singing stuff

• Dean B: be ready for things to change & change fast

• Don’t be afraid to ask a student for a health certification 

• Film students have their own equipment that they would be willing to loan

• Fundraising, gofundme, redbubble

• Anything that can be virtual should be, community building

• Make sure membership knows ALL about our health protocols

• BU Central stage might be available!

• Bridge towards the future of our group!!!!!!!

Executive Board Minutes 8/23/20

Open discussion:

Some of Stage Troupe’s steps going forward:

1. SARP training requirement: Eboard, creative teams, mentors, all leaders in the group

   1. This will be hopefully tailored for Stage Troupe and specific to things we’re going through as a theater organization

      1. Partnering with OB and the other theater groups will help this become a more thorough process

2. Party/Alcohol Culture

   1. Hardest element to tackle/control from our vantage point; it’s pervasive, but we aim to establish a constellation of actions to help

   2. Statement of expectations for off-campus events

   3. Language that we can refer to and implement when we are in these spaces; esp. because we are not a party group and don’t have this language in our constitution

   4. Risk managers - designated leaders in the Troupe community who stay sober and keep an eye out for people at parties

   5. Accessibility and options for everyone in Troupe - openness and transparency

   6. Alcohol gifts for creative teams - we’re hoping to pinpoint situations like this within Troupe where things are unnecessarily

   7. Midnight Tech Show - Removing this facet of the Tech Show event that has been manipulated & the thread/purpose has been lost

   8. Roasts - being used as a tool for harassment; bringing back events and traditions to their original events

   9. Requirements and expectations for hosts, who have a lot of power in these situations 

      1. They must be sober throughout the event, make non-alcoholic beverages available to people, and be in control over what is happening in their space

      2. They would be held legally accountable if anything were to happen at this party, so it’s paramount that they understand the responsibility they have 

3. Holding Abusers Accountable 

   1. Working with SAO is super critical here

   2. Record of Misconduct - hopefully will exist between all four theater groups

      1. Prevents identified abusers from hopping between groups and continuously practicing misconduct with impunity

      2. Encourages consistency in the expectations across the community

   3. Membership Expectations Form

      1. Make wording clear to abusers what will happen should they be found violating the code of conduct

   4. Protecting survivors’ anonymity, making sure that we keep them safe and only share their story at a level that they are comfortable with 

      1. Understanding what our responsibilities are as leaders when different issues are brought to our attention, knowing what to do whether the reporter or survivor wishes to make an official report or not

      2. Stay Away Order

4. Anonymous Report Form

   1. Important for keeping the modes of communication open

   2. Allows us to keep the survivors safe and acting on issues efficiently and safely 

5. Levels of Leadership: creating options for survivors to do with their story what they feel is most appropriate; new channels for reporting to capable leaders who are trained to help

   1. Members have options to come to leaders within Troupe aside from E-Board

6. Creative Team Accountability

   1. Holding directors and creative teams accountable for answers they give during their pitches about how they will handle sensitive topics within the rehearsal room

   2. Checking in with them throughout the process, establishing infrastructure that ensures they achieve the goals they set when they pitched, holds them responsible for upholding a safe environment, and equips them with whatever resources they need to be successful in doing that

7. Some essential facets of this process:

   1. Permanently opening lines of communication between Troupe and OB, but also between all four theater groups

   2. Ensuring that this work does not fall through the cracks- weaving these initiatives into the infrastructure of Troupe: constitution, creative team guides, etc., because this is what is passed down through the years of Troupe

   3. Stage Troupe Archives & 5 Year Plan → using new methods we’ve been working on to keep these issues at the forefront of Troupe’s leadership’s minds throughout the years

   4. This work doesn’t have an end; if we stop doing the work, the unsafe cultures will return.

E-Board Check Ins

Isa:

• Drafted statement of expectations for social events and membership expectations

• Met with Kendall, Josh, and Jen about joint statement

• Meeting with Bryan Adams from SAO about sexual misconduct and other topics

• Liased with people about getting things left in 700 Beacon left

  • Custodial was helpful - Lisa is finding out who has the keys, will get back to us!

• Emailed Ashley about SARP training

• Sent out inaugural email to first group of community mentors

Rob:

• Met up with Siena on Friday, now has all of the VP keys!!

• Received some chaotic items that belong to Troupe?

Natalie:

• Sent out feedback forms for STVSF!!! Yay!!!

Sunny:

• Did research into PayPal/Redbubble

• Reached out to SAO about purchase requests, gonna email again

Kendall:

• Met with OB about joint statement, feeling good about them

  • Worked on that a bit

• Started writing up the fall plan

Zach:

• Cleaned up the Space a little bit

• Went to Student Theatre - it was completely full of items in storage, lobby and stage

• Helped Natalie with survey

• Looked into masks

• Got one set of keys, Chris will give keys back too, Priya is back soon too

Steve:

• Talked with Eric about email asking to move things into the Space

Executive Board Minutes 8/16/20

Eboard Check Ins

Isa

• Met with Babatunde

• Met with FTV department

• Met with SARP

• OBoard meeting

• Worked on a document that OB shared with 

• Created a document with 3-pronged plan

Rob

• Watched scene showcase

Natalie

• SARP and OBoard meeting 

• SSS happened! Ran that, hosted, acted

Sunny

• SARP and OBoard meeting

• Participated in SSS

Kendall

• Looked through OB’s document

• Couldn’t go to SARP meeting sadly, Went to OBoard meeting

• Worked on some stuff for scene showcase

Zach

• OBoard meeting

• SSS tech stuff, rehearsals, performance

• Went to the Space!!!!

