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[0:02] Christine Toy Johnson: Welcome back to Talk Back, the Dramatists Guild's podcast about building the theater we want to see.

[0:07] Christine Toy Johnson: I'm your host, Christine Toy Johnson.

[0:10] Christine Toy Johnson: This season is all about collaboration.

[0:13] Christine Toy Johnson: In this episode, I talked to Teresa Coleman Wash, executive artistic director of Bishop Arts Theater Center in Dallas, Texas.

[0:22] Christine Toy Johnson: We discuss the ways individualism and collectivism can go hand in hand in creating true community collaboration using examples from Bishop Arts Theater Center's programming and efforts during the pandemic.

[0:37] Christine Toy Johnson: Thank you so much for being here. Can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

[0:42] Teresa Coleman Wash: Yes, my name is Teresa Coleman Wash. I am the executive artistic director for Bishop Arts Theatre Center in Dallas, Texas. I use the pronouns she, her, hers.

[0:57] Christine Toy Johnson: Thank you so much. I know that your theater, Bishop Arts Center, has found a lot of new ways to welcome in your community, especially during the pandemic. And I wondered if you can tell us about some of those ways that you've been doing that.

[1:15] Teresa Coleman Wash: So we started doing what we call patio live performances, where we would partner with aging care facilities and independent living facilities to create these really engaging workshops and immersive workshops and performances on the patios and parking lots of these different facilities.

[1:36] Teresa Coleman Wash: And so that was one of the ways that we were able to keep our artist, teaching artists, employed during the pandemic. The other way, Christine, is we partnered with our friends at the Dramatists Guild Foundation. And we were able to provide a monologue workshop series where people like Amy Evans, France Louis Benson, Pia Wilson, and Stacey Rose conducted workshops, writing workshops for people all over the country, not just in our community.

[2:10] Teresa Coleman Wash: So, quite frankly, what happened was we expanded our territory in ways that we never imagined. We also partnered with Profile Theater's in Portland, Oregon. They produced a production of Lynn Nottage's Mlima's Tale. It was a radio play. And of course, I saw that play. I saw the world premiere at the public and was immediately drawn to it. So when the opportunity to present the radio play for our audience came available, we jumped on top of that.

[2:45] Christine Toy Johnson: I know that these programs have helped you expand your reach. How do you think that different members of your community have walked through your doors because of that than the ones you already were engaged with?

[3:00] Teresa Coleman Wash: So let me just give you some backstory. The building that we occupy was donated to us in 2004. It was a dilapidated photography studio with some rundown lofts upstairs. We raised a half million dollars in private sector funding. We were able to get a construction loan for another $700,000. And so we started the renovations in 2006 and completed the renovations in 2008. What we did after the renovations, I think really helped propel us to our current success and help us get through this pandemic.

[3:34] Teresa Coleman Wash: And what that was was we held focus group meetings and we asked the community what are we doing that you'd like to see us do more of? And what are we not doing that you'd like to see us implement? And from those conversations really informed our programs. We knew back then that theater audiences were declining. We knew back then that we needed to be active listeners. That in order for, you know, I'm not from Dallas, I'm a transplant, and so I had no basically community here. I had to build community. And so being active listeners and making sure that we were in step in line with the neighborhoods around this theater was incredibly, incredibly important.

[3:43] Teresa Coleman Wash: I distinctly remember back then going to an art symposium by Michael Kaiser that was in 2008, of course when the economy plummeted and we had this shiny new building. And Michael said something that resonated with me deeply, and that is sick people don't get well by doing less. Now is the time for you to really connect with your community. And I'm telling you that advice served us well back then and it's serving us well right now.

[3:43] Christine Toy Johnson: That's wonderful. You know, it is really occurring to me that radical hospitality has to be so intentional, right? And it also needs to be taken into account that we cannot welcome in on our terms only.

[5:14] Teresa Coleman Wash: That's right. We need to do, we need to listen, like you say, and find out what people need from us in order to feel welcome. And it sounds like you've really been doing that so successfully. I wonder if you could expand on that. I know that you have had other programs in your building that have not just been theater related, and that has led to really radical hospitality.

[5:40] Teresa Coleman Wash: We work with the mayor's office to make sure that we were a pop-up clinic. So we invited people in the community to get vaccinated. There were people waiting for our theater to invite them. It's on record. I mean, one of the, our former actors said, you know, I didn't want to go down to Fair Park downtown. This is right here now in my community. I've performed on the stage, and when I think about it, when I thought about the power of the trust that the community has just placed in our organization, that's a very powerful, powerful position to be in. We can't take that for granted.

