INTERVIEW: New Jersey Theatre Alliance to hold summit on equity, justice, anti-racism
Photo: Nikkole Salter will give a keynote address at an upcoming seminar on the New Jersey theater community. Photo courtesy of artist / Provided by Social Sidekick with permission.
The theater community in New Jersey will soon come together for a two-day virtual gathering that focuses on the important issues of equity, justice and anti-racism. The event will be hosted by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey, and among the keynote speakers will be OBIE-winning actor Nikkole Salter. Joining her will be Vu Le, founder of the influential blog Nonprofit AF.
Salter’s talk will focus on “speaking truth to power and reckoning with history to inform the future,” according to press notes. Le will specifically address work in the nonprofit arts field, with particular emphasis on oppressive systems and alternative models.
The entire event is named Creating Change: Moving Toward Equity, Justice and Anti-Racism in the New Jersey Arts Community, and the virtual sessions will be held April 22-23. Planning for the summit is thanks to a steering committee headed by Donna Walker-Kuhne, senior adviser for community engagement at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, according to a press release.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Salter, an accomplished writer and performer. Her extensive résumé includes co-authoring and co-performing In the Continuum, a Pulitzer Prize nominee. The Off-Broadway production also found Salter winning an OBIE Award. Other credits include the film Pride & Glory and theater productions such as Stick Fly, Head of Passes, Macbeth and The Great Society. She also has eight full-length plays to her name. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members expect from your keynote address at this conference?
People can expect my keynote to facilitate a moment where we can all return to our understanding of the purpose and usefulness of dramatic storytelling, and to inspire fantasies, dreams, goals and tasks that can help get our field of interest to a healthy place.
How important is it for the theater world to address equity, justice and anti-racism issues?
Addressing equity, justice and anti-racism in the American theatre is paramount to the health and well-being of our society (and, ultimately, humanity itself). Dramatic storytelling has been complicit in driving the falsehoods of perception that have lead to inequity, injustice and racism. Its power has been misappropriated in that way. It must be a major contributor to correcting those falsehoods.
Do you feel these conferences and conversations can have a big impact on the industry?
I think we need to stop thinking about ‘big’ and ‘small’ impact … and just look to have an impact on our spheres of influence. If we all did that, and all do our part, then our impact will be sufficient to cause the change we seek.
How difficult has the past year been for the theater community? How has COVID-19 disrupted your career?
This past year has been incredibly difficult for many theatre institutions and individual artists. Yes, it has disrupted my career … it has disrupted the flow that I am used to. And yet, despite this disruption, it has opened many other avenues which have blessed me immensely.
Was initially motivated you to start writing plays?
I started writing plays because I had an inner impulse to do so. I kept writing plays because I didn’t see any dramatic narratives that allowed me to see my perspective dramatized, or that explored the things I wanted to explore the way I wanted to explore them. I keep writing plays because I believe in the power of narrative.
What are you hopeful for in the future?
I’m hopeful for the future because I know that Life does not die.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Creating Change: Moving Toward Equity, Justice and Anti-Racism in the New Jersey Arts Community will take place virtually April 22-23. Nikkole Salter and Vu Le will be keynote speakers. Click here for more information and tickets.