  • Need to clean it

  • Fire alarm running out of batteries

Steve

• Call with Dean B Monday morning

STVSF Check-Ins

• Went super well even with the setbacks, as an Eboard we could tackle it

• Membership was excited with the events

• Difficult to get members involved with SPs

  • Convincing people to audition, pitch, etc

• Director makes a huge difference for virtual performances

  • People who know what to do with actor/techies’ time

• Natalie had to walk some weird lines with her participation 

  • We may need to give more support to any new directors 

• Zach had to fill in for Andrea a little bit, sign ups were low, lots of reaching out directly

  • Feedback form for STVSF experiences 

FTV Meeting

• Call with Charles Mertzbacher

• Talked about different opportunities for actors

  • Directing course - paid opportunity

  • Production 2 class - short film final project, unpaid

  • Short scene acting in other classes

• Zoom auditions for anybody who’s interested in

• Could use this as a recruitment tactic, the list will be public

• Opportunity to work with professionals in a new way, won’t take away from our membership

• Also work with SoT in CFA but have trouble with scheduling 

• Cross-promotion; could post our casting calls on this database

• They will send their guidelines; always wearing masks, 6ft apart 

• Professor available to come to our GMs to speak about it - presentation we can use

Executive Board Minutes 8/2/20

Check-Ins

All of Eboard: planning for the Fall

Sunny:

• Met with Babatunde about the action statement and he gave some great tips!

STVSF Updates:

• 5 Pitches

  • Emma Neary

  • Olivia Tambascio

  • Jack Hilbrecht

• Had auditions this weekend - cast lists will be going out tonight! 

• Created a group chat with directors to talk about casting & rehearsals 

• Zach sent out an email to Pygmalion tech to see if they’re interested

• Fun two weeks! Natalie will keep us updated if we can help

Executive Board Minutes 7/26/20

E-Board Check Ins

• Isa

  • Baby is doing great :)))))

  • Finished up mentorship expectations

  • Did a lot of brainstorming about the fall - compiled a document 

  • Met with Kendall for brainstorming - super helpful!

  • Dealt with other closed board damage control things

  • Emergency E-board

• Rob

  • Brainstorming fall stuff, emergency E-board

• Natalie

  • Helping with Pygmalion, keeping in touch with creative team, posting about Pygmalion, and about showcase submissions

• Sunny

  • Shared action statement with Babatunde, talking with him about edits for that

  • Redbubble is a great idea!!!

  • Helping out with Pygmalion webinar

• Kendall

  • Spoke to Margaret about Shindig - gonna follow up

  • Went to Pygmalion

  • Brainstormed a lot about the fall, met with Isa which was great!

  • Posted Pygmalion stuff on social media

• Zach

  • TfA stuff posted

  • In contact with Playwright’s Theater - let them use the Space to cut some stuff

  • Went to Pygmalion

• Steve

  • Thought a lot about the fall, went to Pygmalion!

Pygmalion Check Outs

• Siena

  • This was a huge team effort - conGRATS!

    • Uncharted territory - everyone was courageous and willing :)

  • Hopeful for the future!

  • The week went by pretty much without a hitch, had to figure out some webinar kinks

  • Was good to coordinate behind the scenes with the Zoom chat!

  • Lucky to have this opportunity, thanks everyone for trusting her with it!

  • Grateful for SMs, TD, producers, and E-Board support

  • There are definitely limitations to online theater, have to be creative 

  • Casting switch was difficult, but everyone took it in stride - collaborative space

• Emma

  • Learning experience, fun to come up with new things (montage!!!) that you can’t really do in the student theater

  • Stepping into a leadership role was different, learned how to speak with the team and give feedback, so happy that she got to be part of the show :)

  • Advice: checking in individually with techies throughout the week was really helpful; innovative solutions & don’t be afraid to try out new things

• Julia

  • Very unique and exciting experience!!! Great way to keep connections close over the summer, meet new people in Troupe (freshman on the team!)

  • Worked with awesome people on the team - amazing experience

  • Doing plays on Zoom has been really cool :) If anything like this happens again, we’ve found a good outlet to be connected over this weird situation 

  • Advice: Very important to keep communication with techies/actors, good experience to create a good schedule that could be flexible; need to be able to roll with the punches, change things as issues arise

• Andrea

  • So much fun with producing! Great to get to know Angel

  • Sunny was a GREAT help, guided us through the process, kept checking in

  • Loved working with creative team - wholesome, glad we got to do this even if it was just virtual

  • Advice: a lot of it translated really well virtually; usually producing social media/digital; Sunny gave a great outline of things to be working on/thinking about; one thing if this were to happen again: maybe we could find a way to get some headshots of the actors, even if it’s just over Zoom - edit them and enhance them

Chat with Fall Creative Teams

• We’ve been talking extensively, but haven’t made any solid decisions yet

• Would love to check in with everyone, see how you’re feeling and run some of our ideas by you and hear your thoughts

• The Great Gatsby

  • Robert - director

    • Live-streamed show - not opposed, but there is the fact that the actors might also be at risk there, with physical intimacy that can’t be cut from the show

    • Lost Tsai, lost composer/MD - gonna find public domain music probably ?

  • Emma - assistant director

    • A little worried about possibilities of adjusting tech, all different aspects to whatever format we will have

  • Kim - choreographer

    • Really awesome opportunities to use movement blocking etc to convey things like attraction, other emotions without physical proximity

    • Very difficult over something like Zoom, but could be a possibility for some sort of in person opportunity

    • Totally ready to tackle a socially distant and compliant production, reconsider new movement and formation techniques to keep the same emotions/feelings/themes - that would not cause a lot of stress

  • Andrea - Co-SM

    • Not a ton of concrete ideas - splitting up rehearsal room into 2 groups, easier to keep social distancing

    • Trying to be flexible, taking everything that’s coming at her

  • Matt - Co-SM

    • Take what comes, work with what we get, be flexible!

  • David - Head Producer

    • Shouldn’t really be an issue, producing won’t change much regardless of where/how it will happen - social media and digital communication

    • Has access to equipment even if COM doesn’t rent stuff out

    • As soon as we get everything figured out, we will plan process

      • Probably can’t have giant full-cast shoot

    • Time constraint - something to think about but he’s done this before!

• Steel Magnolias

  • Caroline

    • Pitched as an intimate show and experience, emotionally, with vulnerability, you’re supposed to feel like you’re one of the ladies

      • Very hard feeling to replicate without an audience/live theater

    • Wouldn’t mind a live-streamed show, but also prioritize the health of our actors and techies so don’t know how feasible it is

    • Don’t see Steel Magnolias working on Zoom

    • Been working on a bunch of theatre projects this summer - it’s been interesting seeing how people are adjusting to our current reality - innovation (audio dramas, showcases)- interesting formats that we could tackle instead!

