Mission

The Downtown Theatre Project strives to create an artist driven theatrical environment that is inclusive, welcoming, passionate, honest and supportive. We are a collection of Guelph-based artists aspiring to produce powerful and relevant theatre.

 

Our Commitment

The Downtown Theatre Project commits to:

1. Recognizing and communicating that systemic racism exists in all aspects of life in our society. The Downtown Theatre Project has not done enough in the past to create a safer and braver space for marginalized peoples in the theatrical arts.

2. Listening and learning from our friends from Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities. We commit to:

   1. Inviting and encouraging feedback from Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities on how we can best develop and provide local opportunities in the theatrical arts.

   2. Making changes as needed to ensure that we continually grow to create safer and braver spaces for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour artists in our theatre space.

   3. Unlearning and relearning the principles of inclusivity, and making our performance space safer, welcoming and inclusive for theatre artists from all communities including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.

3. Creating an inclusive, welcoming, safe environment for the exploration and creation of theatre arts. This will be achieved by:

   1. Having all directors and producers undergo inclusivity and anti-oppression training

   2. Having all performers, technicians and staff sign our inclusivity and anti-oppression code of conduct before joining our team.

4. Producing, Presenting or Developing diverse content. We:

   1. Will reach out to creators from the local Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities to assist with the creation, producing and staging of original content.

   2. Will prioritize hiring or casting Black, Indigenous and People of Colour performers, technicians and staff.

   3. Will present existing shows in Guelph from other Black, Indigenous and People of Colour theatre communities when available.

5. Being active in the Guelph artistic community to acknowledge, promote and provide space for performers and artists of all backgrounds and from all communities.

 

Territorial Acknowledgement

The Downtown Theatre Project ​respectfully acknowledges that the land we are performing on is the ancestral homelands of the Mississaugas of the Credit of the Anishinaabek Nation, and traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee. It is our responsibility to honour, respect, and care for the land and will use our skills and platform as storytellers to bring light to the rich history of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis People of Turtle Island.