NET Accountability Statement
September 2021
As an organization that champions ensemble practice and collaborative creation, NET advocates for access, inclusion, and the empowered agency of multiple voices. NET’s commitment to equity and justice is rooted in a holistic vision of cultural pluralism that values diversity of place, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexuality, physical/mental/sensory dis/ability, class, national origin, religion, language, cultural heritage, age of individuals and ensembles, organizational size and structure, artistic form, and aesthetic orientation.
NET commits to anti-oppression and anti-racist practices and principles, and to working toward dismantling systemic inequities through active engagement with ensembles, artists, and culture bearers from historically excluded and/or underserved communities. We believe that ensemble practice, with its roots in shared power structures and processes of collaborative co-creation, can play a powerful role in cultural movements toward collective liberation.
While NET aims to be a progressive organization, a community of folks who choose ensemble structures and mindsets, we do ourselves a tremendous disservice if we believe ourselves to be farther along or somehow better than other theatre practitioners. With this in mind, we assert our commitment to critical self-reflection and accountability for the harm NET, its individuals, and ensembles might cause, intentional or not.
We intend to provide inclusive, and useful spaces—physical and virtual—co-created by NET members whose artistic work is challenging. In such brave creative spaces, conflicts and misunderstandings inevitably arise. We commit ourselves to addressing those conflicts and misunderstandings with respect and kindness, in the context of our shared commitment—for individuals, ensembles, and NET itself—to grow, learn, and change. We dedicate ourselves to taking concrete steps to redress harm, whether from individual or ensemble members, from the board or staff of NET, or from the community as a whole.