      • Would feel super comfortable taking on any Troupe project this fall, but thinks it would be in the best interest to explore different options other than a Zoom ~box~

    • Wouldn’t want to squander opportunity to direct favorite show 

• Fly By Night

  • Kendall - Director

    • Passing on to rest of creative team bc they’ve heard me talk :)

  • Nikita - Director

    • Grappling with fact of not having live theatre anymore

    • Not reasonable to move on as if it’s a normal semester - open to changing how we present it, what we do, livestreams, etc

    • Main concern: most important thing in extracurricular college theater - people are having fun and feeling safe

      • Don’t want anybody to feel like they have to choose between their safety and the show 

  • Jackson - MD

    • Music side - not super concerned; that’s what we did for OBOB

      • Musically can definitely teach the show

    • Small cast that is also run crew, pit is also small

    • Primary concern is health and safety of cast and crew

    • Zoom production - disservice to the story; the show is something he loves and is very passionate about, has seen this process and wanted the show to be put on since freshman year

      • Doesn’t want to see this opportunity slighted by the limitations of technology

    • Open to livestream, professional recording, etc

    • Concerned with being in charge of a large group of people’s comfort and wellbeing 

  • Natalie - Choreographer

    • Main concern - most choreography ideas would not be possible over Zoom

    • Don’t want to force the project if it’s not something we’re proud of

    • And agrees on health and safety 

• Postponing Opinions:

  • Nikita:

    • Concerns are that nothing is gonna change in four months, we will still be dealing with it 

  • David:

    • Not fond of the idea of postponing, but understands that public health and public safety come first

    • Interested in alternative methods of delivering these shows 

  • Jackson

    • TBh,, Best decision is to postpone

    • Might not be safe to put on these shows in person, and that was the original intent behind the shows pitched

      • Disingenuous to the membership to put something on that wasn’t actually pitched

    • Postponing also leaves a gap in programming - theater is important enough to continue :)

  • Andrea

    • First of all - gonna ask about alternative projects in line, glad that we have a plan in case these were to be postponed!

    • Would love if they didn’t get postponed - senior mentality, but want to see what we might be able to do instead

  • Emma

    • Same concerns with postponing - not sure if the creative teams can handle a spring project; we don’t know what we’ll be doing/what our schedule looks like

  • Caroline

    • Would be fine with postponing, but understand the concerns of not knowing what it will look like

      • But these shows were pitched as live experiences, not fair to directors or membership to force it like before

      • Wants to look at alternative programming 

  • Kim

    • Seems like these opinions align with the shows

    • Also thinking about charity show - either there is no charity show, or one of the current teams must accept that responsibility 

• Our Options:

  • 1: Maintaining all 3 shows, putting them on however we can

    • Nikita: We’ve come up with some fall alternatives 

      • Stress of rehearsal room will be greater, the things that ease that stress will not be possible 

      • Zoom rehearsals will not be the same

    • Jackson: could still be stoked for fall

      • Disagrees with Zoom theatre; a musical would not work 

      • Process IS the most important part of the show - but the concern is that people are going to be more stressed out in the process of creating the show with our current circumstances

      • If we had 3 shows going on, 3 creative teams, all covid regulations, that would create more of a burden on the cast and crew to maintain those boundaries 

      • Going about this with its original intent would be very taxing 

      • Live Zoom performance - not logistically possible for a musical

        • Especially not for Fly By Night

      • Other theater experiences better suited for the fall

    • Zach: we could still do Zoom theatre

      • Wants to see all 3 shows happening in the fall

      • Technology is a gift, shouldn’t see it as a hindrance

    • Andrea: Zoom theatre was kind of quick & easy

      • For musicals it would definitely be different, but this might be able to be done for certain shows

      • We have to adapt to Covid requirements and play the cards we’ve been dealt

      • There are ways we can do cast bonding

      • These are unprecedented times, we have to adapt 

    • Caroline: Part of being flexible is being adaptable

      • As a director, she recognizes that some shows might be easier to do over Zoom, don’t think SM is one of those shows

      • Loves the process, doesn’t want to put out something mediocre right now - very in favor of taking on a unconventional alternative programming project

      • If we’re in the same situation in the spring, there are other creative options we could do instead 

    • Kim:

      • Emotional toll of adapting a show - so so stressful for creative teams on top of everything else right now

      • Lots of logistics to think about:

        • Are we charging people to see Zoom plays? Can we logistically sustain Troupe if we don’t?

        • Livestream/real time - won’t have as many people as usual on campus (specifically actors to cast a full season)

  • 2: Postponing all 3 shows, or cancelling any that don’t want to postpone

    • Natalie: spring will not look very different from now

    • Kim: option to postpone without knowing what the spring will look like, gives directors opportunity to decide if they want to direct it over zoom, give the spot to someone else maybe

      • Isa: time to consider ways to adapt to Zoom

  • 3: Postponing all but 1 show

    • Could Gatsby possibly be extended or moved?

    • Sunny: 

      • We will have to push back F&F, too short of a time frame

      • We don’t want to move any production to Zoom, we want to put these shows on live in some capacity

      • Given what we know now & the outlook for spring → rules and regulations will probably not change that much

        • So, we still want to provide Troupe members with opportunity to have familiar experiences

      • Have performance dates extended, rehearsing in different groups, platooning rehearsals so people aren’t grouped together 

      • Would work with creative teams to create safe & regulated environment

    • David:

      • Psychologically, how comfortable will people be in a live theater setting - student theater is so small

    • Kim:

      • Rotating rehearsal schedules and potential of multiple casts for one show - lots of opportunities for acting on campus

      • Worry that (scheduling/energy standpoint) it could be difficult to increase the number of rehearsals - up to twice as much for creative teams

      • Even if the show isn’t happening over Zoom, you can definitely do lots of rehearsals and character meetings over Zoom 

      • Crazy new idea she had bc she’s a genius:

        • Sleep No More - multi-room, multi-floor experience where audience walks around, everyone wears masks

        • Social distancing, spread out, everyone wears masks, timed entries, so many opportunities to play with that

        • Gatsby is so well known, so people could understand different segments of it performed separately 

        • Audience filters through in smaller groups

        • Multiple casts !!!!!

