Stronger Plans, Higher Standards
Control Group is thrilled to announce receipt of a grant from the Performing Arts Readiness project and LYRASIS with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation!
This award will support a yearlong process of developing an Intersectional Emergency & Accessibility Plan for our organization, with a focus on immersive performance in unconventional spaces.
Our proposal ties together the health and safety concerns of traditional emergency management planning with the equivalent organizational dangers presented by gaps in access, inclusiveness, and equity in our working environments and public events.
Once complete, we'll mobilize this plan as the initial basis for a Community Resource on Safety & Access. This CRSA will use open-source development and proactive networking and adoption support to share core principles, best practices, and nuts-and-bolts with artists and organizations locally and nationally.
We see this as a critical step for our organization, particularly within the emerging field of immersive performance, which presents unique safety and access challenges and does not yet have widely-used standard practices in these areas. This work will elevate our in-house practices, and connect other artists and organizations with the ideas and resources they need to do the same.
Our process will move forward in consultation with Majestic Collaborations, and will also include an Accessibility Consultation with Phamaly Theatre Company, Anti-Oppression Training with Regan Byrd Consulting, and consultation with a legal advisor around the creation of innovative, anti-oppressive mutual-benefit contract templates. We're working with local advocacy organization IDEA Stages to develop the CRSA vision, structure, and contents.
In dialog with our professional community, we'll gather, create, and institute methodical policies and best practices for event safety and accessibility, inclusive collaboration and outreach, equitable contracting, and overall organizational health. We'll work with IDEA Stages, national immersive industry advocacy group No Proscenium, and the Performing Arts Readiness initiative at Lyrasis to circulate the CRSA, support adoption, and create a national network of users.
Our current IEAP and CRSA scope of work includes:
Universal Design principles translated for events in improvised spaces.
Accessibility resources by locality (ASL interpreters, Audio Description experts, etc.).
Accessibility practices templates (ex: how to offer a sensory performance)
Safety planning template for events in improvised spaces.
Safety principles for Immersive Theatre (focused on audience mobility and agency, and audience-performer interaction).
Artist safety and Conflict Resolution Pathway as outlined in the Colorado Theatre Standards created by Rocky Mountain Artist Safety Alliance)
Equity tools (mutual-benefit contracting templates, artist fee schedules like W.A.G.E.).
Transparency practices (publicly posted policies and information, such as this organizational financial profile from jumatatu m. poe).
You can read the full grant proposal here: PAR Proposal