Moonlight Youth Theatre believes in equity, justice, inclusion and belonging for all.  We believe art is stronger when more voices, perspectives, and experiences are included and represented onstage and off.  

We welcome, include and affirm all people regardless of race, socioeconomic class, color, national origin, religion, diverse perspectives, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, neurological or physical ability, body type, veteran status, legal status, or education level. This commitment extends to our staff, creative teams, students, their families, and audiences. We are committed to actively recruiting individuals who identify as members of underrepresented communities at all levels of the organization.  
We are an anti-racist organization.

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING ACTION PLAN 

WHERE WE ARE
MYT is a safe training ground where all are welcome. We are committed to proactively diversifying our organization with an initial focus on the following four areas: racial and ethnic diversity, socio-economic diversity, increasing access for people with disabilities, LGBTQ, gender-identity and expression diversity. 

Prior diversity efforts have been focused primarily on socio-economic and neuro-diversity. The following programs are currently in place to address barriers in these areas:
   

• Scholarship Program for students
• Internship/Mentorship Program
• Free or Reduced-cost ticket program to MYT shows for schools and community organizations
• Free or reduced-cost ticket program partnership with Moonlight Stage Productions

BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming individuals are underrepresented in all areas of the organization and the following section lays out our plan of action items to become more inclusive in these and all areas.

WHERE WE ARE GOING
As an organization, we are learning, and we commit to receiving feedback as we continue to grow and advance in these critical areas. This requires us to acknowledge where we are and focus on areas where we can see the most immediate and profound impact. This list is not exhaustive, and we look forward to adding to it as we start to see measurable outcomes from this initial phase. Program evaluations will be completed no less than twice per year and revisions to this plan will occur as needed.  

PRODUCTIONS
• We will seek to tell a variety of stories from a variety of viewpoints
• We will hire members of our creative teams who reflect the communities represented in the stories. If we do not believe we can find a creative team or cast to appropriately and respectfully tell the story without cultural appropriation, we will not program it
• We will partner with organizations in the community who represent those within the stories we are telling. We will ask for guidance and listen to their expertise on all cultural matters within the story in order to honor and respect and not appropriate
• We will never cast a white student in a role designed for BIPOC
• When not indicated within a script, we will not default to white and/or students without disabilities, but rather give every student an opportunity to be considered for the role. We recognize that most roles in the American musical theatre canon were originated by white performers who do not have a disability. This has created an unconscious bias within the nation’s theatrical community as a whole. We will work to confront and correct this bias before and throughout the casting process
• We will build relationships with BIPOC and LGBTQ theatres and community organizations in the region as well as those with a mission that includes individuals with disabilities to recruit creative teams and new students into the program. We will offer discounts or free tuition for cast fees when needed
• Registration materials/forms will have inclusive language and marketing will make it clear that all are welcome and included
• We will offer discounts or free tuition for classes or productions when needed to make sure that MYT programs are accessible to any student- regardless of their ability to pay
• In addition to adhering to sexual harassment and mandated reporting standards, production team members will also be required to adhere to MYT’s Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Standards in order to address inclusive language and practices as well as unconscious bias
• We will affirm and respect the individual’s pronouns and cultivate a space that does not rely on gender division
• We will offer free and discounted tickets to members of partner organizations
• If a relative or close connection is auditioning for a production, that student must go through the same audition process as every other student. In these instances, the Moonlight Cultural Foundation’s Conflict of Interest Policy must be strictly followed

WHAT PROGRESS LOOKS LIKE IN THIS AREA
• Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals on creative teams
• Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals in our casts
• Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals in our audience

HOW WE WILL EVALUATE SUCCESS IN THIS AREA
• Partnership evaluations to collect quantitative data on number of individuals served and qualitative feedback data
• Cast member and family surveys
• Audience surveys
• Creative Team post-mortem to receive feedback on the process

