Aurora Connects Episode 18: Masterpiece Theatre Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ AURORA CONNECTS Episode 18: Masterpiece Theatre This week on AURORA CONNECTS, Josh and Dawn are joined by two-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer of Masterpiece (Theatre). Simpson was also the Executive Producer of Downton Abbey, which became the most-watched drama in PBS history. We'll learn about the history of Masterpiece, discuss some of the more popular shows to have come out of the program, and why Masterpiece dropped the "Theatre" from its name in 2008. We'll also learn more about how and why Susanne became Masterpiece's Executive Producer, and what it means to have that title. This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn will be joined by For more information on these artists: https://auroratheatre.org/auroraconnects To Donate please go to https://bit.ly/SupportAuroraTheatreCompany or email Development Coordinator Kendra Johnson, kjohnson@auroratheatre.org For Technical Support please email techsupport@auroratheatre.org Send us questions to answer or topics to discuss in future episodes, or ideas for what we can do. connects@auroratheatre.org

Aurora Theatre Company acknowledges the demands made by We See You White American Theatre and the BIPOC Living Doc Equity Action Plan. We are grateful for the labor these documents represent, and we are reviewing the demands in full and will be transparent about our responses. Please see below for our new Mission & Values statement, and the list of commitments we’ve made so far in the name of dismantling systems of racism and oppression. OUR MISSION As the storyteller for our community, Aurora Theatre Company inspires new audiences and longtime theatre lovers alike with the visceral power of live theatre. Our venues, the most intimate professional stages in the Bay Area, highlight great acting, nuanced language, and an immediacy that makes for exhilarating theatre. By telling profoundly relevant stories, we’re building a new culture of theatregoing in the Bay Area and contributing to a revitalization of theatre nationwide, challenging all of us to think deeper, laugh louder, and engage more purposefully and profoundly with our neighbors and our world. VALUES -We commit ourselves to championing racial justice, to better embodying anti-racist practices, and to confronting and dismantling oppression (including but not limited to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance) in everything we do. -We recognize that Aurora Theatre Company is located on land that was stolen from the Chochenyo Ohlone people. Our community has benefited from this land, and we owe the Ohlone people a collective debt. -We earn our reputation for integrity by treating people fairly, paying equal rates, and being honest and transparent in our dealings. -We value Bay Area theatre artists for their excellence, for their engagement, and for the local authenticity they bring to our productions. -We value the great plays of the past for the way their lessons resonate with today’s issues, and new plays for the way they move today’s conversations forward. AURORA'S COMMITMENTS Here are the steps Aurora has taken and the commitments we make in the service of dismantling the systems that feed racism, anti-Blackness, and other forms of oppression: IN OUR COMMUNITY -We will continue our Community Partners program, which builds meaningful two-way relationships with new segments of our community, leading to more authenticity in our work, new audiences in our theatre, and new representation in our Advisory Council and eventually on our board. -Our 2020 annual fundraiser surpassed its income goal, and we will donate a percentage of that surplus income to organizations dedicated to anti-racism and anti-oppression. 10% of past-goal income will go to the Fund for Black Theatre in the U.S., and 10% to Black Futures Lab. IN OUR LOBBY -We will continue to center our Commitment to the Community, which is intended to discourage microaggressions in our lobby and theatre so that everyone feels welcome in our space. We will review and revise the text of the Commitment as our understanding deepens and our situation changes. -We will continue regular anti-bias and anti-oppression training for front-of-house staff, including bystander intervention training. -We will create clear guidelines for front-of-house staff for responding to microaggressions, racist behavior, and questions about our policies. -We continue the conversation begun and act on the discoveries made in Welcome To Our Space?: A Town Hall On Audience Interactions, exploring what theatres can do to discourage microaggressions, including microaggressions among our audience members. ON OUR STAGE -We will create an anti-racism policy sheet, to be shared with all artists and production staff and discussed at the first production meeting and first rehearsal. We will update the sexual harassment policy already shared in this manner. -At least three of the six plays we produce each season will be written by BIPOC playwrights. -We will continue our commitment that at least three of the six plays we produce each season will be written by women. -We will continue our commitment that at least three of the six plays we produce each season will be directed by women. -We will actively seek out plays by nonbinary and gender-nonconforming playwrights. -We will continue to commission and develop scripts by BIPOC playwrights. -We will increase the percentage of BIPOC designers and production staff working on our productions. IN OUR ORGANIZATION -In the 2020/2021 Season, every new board member will increase the board’s racial or ethnic diversity. Additionally, we will work with our community to develop and implement strategies to further diversify our board. -We have eliminated the minimum financial contribution for board members and will continue to work to diversify the board across socioeconomic lines, making the board more representative of our whole community. -We will continue regular anti-bias and anti-oppression training for our staff and board. -We’re replacing the phrase “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” with “Confronting and Dismantling Oppression” throughout our organization. -We will continue holding monthly volunteer Confronting and Dismantling Oppression meetings with staff and board participation. -We have created a Confronting and Dismantling Oppression task force composed of staff and board members, including the Artistic and Managing Directors and a member of the board Executive Committee. -We will report on and discuss anti-racism and anti-oppression activities as a regular part of our staff and board meetings. -We will view our strategic planning process through an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens, and will include a section on anti-racism and anti-oppression in our new strategic plan. -In July 2020, we adopted a new mission and values statement that includes a commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices. -We will review and revise our employee handbook and all internal policies through an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens. -We will review and revise our job posting language and hiring policies through an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens. -Josh and Julie commit to listening without defensiveness when we are called out for failing to embody anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices. -Josh and Julie commit to not using our fear of getting it wrong as an excuse to stay silent. -We commit to reviewing and evaluating our progress at least twice each year and sharing the results publicly, holding ourselves accountable to the commitments in this list.

AURORA CONNECTS Episode 18: Masterpiece Theatre This week on Aurora Connects, Josh and Dawn are joined by two-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer of Masterpiece (Theatre). Simpson was also the Executive Producer of Downton Abbey, which became the most-watched drama in PBS history. We'll learn about the history of Masterpiece, discuss some of the more popular shows to have come out of the program, and why Masterpiece dropped the "Theatre" from its name in 2008. We'll also learn more about how and why Susanne became Masterpiece's Executive Producer, and what it means to have that title. Join us Friday at 4 p.m.! WATCH: https://bit.ly/AuroraConnectsEp18 **** INFO: auroratheatre.org/auroraconnects WATCH: youtube.com/auroratheatrecompany LISTEN: auroraconnects.buzzsprout.com #auroraconnects #auroratheatrecompany #thinkdeeperlaughlouder #berkeley #theatre #bayareatheater #bayareatheatre #masterpiecetheatre @ Aurora Theatre Company