        • Great Gatsby - rights, not presenting it in the way that the author wrote it would violate those rights

          • Book is not in the public domain yet

Executive Board Minutes 7/19/20

Check-Ins

• Isa

  • As of now, the Baby has not ~checked in~, but we're awaiting his arrival patiently! Pictures to come once he makes himself known. 

  • This week I received a response from Theatrical Intimacy Education about our inquiry into hosting the sensitivity workshop. Rob and I ended up meeting with Laura Rikard (the co-founder of the organization and an asst. prof of theater at USC) on Wednesday, which I believe he'll talk a little more about later. 

  • Additionally, I closed the mentorship program interest form and began writing up mentor expectations, which I expect to have drafted for all your review at some point this week. 

  • I spoke extensively with the other presidents this week regarding MidSommit and, with Dean B's guidelines actually not being released last week, we all agreed to wait to schedule it until we have those in hand and have a chance to go over them with our individual eboards prior to all meeting together.

• Robert

  • Went to meeting with Professor Rikard

  • Have AD for Gatsby - Emma! And producer and SM :)

• Natalie

  • Texted Sunny about new play exchange

  • Talked with Zach about mask idea 

  • Thought about what special projects will look like in the fall

  • Created doc: Be Involved from Anywhere

  • Sent Zoom theatre stuff to Siena!

  • Posted in the troupe group with the combat jr video and promoted pygmalion and the scene showcase

• Sunny

  • Created Pygmalion webinar link

  • Reached out to BU Today, they’ll write something about Pygmalion and hopefully add it to the calendar

  • Closed F&F producer form - decided on David Simon

  • Updated action statement  

• Kendall

  • Finished archive proposal

  • Spoke with Margaret about Nov 3rd shutdown & STVSF promo

• Zach

  • Posted Abbey’s stuff on Stage Troupe Creates

  • Closed SM application 

  • Worked on Tech from Anywhere

  • Made fun fabric designs 

STVSF Check-Ins

• Siena

  • Really successful run on Friday (last run without tech)

  • Talked to Emma about tech stuff 

  • Really great tech meeting today

  • Monday and Tues - act 1-3

  • Dress rehearsals Weds and Thurs - talked to Sunny about using a webinar

  • Will talk to producers about announcement

  • Looked over Zoom theatre stuff

• Emma

  • Has been emailing tech teams about jobs and how tech week will work

  • Have most of our sound, movie montage is almost done, finalizing h&m props and costumes, backgrounds are almost done!

• Julia

  • Started doing full show runs, timing - show is around 2 hours

  • Thinking about a pre-show announcement

• Nhi

  • Everything is going very well, with progress being visibly made and we are very excited for tech week. I will only be there on Monday and Wednesday for tech show because of family conflicts. Thank you.

• Angel

  • Haven't talked about the announcement yet

  • Had 11 responses to the bio form, still waiting on some people

Executive Board Minutes 7/12/20

E-board Check-Ins

• Isa

  • Mentorship program work, met with Danny Hoffman

  • LfA/CDC guidelines

  • Contact info for groups with trained people - wrote up email

  • Redid Already Home pitch

• Rob

  • Waiting on an email from Dean B

  • I’ll be contacting the Gatsby creative team this week once I have everybody

• Natalie

  • Reached out to Rutu

  • Updated VPSP guide and sent to Steve

  • First draft of list of plays by underrepresented authors 

• Sunny

  • Released mainstage producer form

  • Figured out DPS issue

• Kendall

  • Dean B meeting

  • Emailed Caroline

  • Article 2 stuff

  • CDC/LfA guidelines

  • Updated Pygmalion casting/STVSF/app forms on website

  • Sent secretary/treasurer guides to Steve

• Zach

  • Pushed back TD application for F&F

  • Went through constitution, drafted amendment for Article 3

  • Drafted Space usage guideline for social distancing

  • Posted on STC about tech from anywhere

• Steve

  • Collected guides from everyone

STVSF Check-Ins

• Siena

  • Everything has been blocked and reviewed

  • Everyones doing well, dialogue and character rehearsals tomorrow

  • Glad to have an extra week

  • Emma came to rehearsal Thursday, talked to everyone and a few departments came, talked about costumes and props

  • Almost final schedule!

• Nhi

  • The play made some significant progress, and I am personally very happy to see a play on Zoom beautifully coming to life. The creative team moved the schedule around a bit since we have another week to work on the play, including adding rehearsals on Wednesdays! By next week we will have run through the play 3 additional times, which is very exciting. The goal for next week is to decide what portion of the script is off-book.

• Julia

  • Everything’s going pretty well, though the extra week before showtime was definitely a necessary add, especially after our casting adjustments last week. This week we held rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, where we finished up the blocking for the show and ran some reviews. Siena, Nhi, and I met before rehearsal Tuesday night to adjust the schedule in order to include another week. Dealt with a few conflicts and changes but other than that the week went smoothly.

• Angel

  • Andrea posted bio forms on facebook

  • Starting to make more promotional stuff this week

• Natalie

  • Talked with Siena about stuff 

  • Confirmed 7pm time for the show 

  • Decided on 10-15 minute intermission after act 3

Executive Board Minutes 7/5/20

Eboard Check Ins:

Isa

• Launched mentorship program 

• Talked to other presidents about Midsummit - not gonna do it till SAO restrictions are released

• Read over action statement and constitution

• Drafting Already Home!

Rob

• Waiting on Dean B still 

Natalie

• Adjusted summer festival schedule 

• Compiling lists of plays by authors of color/queer artists

Sunny

• Met with producers about pygmalion resources 

• Bio form for cast and crew

• Action statement

Kendall 

• Reached out to SAO about takeover

• Drafted email to Dean B about theater event

• Posted Spotlight Sunday

• Messaged secretaries in our ~chat~ about outreach and possible event

  • Isabella from WM and Josh from OB replied and are interested!

Zach

• Sent out TD/SM list for Pygmalion 

• Met with Emma Julia and Nhi

• Pygmalion tech meeting and read through!

