Racism has no role to play on stage, back stage or off stage in any school, community or nation.  The Educational Theatre Association, the International Thespian Society, and the Educational Theatre Foundation speak out with communities of color against hate and prejudice wherever it appears.  Please go here to learn more about the steps we are taking.

Looking for plays or other resources to add to your curriculum?  Here are some links to help you get started:

If you are searching for works to use for a Thespy adjudication please be sure to check the Thespy rights and licensing page before choosing material from these or other lists. 

Black Work Broadway tracking plays by people of color on Broadway.  

Open Source Scripts Toward an Anti-racist Tomorrow by Idris Goodwin.
Free for production as long as no admittance fee is charged.

The BIIPOC Playwrights Project
UC Berkeley site makes a wonderful resource for theatre educators looking for more diverse materials.  The site includes playwright profiles with a list of representative plays.  This work in progress is frequently updated.

Black Acting Methods Black Acting Methods studio features online courses, books and resources offered so that actors of all heritages can learn about acting processes and methodologies rooted in Black American culture and tradition. 

The Alternate Canon
Amazing curated crowd sourced list of plays from diverse cultures. 

Native Theatres and Theatre Makers
American Theatre offers this list of native run theatres, theatre makers and their works.

Asian American Theatre Revue
31 Asian American theatre works in one concise list.

50 Playwrights Project
Supports Latin-X theatre with a rich site including lists of plays, playwright interviews and more.

The Educational Theatre Association is committed to a focus on racial equity which includes taking action to address the underrepresentation of BIPOC authors and creators within theatre education. Inspired by the work of the Cincinnati Black Theatre Artists Collective, and their “Monologues for Us By Us” , EdTA proposed a project we are calling “Finding Voice”.   The Educational Theatre Association was awarded the Ohio Arts Council's an ARI Community Arts Projects grant to complete this work in the spring of 2022, under a project known as "Finding Voice".

"Finding Voice", made possible by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, and the leadership of theatre artist Candice Handy of the Collective, was a project which commissioned Cincinnati based BIPOC playwrights to author monologues specifically for use by young theatre artists of color.  The authors have generously given the rights to EdTA to share these monologues freely with educators for use by theatre students of color in Ohio and beyond.  "Finding Voice" monologues have been published by TRW and so are eligible for use in Thespy adjudications.  

Please note, these works are the legal intellectual property of the authors, used with their permission and protected under copyright law.  Educators who wish to use the works must meet these conditions:

- the author as credited on the monologue must always be cited with full credit given and, if downloaded from this website, please note "Electronic versions published by the Educational Theatre Association"

- the works may only be performed by students identifying as BIPOC

Learn More

The following licensing agents provide special collections or search engines that will point to works by people of color.  If you are searching for works to use for a Thespy adjudication please be sure to check the Thespy rights and licensing page before choosing material from these or other lists. 

Concord Theatricals Collections:                          
Shows Celebrating the Black Experience             
Musicals Celebrating the Black Experience              
Plays Celebrating the Black Experience             
Plays Featuring Black Male Characters           
Plays Featuring Female Characters of Color             
Musicals Featuring Female Characters of Color             
Comedies by Authors of Color             
Plays by Queer Voices of Color             
Shows by Queer Voices of Color             
Celebrating Latiné Authors             
Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Authors

Gabriel Davis:
2 Minute Monologues
Female Monologues
Male Monologues

CPA Theatricals

Pioneer Drama Service Black History Month Plays

Playwrights Guild of Canada Collections

Where to begin? 

Commit to culturally responsive teaching. 
Get informed. 
Incorporate student voice and choice to honor students of all identities.
Seek out diverse works. 

A wonderful starting point can be found on the website of the National Art Education Association,  "Black Lives Matter; An Open Letter to Art Educators on Constructing an Anti-Racist Agenda".  This powerful piece is written by Dr. James Haywood Rolling, Jr., Professor of Arts Education at Syracuse University and former President of the National Art Education Association.  Another important work is the Asian American Performer's Action Coalition's study "The Visibility Report - Racial Representation on NYC Stages".  For an informative look at anti-racist theatre practices read "We See You White American Theatre" by The Ground We Stand On coalition.  Another highly recommended resource is the National Museum of African-American History and Culture’s Talking About Race.  And finally, don't miss this article "Celebrating Diversity is Not Enough" by Susan Santone. 

For more resources - this list of links originally published by the Arts Education Partnership offers a great beginning:

• Ibram X. Kendi: How to build an antiracist world
• Let's get to the root of racial injustice | Megan Ming Francis | TEDxRainier
• Keynote Address with Shawn Ginwright, Phd: Discusses the role arts educators need to play in the post-COVID-19 world to support reconnection and healing after this time of uncertainty and isolation.
• Putting Racism on the Table video series by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers
• What is Systemic Racism? Video Series by Race Forward
• Webinar on Abolitionist Teaching in a Global Pandemic featuring Bettina Love
• Cook Ross (DEI Consulting agency) Webinars

Finally, don't miss the excellent series of DEI webinars right here on EdTA's Learning Center.  Consider exploring Theatre for Social Justice.  
Please continue to watch this space as we add links to our Culturally Inclusive Teaching, Social Justice and DEI webinars, an important addition to your professional learning.