The Lark has created the following list in an effort to create and maintain a healthy and inclusive organizational culture. These guidelines will also be on display in The Lark's lobby, where we encourage you to come check them out at our next public event, and take part in building this culture with us!
We are here to support the playwright’s process.
If you are here, we means you. Welcome, and thank you for being part of this community. To ensure we are collectively working towards this goal, The Lark has compiled the following list of guidelines. We invite you to reflect upon them, and hope they will help serve in fostering a space where everyone can feel heard and whole.
Introduce yourself! In whatever way makes you most comfortable. We encourage you to share the information that allows you to feel fully present, whether that means your pronouns, accessibility needs, what brought you to The Lark, or just your name! Our lobby is meant to be a place to connect. Be yourself, and make space for others to be themselves.
Remember the plays we work with are in-progress. Be a community member who seeks to further this progress.
Recognize the impact of your comments and actions. Be receptive, even when that impact may differ from your intent. We all make mistakes. We are all always learning.
Acknowledge the humanity of ALL the people you are sharing this space with. That includes artists, audience members, staff, apprentices, and volunteers, people of any age, disability, gender expression or identity, race, sexual orientation, and all the intersections of these and other aspects of identity. Remember we all share the same goal of supporting playwrights, so supporting each other will help us towards achieving it.
We are here to open each other’s minds. As individuals within this community we each have something to contribute. So be generous, be attentive, and be in process with us.
Dominique Morisseau, whose program insert “Playwright’s Rules of Engagement” was the inspiration for this list, and to Brittany K. Allen, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Fleece, Alexandra Gonzales, Donja R. Love, Diana Oh, Christina Quintana (CQ), TJ Weaver, and The 2017-18 Lark Apprentices, whose contributions during early discussions of these guidelines were instrumental in their creation.