• Emailed TD SM ATD from last fall to see if they’re interested

• Tech from anywhere submissions - posted graphics for first category

Steve

• Read thru constitution

STVSF:

• Siena:

  • First week went pretty well, flying by

  • Learning experience and fun :)

  • Had a cast member drop so had to move people around, but not super worried

  • More blocking rehearsals this week, will finish that this week

  • Setting up character and dialect workshops

  • Met with Natalie too

• Emma:

  • Met with Zach about how it’ll work

  • Met with Siena

  • Met with crew, created departments

  • Went to read through 

• Julia

  • Everything’s going smoothly! 

  • Started the week by attending meetings with both Siena and Zach to discuss plans for the show - In meeting with Siena, we constructed a schedule layout for the 3 weeks (though we’ve changed some things since then.) 

  • Attended the back half of the read through, which went well. That night I sent out an email to the cast with the schedule and some other info regarding plans for the week. 

  • Started blocking acts 3 and 2, and will start act 1 tomorrow. 

  • Had to deal with a casting issue this week but I think the solution we came to will work smoothly. 

Fall Directors:

• Caroline

  • She is doing well!

  • “Blessed to be Pygmalion”!

  • Great to see how a virtual show would work

  • Preparing in case of a virtual show, going in with an open mind

  • We can do theater in a covid world :) trying to navigate this new space

  • Prepared for anything!

• Kendall & Nikita

  • We know so little - taking a bit of a break 

  • Trying to figure out our concrete challenges and plan

  • Isa: operating under assumption that we can do theater in some capacity; thinking about live streaming

    • The decision will be on the group as a whole, not just for the directors to deal with

    • Natalie: can’t decide anything till we have those guidelines, they will go on in some capacity  

    • Zach: y’all gonna be back on campus? We don’t want to force you if you’re not comfortable. {All directors are planning on being back on campus}

  • Nikita: if there is a restriction on amount of people, but we can still meet, would we be able to film the performance 

    • Depends on rights, but we are also a live theater group

    • It’s still up in the air

  • Kendall: had a plan to meet weekly, but it’s hard to keep in that mindset when everything is stressful and unsure

  • Hard to conceptualize the process

  • If we can at least have groups and gatherings of under ten people, we have a small cast and hopefully will be able to meet in small groups

    • Wearing masks in rehearsal? Are we able to block physical touch?

• Rob: 

  • Gatsby has a lot of physicality, he’s been talking to choreographer and MD, told them that he’s gonna wait till we have full creative team so we can compile all concerns

  • Gonna be essential to have conversations  

  • Biggest worry is the physicality/intimacy

Questions from Directors

• Nikita: Is there a way to keep people involved if they have to stay at home?

  • V good question 

  • We do not have an answer yet but we would like to keep people involved!!

• Kendall: We will keep directors updated on what we hear from SAO and from the other Eboards, to see what everyone is thinking

• Isa: You guys are great! And capable leaders! But we are here to support u :’)

Executive Board Minutes 6/28/20

Eboard Check Ins

• Isa

  • Had meeting with Dean B

  • More work on mentorship program

  • Met with Sunny for office hours!

• Robert

  • Emailed Dean B

  • Not gonna reach out to Arts Initiative until he talks to Dean B 

• Natalie

  • Met with Siena to formulate audition plan

  • Zoom theatre

• Sunny

  • Made STVSF producer form

  • Made Mainstage producer application

  • made Producer budget management sheet

  • Finished eventbrite data

  • Compiled Zoom Theatre notes

  • Shared statement with Isa on action items

• Kendall

  • Spoke to pitch teams & announced Pygmalion

  • Sent big Email - F&F apps, announce our play choice and auditions details

  • Senior Tribute insta posts

  • Posted tech from anywhere stuff

  • Released cast lists, updated website

  • Spotlight sunday

  • Reached out to board & directors for more

• Zach

  • Tech from anywhere graphics!!!

  • Spoke to Dean B about Lowes

  • Posted about Pygmalion Tech signups and TfA

• Steve

  • Went to Day of Community Engagement - Arts talk, really good & troupe is on the right track!

Pygmalion Check In

• Siena

  • Super excited - going rly well so far

  • Timing adjustment from one girl in India - hopefully she can make it to rehearsal

  • Almost done streamlining script, will run it by creative team once we have those

  • Waiting for a couple people to confirm participation 

Executive Board Minutes 6/21/20

Check Ins: 

Isa

• Follow up SARP meeting

  • Their team isn’t super equipped for the workshop, but they gave some contacts

  • Suggested doing a SUSIBU training for theater! - need a tentative date and list of people attending

• Pitch review

Rob

• Have a composer for Gatsby!

• Thinking about tech from anywhere

Natalie

• Reviewed pitches, added questions

• Reached out to wandering minds re: book club

• Went to Zoom Theatre webinar

• Updated VPSP guide about reading committee, sensitive material, recording answers at pitch GM

• Thought about tech from anywhere

Sunny

• Posted producer app!

• Went to Zoom Theatre webinar

• Started working on mainstage producer form

• Producer budget management form

• Talked to Dean B

Kendall

• Posted about pitches for PDP and SSS

• Read Siena & Julia’s pitches & the shows, compiled my questions on the doc

• Updated site

  • all F&F forms posted

  • Calendar updated

  • Fall season updated

  • Alumni updated

  • Summer festival rearranged 

• Met with Sunny about DPS stuff

• Senior tributes - reached out again & individually, drew up a draft

• Read Zach’s forwarded space agreement 

• Didn’t send an email, but planning for one this week with show announcement & all the F&F apps

Zach

• Sent out email to techies about F&F applications

  • Asked about interest in STVSF tech

• Talked with other TA’s about Home Depot and Lowes - they’re on board!

Executive Board Minutes 6/14/20

Check-ins

Isa

• Dean B didn’t respond to emails about meeting :(

• Had a meeting with SARP, following up this Friday

  • Basic stuff about sensitivity workshop

  • Ashley - they want a date from us

• Made a list of actionable items

• Sunny came to office hours!

• Did COMBAT!

Robert

• Still waiting on response from Arts Initiative 

• Did COMBAT!

• Building team for Gatsby

Natalie

• COMBAT stuff - Zach was super helpful!