[6:24] Teresa Coleman Wash: Participate in a coalition since August of last year, we have been working on and advocating for the Save Our Stages Bill, which is now the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. And what I'm learning in those conversations is it's really a novel idea for the American theater to think about working with the community. We just applied for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and prior to the pandemic, our music series paid for everything. So we were able to get a large enough grant from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant to pay off our construction loan debt.

[7:07] Christine Toy Johnson: Wow.

[7:08] Teresa Coleman Wash: Because that's amazing. Yes, because we were active listeners, because we didn't force our agenda, but because we listened to the community, said, okay, what is it that you need? What is it that you want? And I'm just thrilled that in this moment that we're able to really invest in our people. You know, we've been struggling with this construction loan debt for about 15 years now. And now we're in a position just announced that Frankie Gonzalez is our playwright in residence. We are able to really build out infrastructure and keep artists employed in ways that we never imagined.

[7:50] Teresa Coleman Wash: So we're investing in people now. You know, we're investing in the full-time staff, making sure that we have health insurance and a retirement package, all the things that we don't enjoy, typically in the American theater. We're making sure that we're taking care of our people.

[8:29] Christine Toy Johnson: And if so, in what ways?

[8:32] Teresa Coleman Wash: Yeah, so I love that question because prior to the pandemic, we were one of just only a handful of arts organizations who participated in Dallas Truth Racial Healing and Transformation. It is an organization that really has hard and meaningful conversations with the powers that be in our community. There's been so much evidence that there is a huge disparity between the funding that theaters that center stories and people of color get as opposed to the predominantly white institutions. And I wonder how you navigate that and speak to it.

[9:19] Teresa Coleman Wash: A group of nonprofit leaders here in the Dallas area decided to get together and coordinate what we called hard conversations, I believe it was. And we had folks who used their privilege to invite members of the philanthropic community to sit and listen about what the needs were for organizations of color because we know that women of color who run nonprofit organizations receive 0.6% of philanthropic dollars. We could not survive the pandemic, you know, had that continued. And I'm telling you, what happened was something that I never expected, and that is people leaned in to have the conversation. Not only did they show up, but they followed up on conversation.

[10:08] Teresa Coleman Wash: And I mentioned that we have been dealing with our construction loan debt for about 15 years. But those members of the philanthropic community not only took an interest in what we were doing and how we built this organization, but also how we've been able to thrive and survive and how we've been able to connect with the community. That's something that's been second nature for us for years. And quite frankly, I don't know how we would have survived our 28-year existence had we not listened to the community.

[10:43] Teresa Coleman Wash: So, you know, having those conversations with Dallas Truth Racial Healing and Transformation and with the philanthropic community has been a game changer for us because we're no longer interested in, we can't afford quite frankly to accept $5,000 go away grant. Meet people who are genuinely interested in the well-being of our organization. And I distinctly remember Ty Defoe saying if you're not planning seven generations deep, you're not dreaming big enough. We took that advice to heart.

[11:17] Teresa Coleman Wash: So what that means for us is we have to engage people who want to engage with us, first of all, and folks who have a genuine interest in the well-being of our organization. Otherwise, what are we doing? It's self-serving. And quite frankly, in my opinion, in my experience, sustainability is never achieved when you have a me, myself and I approach.

[12:09] Christine Toy Johnson: Yeah.

[12:10] Christine Toy Johnson: I love hearing about how the conversations have shifted. I wonder what you think going forward, how this work can continue, and how everyone who is grappling with the same kinds of forward-moving activity can make it sustainable.

[12:30] Teresa Coleman Wash: Yeah. So I've said this before, and that is we can't professionalize racial equity. You know, the change that we're seeing right now has to continue in a deep and more meaningful way. I can't, I've lost count of the times that I've sat in meetings with Eurocentric organizations who have programmed plays like Booty Candy or the like with microaggressions hurled about. You know, this has nothing to do with optics and being on the right side of history, although we want to be on the right side of history. It is about who we are as individuals. It is about the work that we're doing as individuals and not showing up because we want to be woke or we want to be, we want to hang out with the woke folks, you know, right? It really is about who we are as individuals.

[13:31] Teresa Coleman Wash: And I'll use this, I wanna I want to repeat this, and I use this example all the time, but our wonderful board chair is a woman named Emma Rogers. She's very well respected in the community. She owned Black Images books for years, for over 30 years. But Emma talks about how when she travels, she always leaves a tip for the person who's cleaning her room. Just to say, I see you, I respect you, I honor you.

