Diversity & Inclusion News Blog

The work of the Diversity and Inclusion department isn’t just about opening minds. It’s also about opening hearts and tapping into your sense of self to fully embrace the power of diversity in American theatre.

It has come to our attention that the Actors’ Equity Association has recently decided to retire the name “Gypsy Robe,” from a ritual dear to them, a tradition that is over 60 years old. From today forward this ceremony that happens before the opening night of a Broadway musical will be called, “Legacy Robe.” The Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University welcomes the change of name initiated by the Actors’ Equity Association.

Equity's National Council voted to rename the Robe in April and wanted to give members the opportunity to weigh in on the new name. That decision was made following the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) and the National Equal Employment and Opportunity (EEO) Committee that the name should be changed. 

Our Diversity Director looks back on her first year in the role.

This season will be the last for the name "Gypsy Robe." The tradition and the ceremony before opening night of a Broadway musical, in which Equity honors the chorus member with the most Broadway Chorus credits, will continue, but the name will change.

We began the New Year at Equity with two events that gave me hope for our shared work to help #ChangetheStage. It started with a Town Hall discussion in San Francisco in January, where we invited local members and a cross-section of other theatre professionals to discuss our study on hiring bias in the theatre industry.

The Los Angeles Inner-City Cultural Center recognized Actors’ Equity Association with its Diversity & Inclusion Recognition Award earlier this month as “a theater industry leader and innovator.”

Ultimately we cannot facilitate real change by asking the same old questions and doing the same things we’ve always done. Real change comes when we open ourselves to really engage with a full range of viewpoints. With that comes vulnerability.

In my first few months, some Members have asked me tough questions about why we are doing this work. When these questions come up, here is what I have said: Workers’ rights are human rights. We know from our study that Members of color and women are underrepresented on the stage and get lower paying contracts when they do find work. Diversity and inclusion is a long-term problem that impacts us all. In fact, it’s systematic. If people of color and women don’t see characters and stories that reflect them or speak to their experiences on stage, then what does that mean for the future of our industry?