• Brainstormed some 5 year plan ideas

Sunny

• Meeting with Isa

• Barrow group - phone call about Troupe and that company, following up soon

• Uploaded recording of COMBAT - cut beginning and end

Kendall

• Sent out big email - town hall recap & minutes, STVSF new dates, donation

• Updated all minutes on website, added town hall minutes

• Posted combat info and reminders

• Went to combat and it was fun!

• Got an email from michael d’arrigo about ArtistProf website

  • Like linkedin but for artists, he wants to see if anyone in troupe could use it

• still compiling senior tribute, sent a reminder email 

• Zach sent me f&f applications

Zach

• Helped w/COMBAT

• Met with techies - gave fun presentation about tech on Zoom!

• Sent out TD and SM apps

• Made eboard calendar

Executive Board Minutes 6/7/20

President: Isa

• Worked on Town Hall/ran those conversations and meetings throughout the week

• Reached out to SARP to see if they’d talk to us about the sensitivity workshop, will be talking to them in the next week

VP: Robert

• Reached out to arts initiative, they can provide anything we need !

  • Suggested we talked to Dean B

• VPSP: Natalie

  • Worked on/helped with Town Hall & all those conversations this week 

    • Summer festival stuff has been on hold

Treasurer: Sunny

• Submitted donation purchase request, tomorrow will follow through

• Made a preliminary producer’s signup form

• Barrow group meeting - how we can connect with them

Secretary: Kendall

• Wrote up Troupe’s statement, Posted it on our socials, posted reminders

• Made the Town Hall form, communicated & shared info about the fundraiser

• Went to Dean B meeting

• Brainstormed for town hall in doc, wrote up a statement to release as a description of the town hall, posted zoom links and reminders

• Took minutes for town hall

TA: Zach

• Town hall stuff, Dean B meeting, etc. 

We abolished gender specific BUSTies awards!!!!!!!!

Town Hall Minutes 6/6/20

Stage Troupe Diversity Town Hall: opening up a reflective conversation with our membership about our group’s diversity (or lack thereof), the ways that we can advocate for our Black members, and the steps we need to take in the coming year and years beyond in order to ensure that Stage Troupe is a safe environment for anyone who wants to participate.

• Introduction/Opening Thoughts:

  • We know this isn’t about talking once and absolving ourselves of responsibility. As the executive board for the next year, it’s our job to hold ourselves accountable and make real changes

  • We also know that we are a non-black eboard speaking to a predominantly white membership, and we’re aware that we cannot speak to the experiences of Black members of our community and the theater community as a whole

  • Most importantly - this is the FIRST STEP. A conversation like this within the bubble of Stage Troupe is not going to solve anything/address all of the issues we’re facing. 

    • However, Troupe is a group that relies heavily on/values the opinions & contributions of its membership, and this kind of check in/conversation is just the first step in a long series of steps we need to take to ensure our group is a safe environment for anyone who wants to participate.

    • We know we need to have this conversation in conjunction with race oriented and cultural clubs at BU, understand that this goes beyond Troupe -- but for Troupe specifically, this is a place to start

  • This is also not a lecture or a lesson on diversity in theater - we know we can’t speak from that place

    • Read Black authors. Watch Black artists. Listen to Black people. We will continue to amplify Black voices, because we know that it is not our place to take up that space.

  • This is a conversation that should have started long before now… Troupe has faults. We lack diversity in the group, and we want to do better

  • The goal of this town hall is to get started and ask our members how they want to see us achieve new goals in diversity, to hear what the membership has to say right now and share our current thought process & receive input

  • Eboard has a weird balance here. Between lacking diversity/Black voices as an eboard and group as a whole, but also having the responsibility to engage with what’s happening now and mold the group into a more inclusive place

  • Some ground rules: Use the raise hand function, assume best intentions

• Question 1: How can we encourage Black students to be involved with Troupe, and how can we make a safe environment for them in the club?

  • Having the goal of recruitment of members of color & specifically Black members does not cover all the bases here -- what we need to look at is: what about Stage Troupe is not fostering that environment now, what specific changes can we make in those areas that make all students comfortable in Troupe

    • Turn Stage Troupe into an environment that itself shows students “you’re represented here, safe here, embraced here, you can take the lead & thrive” 

    • This is a community that you want to be a part of 

    • Myopic approach - lack of representation in our group in general

  • It is important to reflect on Troupe and why we are the way that we are, why our membership is not diverse, before we jump to solutions. Action without reflection is meaningless.

    • Are we doing shows that Black students don’t feel comfortable partaking in?

    • Understanding our privilege will better allow us to find solutions

  • Students of color may not feel comfortable in a group that they don’t see themselves reflected in

    • Without diversity you can’t put on shows, and you may not attract diverse people without those shows

    • We need a more continued dialogue

    • Making it a core focus to reach out to students of color

    • The more progressive our shows are, even if they don’t call for specific races, the more likely we are to reach a diverse audience

  • Jumping off of mentioning Babatunde, reaching out to students of color is something that eboard has been discussing

  • An important thing to think about incorporating in re: outreach and Footloose:

    • It needs to be a two-way street. If we want to go to cultural orgs and recruit a diverse membership, we need to be involved in their projects and missions. This applies to school resources such as HTC and also events organized by cultural organizations on campus

    • It is important for us to be investing in their initiatives

• Question 2: Knowing that this hasn’t been addressed thoroughly by Eboards of the past and present/Troupe hasn’t often acknowledged these issues, how will we commit to actually fix them & do the work?

  • Sunny’s 5-year plan

  • This question is geared towards EBoard

    • Having this town hall and asking for fundraiser votes → we want to be clear that this isn’t performative !! 

  • Troupe (though we have good intentions) not creating the ideal environment 

    • Encourage students to be part of the community but also to be the leaders of the group

    • We especially want students of color to feel welcome in leadership roles

  • We have so many resources cycling through social rn, and it’s really important that EBoard advocates for that within the membership, makes those resources available 

• Question 3: How will we make it a priority to diversify Troupe’s audition/tech pool, and reach out to cultural and race-oriented groups? After doing this, how do we make sure we retain those members in Troupe once they have participated?