[14:05] Teresa Coleman Wash: And that's the kind of introspection and accountability. I think that we all have to hold ourselves up to when no one is looking. What you do behind closed doors is really the litmus test to your integrity.

[14:25] Teresa Coleman Wash: Absolutely. I think what the million dollar question is, is how we get past the statements and the training that people have engaged in in this past year and move forward into those seven generations ahead, right? And I've heard some people sort of pat themselves on the back for having done all of this work over the last months. And my response is, okay, well, that's great. I'm so glad, but welcome to a lifetime of inviting racism and ableism and all of the isms that are baked into our society.

[15:06] Teresa Coleman Wash: That's right, because it's an ongoing struggle. It's ongoing work. And I don't think people understand that. You know, we're being really intentional about training the next generation of leaders because folks like me are like overworked and really need to be on a beach drinking a mata, right?

[15:24] Christine Toy Johnson: Yes, I wish that for you.

[15:26] Teresa Coleman Wash: Exactly. We're really being intentional about training the next generation of leaders because we're so encouraged by the work that some of these young people are doing. And I just think that it's that, you know, we've got to make sure that we understand this is ongoing long term work and not just it's not just a moment. It really is a movement.

[15:51] Christine Toy Johnson: We'll be right back with more from Teresa Coleman Wash.

[16:01] Christine Toy Johnson: Welcome back to our chat with Teresa Coleman Wash, Executive Artistic Director of Bishop Arts Theater Center. Teresa's theater is in Dallas, Texas, where critical race theory is currently getting a lot of pushback. Here's how Teresa sees her theater's role in teaching the next generation.

[16:20] Teresa Coleman Wash: I just think in this moment, the work that we do is so important and so critical. We've worked for years with the independent school districts. And I'm talking to our playwright in residence and our new associate artistic producer about the stories that we tell in the school districts because we know there are barriers. There are barriers that are in place for those teachers to tell the truth about the new voices and new plays and hidden truths, and given a platform to all of that in this moment.

[17:30] Teresa Coleman Wash: So this has just given me such great hope to know that hey, wait a minute. Okay, so they're gonna do what they're gonna do with banning critical race theory because they're afraid of knowing the truth. But here come the playwrights and the storytellers.

[17:47] Christine Toy Johnson: It's so empowering.

[17:50] Teresa Coleman Wash: It is, and I were working with Pan America on a One Act Festival in February of 2022. Pen America has this prison and justice ministry or workshop or contest where they work with actually inmates. There's a man who actually wrote himself off death row. When I heard that, I'm like, okay, the power of the pen is real and it is transformative. We have so much power in our hands.

[18:26] Christine Toy Johnson: How do you think your community partners will continue to engage with your theater?

[18:31] Teresa Coleman Wash: Well, you know, it's interesting because our first in-person program is September 11th, and within five days, we were 95% sold out. That was the litmus test for me that people are waiting to come back to the theater. Every day that we quarantine, every week when I came in the office, there was a donation, there was a check from a member of the community saying we're rooting for you, we want to make sure that you come out whole on the other side of this. That was very telling for me.

[19:06] Christine Toy Johnson: So that is amazing, yes.

[19:08] Teresa Coleman Wash: Yeah, yeah. I and I was on the phone, it's you know, I was on the phone last night until about eight o'clock. I was working late and answered the phone at seven o'clock on the phone with one of our patrons, and we talked for an hour. So what I feel, I really think that there's a heightened sense of engagement that we're seeing even right now.

[19:33] Christine Toy Johnson: Wonderful. Earlier, you mentioned your philanthropic partners, and there's been so much evidence that theaters that center communities of color have been getting less funding than the predominantly white institutions. And I wonder if you see that changing now, and or how do you navigate that?

[20:02] Teresa Coleman Wash: Yeah, that's a great question. So when we renovated the theater, I naively thought that we would have naming rights all over the buildings based on the buildings downtown in the downtown area. You know, I followed who's giving money to the arts, and at that time in 2008, not only did the economy plummet, but also the Dallas Arts District was being built, and so those larger Eurocentric institutions were getting all of the attention, all of the resources, and it was very very discouraging because we had members of the philanthropic community to tell us we're supporting the Dallas Arts District. We're not we don't have any additional funds, but because of the conversations that we've had with Dallas TRHT, it's nice to see the members of the philanthropic community leaning into those conversations.