STUDIO CLASSES, CAMPS & PROGRAMS
• We will recruit a more diverse team of teaching artists to reflect our four focus areas of diversity, with the goal of 50% by 2023
• We will build relationships with BIPOC and LGBTQ theatres and community organizations in the region as well as those with a mission that includes individuals with disabilities to recruit instructors
• In addition to adhering to sexual harassment and mandated reporting standards, instructors will also be required to adhere to MYT’s Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Standards in order to address inclusive language and practices as well as unconscious bias
• We will affirm and respect the individual’s pronouns and cultivate a space that does not rely on gender division
• We will look beyond traditional American and European musical theatre curriculum to offer a more diverse, global view of theatre and the world
• In addition to specific production partner organizations mentioned above, we will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Vista and Oceanside to actively recruit underserved students into classes and offer discounts or free tuition when applicable

WHAT PROGRESS LOOKS LIKE IN THIS AREA
• Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals as MYT instructors
• Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals in our studio classes

HOW WE WILL EVALUATE SUCCESS IN THIS AREA
• Student and family surveys
• Instructor post-mortems and evaluations

ACCESS 
We are working to identify and mitigate visible and invisible barriers to participation for all underserved populations, including cost, accessibility, and language.

WE WILL
• Expand our scholarship programs for studio classes, camps, programs and productions
• Expand our free and discounted ticket programs to live theatre
• Include preferred pronouns for instructors and creative teams on audition and class announcements
• Expand to offer ESL translated performances
• Provide reasonable accommodations for any member of our community

WHAT DOES PROGRESS LOOK LIKE IN THIS AREA? 

Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals across all areas of the organization

HOW WE WILL EVALUATE SUCCESS IN THIS AREA

Quantitative data from classes, casts, and audience members.

BOARD, STAFF & MYT AUXILIARY COMMITTEE
• We will seek and build relationships with BIPOC and LGBTQ owned companies in the region as well as those owned by individuals with disabilities to recruit members of both the MYT Auxiliary Committee and the MCF Board of Directors
• In addition to adhering to sexual harassment and mandated reporting standards, MCF Board members, MYT Staff, Auxiliary Committee members and resident will also be required to adhere to MYT’s Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Standards in order to address inclusive language and practices as well as unconscious bias

WHAT DOES PROGRESS LOOK LIKE IN THIS AREA? 
Increased representation of BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming individuals across all areas of the organization.

HOW WE WILL EVALUATE SUCCESS IN THIS AREA
Quantitative data from board/committee rosters

CONCERN RESOLUTION PATHWAY
Moonlight Youth Theatre provides a pathway for resolving concerns related to all areas of our organization. While MYT strives to provide a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment for training, we recognize that there may be situations that arise that need to be addressed. The Concern Resolution Pathway (CRP) gives you the tool to bring concerns to the appropriate level/party as identified below.  

MYT strives to maintain professionalism and will uphold confidentiality appropriately. 

LEVEL ONE 
If you feel comfortable doing so, we invite you to bring your concern to the Director of Arts Education or the Moonlight Cultural Foundation Board Member assigned to MYT for program oversight:  

NAME: Jennifer Bradford
TITLE: Executive Director
EMAIL: jennifer@moonlightfoundation.com
PHONE: 760.622.5185

NAME: Wes McDonough
TITLE:  MCF Board Member 
EMAIL: rwesleymcdonough@gmail.com
PHONE: 760.681.7032

LEVEL TWO 
If for any reason you are not comfortable going to those listed in level one. You are invited to contact either of the following:  

NAME: Angel Mason Broadus
TITLE: MCF DEIB Committee Member
EMAIL: angelm@pzlpieces.com
PHONE: 760.707.4538

NAME: Margo Cobian
*BILINGUAL Spanish
TITLE: MCF Board Member  
EMAIL: mbcobian@gmail.com 
PHONE:  760.801.1732 

LEVEL THREE 
If an issue has not been resolved through levels one and two, your next points of contact should be the following people.  

NAME: Carrie Foster 
TITLE: MCF Board President
EMAIL: clcheney@yahoo.com
PHONE: 713-452-0883 

The contacts at this level may consult with each other and review any legal or other implications of any decision.