  • Diversifying experiences and marketing Troupe experiences to align with things students of color are interested in

    • Fewer students of color can participate in the arts in high school due to underfunded arts programs

    • College is a place where people of all different socioeconomic backgrounds can participate in new groups and activities

    • Not just theater kids who did this in high school as well  - breaking out of theater kid brand

    • Marketing tactics to appeal to everyone 

  • Isa and natalie reaching out to theater kids in class of 2024 FB page

    • But how do we reach out to students that don’t know they want to be involved in theater, especially if they have no prior theater experience due to underfunded arts in high school

  • Tendency for kids with a theatre background to join Troupe and get cliquey - then don’t really reach out to new people 

    • How will eboard get rid of this cliqueyness?? 

    • Special projects could get people involved from different mainstages and introduce everyone to new people

    • Would love to have a lot more gatherings of Troupies to hang !

      • Frog Pond trip !

    • Event - every member has to do at least one special project, or two outings etc etc - not forced but a way for people to get involved outside of their mainstage  

    • EBoard is looking into creating a mentorship-type program for incoming Troupies to help guide them through their first months and then introduce them to people

    • X stayed in Troupe because of great leaders that made students feel welcome. Roommates, both Black men, wanted to join Troupe didn’t know where to start, felt on the outside due to cliques; had relevant experience but not theater experience.

• Question 4: How can Troupe be sure we’re authentically diversifying the group - not just for the “sake of diversity”?

  • Things like EBoard organizing this convo to hear what Troupies have to say and making actionable plans to create change

  • Need to be thinking critically and reflecting critically - WHY are we doing this 

  • The more we get out of our “bubble” and connect with other student groups and administration, the more we can actually make a change

  • Show selection: choosing shows that are diverse or allow for diversity

    • Broadway in itself is very white, Stage Troupe needs to challenge itself to find shows that promote diversity, both on stage and behind

    • EBoard response: we are beginning to compile resources that specifically amplify playwrights and/or composers of color or have stories that center around students of color

    • Charity Show in particular would be a great avenue to allow for voices of color to be heard

      • Partnering with diverse organizations on campus

      • Donating to organizations like BLM

  • From UMOJA Town Hall: you can’t make students of color want to come to BU if there is no space for them there

    • There is work to be done within Troupe before we can claim that Troupe is a welcoming place for ALL students

    • Have to reflect and adjust before we can begin to recruit

  • In particular, special projects can be great opportunities to get the word out about Troupe and engage with other groups and students of color

    • How can Stage Troupe create events that give students of color an opportunity to use their voices, whether by acting, directing, writing, or portraying in any way a production that reflects their experience as a person of color

    • Special projects can be built from the ground up, unlike pre-written shows

  • On the topic of creative teams, we have seen a lot of outreach from creative teams to cultural organizations

    • There is value in having a diverse creative team!! Need to create a more holistic view of the show, and any sensitive topics within the show. It is better to have different views on the team in order to solve problems. For producing especially, having different views on marketing to the BU community is priceless!

• Unanimous vote to donate the $500

• Diving into specific initiatives

  • Natalie: 

    • Reading committee! Not only focusing on the text but also the context and environment that surrounds it 

      • Questionable themes, slurs, etc brought up by the reading committee, to ensure that things aren’t slipping under the rug

    • Interacting with area high schools - we are aware that people coming to BU/college students in general are not all coming from high schools with thriving arts programs

      • Education is a huge stepping stone for social progress!

      • First step of community outreach 

  • Zach:

    • Racism in theater takes a lot of different forms: interpersonal interactions between actors, how tech people and actors are treated by producers and directors/positions of power

    • Industry - white projects can survive being all white, but this does not apply for anyone else in the industry

    • We see a lot of very white stories on Broadway and often in the industry 

    • Accessibility of theater - expensive tickets, luxury to afford theater 

      • We can do our best to provide a theater experience for students who might not have the resources to see a show on Broadway 

    • Show selections → sometimes there are outdated shows with racial slurs, racist/homophobic/sexist jokes, but the rights contract forces us to put on the show without alterations/changing the script in any way

    • Reader’s Theater! We can partner with cultural groups on campus, provide opportunities to amplify voices of color by featuring shows developed by creators of color

  • Reading committee → they do ask a question about sensitive content to basically every creative team during a pitch, and you usually hear the same answer from every creative team

    • We want our tech and actors and everyone working on the show to maintain their personal wellbeing, so we’ll make sure that the rehearsal room is a safe space <3

    • Buffing up reading committee → making sure those issues are brought to attention, but also carried onwards throughout the process

      • Eboard must hold the teams accountable to continue this work and actually create this safe space - ensure that these conversations DO happen and ARE actually appropriate 

    • Pitch teams get asked about sensitive content even if it’s super general, but there really is no true follow up here !!!!

      • Eboard will make sure that these conversations, be there when they do happen, and see that kind of tangible follow through 

  • Inclusivity: busties should be gender non-specific

    • There is no good reason for them to be separated. We have Troupe members that are nonbinary, casts are gender-bended or casted “gender-blind”?

    • We can foster an environment where we encourage non-traditional casting

  • Reaching out to Boston high schools, etc → lots of schools that would appreciate it - many schools do not have that much funding especially in the arts

    • How would we reach out to these area high schools?

    • Natalie → we haven’t fully begun going after this yet (pandemic) but logistically speaking - reaching out to administration, Wheelock has connections with schools in the city

      • Whether we would be going to the high schools or they would be coming to campus to see Troupe’s shows, etc

      • It’s all about reaching out personally, and creating bonds and trust

    • History of Charity Show !!!!!!!

      • Up until 2008 we had Children’s Show - it was always geared towards a younger crowd, elementary or middle school

        • They would TRAVEL to those locations !!!!

        • Set was cardboard, could be easily moved

        • The idea of us going out to different places to perform is absolutely in our history and possible !

    • CSC has connections to schools around Boston because of arts programming

      • Zach may have connections

• Two-pronged approach

  • Within the Group

    • How can we be more inclusive and engaged with all of BU’s communities? How can we improve Troupe on the inside, thus making it a more appealing and inviting environment for a more diverse membership

      • Can we reach out to different BU cultural groups?

      • Collaborative events?