[21:01] Teresa Coleman Wash: Terry Loft is at the Arts Community Alliance, TACA here in Dallas, took over the reins about a year and a half ago, and they've made some transformative changes. I also see younger members of like family foundations taking over. I think that what's happening is they're educating themselves. And they do want to be on the right side of history. And they understand the inequities that have happened. I think there's some effort to change that.

[21:36] Teresa Coleman Wash: We have a couple of naming right opportunities that we didn't have prior to the pandemic. And so I attribute that to, again, the conversations that we're having, really hard, uncomfortable conversations that we're having. But also, I think people have to have a genuine interest in the well-being of our organization. We can't, you know, we have a track record. We know that there are kids who have gone off to college and because of their training in our program have received scholarships, hundreds of thousands of dollars of scholarships. Why wouldn't you support an organization that is helping people get vaccinated in the community? Why wouldn't you help an organization that is helping the community in meaningful ways, not just conventional, we're not here to just entertain people.

[22:42] Teresa Coleman Wash: Certainly we're not going to close our doors. So when the philanthropic community saw that we were reaching out to aging care facilities and reaching out to independent school districts, I think they've in their minds they felt, you know, this organization is really too important to fail.

[23:02] Teresa Coleman Wash: I have to tell you, Christine, you know, when we when this building was gifted to us, everything that we were told to do to sustain our organization, we abandoned that advice and we had to really make our own rules. We knew again that theater audiences were declining, so we couldn't rely solely on ticket sales from theater, from our theater series. And I'm so glad that we incorporated more things from the community, and that we were again active listeners, that our agenda didn't override what we were hearing from the community. And I don't think that that's all the time that that is common knowledge for institutions like ours. I'm just I'm glad we had the wherewithal to listen to the community.

[23:57] Christine Toy Johnson: Yes.

[23:58] Teresa Coleman Wash: What are you looking forward to as you're able to welcome back audiences into the building?

[24:07] Teresa Coleman Wash: Well, I was talking with staff this morning about a listening series. It served us 15, 20 years ago. I think it'll serve us as we transition to this new generation of leaders. I really want the new leaders to understand how important it is to surrender your will to the will of the people. And I'm really excited to hear how we can transform this organization in ways that are meaningful for the community. I want to hear from them. I want to hear from them personally.

[24:46] Teresa Coleman Wash: When I think about our work at the Dramatists Guild Foundation, our partnership with the Dramatists Guild Foundation, during the pandemic, there were organizations like DGF saying, we have resources. What can we do to help? And I'm hoping that on the other side of the pandemic, that that continues, that we really reach beyond our local communities to expand our territories. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to partner in meaningful ways.

[25:21] Teresa Coleman Wash: I mean, we completely remove the barrier of flying folks in, you know, and finding hotels. Reg Douglas is a director that I whose career I have followed, who I wanted to work with prior to the pandemic, Red called me and said, I have an opportunity that I think you may be interested in. And it's a radio play of Mlima's Tale. We were able to cast it with Broadway actors, we were able to work with technicians all over the country. Nobody was in a room together. I mean, the artists were all over, the tech people were in different parts of the country. And so once they compiled the show together, Josh, who's the artistic director at Profile Theater's, and I got on the phone and said, okay, how can we how can we share this product? How can we excite our communities about it?

[26:22] Teresa Coleman Wash: So we actually brought in the Dallas Zoo, did a talk back with them, very informative. And so we were able to kind of think outside the box and excite our local audience as well as a national audience for this particular show. It was very successful. And I'm hoping on the other side of the pandemic that those are the kinds of projects that we can continue to work on.

[26:47] Teresa Coleman Wash: And when Red called me and told me about Mlima's Tale at Profile Theater's, my ego was not attached to, well, we didn't produce it. We partnered with that theater, kept artists employed and created opportunities that kept the lights on and the doors open for so many institutions, but also for other artists. So I'm hoping that we can remove our ego in ways that can propel our career, our sector, so that we don't create these barriers for ourselves.

[27:25] Christine Toy Johnson: Thank you to Teresa for speaking with us today. You can learn more about Bishop Arts Theater Center by visiting BishopartsTheater.org.

[27:35] Christine Toy Johnson: Talkback is a production of the Dramatists Guild of America. It's produced by Amy Von Masick, Sarah Storm, and me, Christine Toy Johnson. Robert Delaney Prime mixes our show. Our theme music is by Andrea Daley. The Dramatists Guild presents Talkback is distributed by the Broadway Podcast Network. Join the conversation online using hashtag DT TalkBack.

[27:58] Christine Toy Johnson: As always, to be continued.