Dear Players Family,
The Players recently made a statement on our social media channels in regard to the death of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans. We posted the following on June 2:
Dear Players Family,
We’ve spoken to you a lot lately in a time of crisis. Today, we do that again.
We loudly voice our support of the Black community and those calling for justice in light of the tragic death of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans.
Our country is built on and blessed by the voices, labor, and humanity of Black people. The theatre would be irrevocably diminished without the talents and experiences of Black artists, designers, staff, supporters, and audiences. We promise to listen, learn, and strive to give our support in ways worthy of those gifts.
We will be pausing Players’ content on our social channels in solidarity and using this moment to listen and learn.
We hear you. We see you. We stand with you.
Your Peterborough Players
“I am a fool who believes that death is waste and love is sweet and that the earth turns and men change every day and that rivers run and that people wanna be better than they are and that flowers smell good and that I hurt terribly today, and that hurt is desperation and desperation is—energy and energy can move things...”
― Lorraine Hansberry, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
Since the time of our original post, we are continuing to think about real ways we can turn our support into action.
The Players Strategic Planning Committee (comprising both staff and trustees) is actively exploring ways in which the Players can be more diverse and inclusive. We acknowledge that we must do more. We will examine the work we create, how we create that work, and who the creators are onstage, backstage, in our offices, and in our shops. We recognize that it is not enough to promise to listen, learn, and strive to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists, designers, staff, and audiences; we will determine action steps we can take to make that promise a reality. All of this is hard work, and it is work we need to do.
As we look forward to when we can produce again, we loudly affirm that Black Lives Matter, and that we will do our part to support and amplify that fact.
With hope for the future,
Your Peterborough Players
The Players recently made a statement on our social media channels in regard to the death of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans. We posted the following on June 2:
Dear Players Family,
We’ve spoken to you a lot lately in a time of crisis. Today, we do that again.
We loudly voice our support of the Black community and those calling for justice in light of the tragic death of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans.
Our country is built on and blessed by the voices, labor, and humanity of Black people. The theatre would be irrevocably diminished without the talents and experiences of Black artists, designers, staff, supporters, and audiences. We promise to listen, learn, and strive to give our support in ways worthy of those gifts.
We will be pausing Players’ content on our social channels in solidarity and using this moment to listen and learn.
We hear you. We see you. We stand with you.
Your Peterborough Players
“I am a fool who believes that death is waste and love is sweet and that the earth turns and men change every day and that rivers run and that people wanna be better than they are and that flowers smell good and that I hurt terribly today, and that hurt is desperation and desperation is—energy and energy can move things...”
― Lorraine Hansberry, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
Since the time of our original post, we are continuing to think about real ways we can turn our support into action.
The Players Strategic Planning Committee (comprising both staff and trustees) is actively exploring ways in which the Players can be more diverse and inclusive. We acknowledge that we must do more. We will examine the work we create, how we create that work, and who the creators are onstage, backstage, in our offices, and in our shops. We recognize that it is not enough to promise to listen, learn, and strive to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists, designers, staff, and audiences; we will determine action steps we can take to make that promise a reality. All of this is hard work, and it is work we need to do.
As we look forward to when we can produce again, we loudly affirm that Black Lives Matter, and that we will do our part to support and amplify that fact.
With hope for the future,
Your Peterborough Players