      • Diversity/Race in the Arts panels or workshops

    • Address Hair and how it’s tokenized within Troupe

  • As a Student Group at BU

    • How can we use our resources, BU influence, and extensive membership to do good & become a positive/engaged member of BU’s community?

      • We have influence with SAO, have been around for so many years, have a lot of reach across the university. This gives us a responsibility to use that reach in an active and responsible way.

    • Reader’s Theater - special project capacity to introduce other voices

  • Using leverage and platform for good

    • Stage Troupe is a well-known group with significant resources

• Conclusion

  • We are not holding this Town Hall to promote “diversity for diversity’s sake”

    • Theater is an extension of our world. Our world is diverse and beautiful and our performances should reflect that.

  • Stage Troupe is a large organization and we want to use our influence to continue pushing forward, so that the flame doesn’t die out

  • We want to continue working with student orgs across the university to continuing the momentum 

    • Recognizing Troupe’s influence as a student group, we have influence that can be channeled towards these issues 

  • This is the beginning of a conversation we plan on continuing, first step of many that we have the responsibility to take as a group

  • Important to reflect - without reflection, this doesn’t mean anything

    • If you have other questions/concerns that you think of in your personal reflections, come to us - board, office hours (Rob is starting some soon!), we’re always available in that capacity 

    • There’s eboard tomorrow at 6 EST ! pls feel free to come, you can speak to us in closed board too

  • Sunny’s Snowglobe Analogy

    • RE: Current atmosphere

    • There are uproars of anger and it feels like a snowglobe being violently shaken. Eventually, the snowflakes settle back into the same place. We’re hoping that this time, this won't be the case, that the fight will continue and the snowflakes won’t fall in the same place. It’s all about creating meaningful change.

Executive Board Minutes 5/31/20

President: Isa

• Redid pitch form for PDP

• Outlined rough idea of peer mentor program

VP: Robert

• Reached out to BU Arts Initiative 

• Finished infographic

VPSP: Natalie

• Finalized event descriptions

• Fixed timeline

• Planning COMBAT Jr - almost done!

Treasurer: Sunny

• Modified producer app for STVSF

• Reached out to BU IT and got webinar license 

• Filed nametag order form

• Analyzed eventbrite data from last shows

• Met with Dean B → summer stuff, orientation

  • He will share STVSF with incoming freshmen

Secretary: Kendall

• Finish branding and logo for STVSF

• Compiled everything for STVSF, made the announcement over fb, instagram, email

• Set up engage w/ gallery, eboard members, socials, etc

• Sent out Senior tribute emails, got some great submissions so far

• Yellow boat donation finally submitted!

TA: Zach

• Made COMBAT sign up form

• Made fall TD and SM forms

Steve

• Medea featured in BU Today

Executive Board Minutes 5/24/20

President: Isa

• Compiled everyone’s pros and cons re: Summer Festival, sent out master list

• Reached out to other presidents to gauge interest in sensitivity workshop

  • WM and SS are definitely on board, OB wants to touch base again

VP: Robert

• Brainstormed STVSF stuff

• Talked to Erin about how she set up the HTC workshop

VPSP: Natalie

• Brainstormed STVSF stuff

• Made a document writing out overviews, mock timeline of what the summer would look like, jotted down proposed logistics

• Thought about panels stuff, lots to go over later

Treasurer: Sunny

• Brainstormed STVSF

• Spring Funding Request preliminary work

  • Ideas for funding special projects

• Final week for SAO

Secretary: Kendall

• Brainstormed STVSF

• Assembled senior list, brainstormed ideas

• Made summer posting schedule 

• Started graphics work for social

• Tried working on engage, assembling photos for a gallery

TA: Zach

• Brainstormed STVSF

• Sent Kendall list of seniors

• Started working on TD and SM applications for F&F

Steve:

• Forwarded Kendall an email from MTI

• Told Robert to reach out to Arts Initiative

Executive Board Minutes 5/17/20

President: Isa

• Reached out to Shiney about involvement w orientation

  • Student groups are not involved

• Sensitivity meetings, discussed w/ Robert

VP: Robert

• Met with Isa

• Graduation cords

• Infographic as recruitment tool

VPSP: Natalie

• VPSP guide, speaking about COMBAT

  • All BU theater groups are in!

• Brainstormed about orientation involvement

Treasurer: Sunny

• Filed funding requests last week

• Treasurer FB group chat!

• Looked into possibilities for fall w/ seating policies

  • Brainstormed ideas

Secretary: Kendall

• Logged into all secretary accounts, familiarized w/ platforms

• Updated Eboard page on website, fall season info, basic stuff

• Renewed domain and site plan with Rayvon

• Set up Eboard drive - folders for everything

  • Uploaded rights agreements to finance folder

• Looked into Engage profile, brainstormed ideas for summer social engagement

• All rights secured and initial payments out, info forwarded to Sunny

• DPS issue resolved!

TA: Zach

• Talked to Steve and Eric about light boards

Executive Board Minutes 4/26/20

Eboard Check Ins

• President: Kim

  • Sent updated director guide and stage combat/onstage intimacy guide

  • Fixed pitch forms

  • Emailed Shiney re: new eboard contacts

• VP: Siena

  • Updated VP guide

  • Revamped TA interview questions, sent them to Robert

  • Booked fall audition and callback rooms, rehearsal room for the fall

• VPSP: Devon

  • Closed apparel order form

  • Communicating w/ BUSTies team

  • Made Zoom link

• Treasurer: Kendall

  • Met w/ Steve re: Treasurer Guide, made additions

  • Found Treasurer Resources folder

  • Updated Producer’s Guide

  • Met with Abbey re: Secretary Transition Meeting

  • BUSTies prep

• Secretary: Abbey

  • Been working on the SM Guide with Zach and Ariana

  • Met with Kendall for our transition meeting

  • Updated secretary guide

  • Emailed Medea recording to Jason Kimball- BU Today

  • Sent pics to Freep for an article they’re running- a bunch from fall and spring (also sent Medea recording)

  • Made BUSTies FB event

• TA: Zach

  • Working on SM guide

  • Remade show organization chart

  • Updating TD guide

  • Sent TDs and SMs recap form

• Steve

  • Made BUSTies slide

  • Have almost all SAAD (~saad~) applications- making decisions before BUSTies