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Therefore not truly respected,she said.
Most venues remain closed due to the pandemic, and many staffers have been laid off.
This is a common experience for people of color at UCB.
Being chewed up and spit out for the purposes of diversity.
On June 13, UCBs four co-founders, a.k.a.
Performing at@ucbtlahas introduced me to so many amazing people and helped launch my career.
I hope that we can make it a more inclusive space for ALL people.
Thank you so much to Project Rethink!These are amazing ideas for our re-launch.
just know moving forward w/ your help is both welcome & necessary.
The Second City cannot begin to call itself anti-racist.
On stage, we dealt with the absurdity of the equal opportunity narrative that society uses to oppress BIPOC.
We dealt with the double standard that rationalizes violence against people of color.
We dealt with the cynicism of the liberal pact with capitalism.
Offstage, its been a different story.
The letter noted that LeBlancs hiring as interim executive producer was no more than integration into a burning house.
An open letter from The Second Citypic.twitter.com/wHVNC2SHFV
The Second City responded with anopen letter of its ownon June 11.
The Second City has long defended itself behind the excuse of upholding tradition.
That ends now, the letter stated.
To be clear: We are prepared to tear it all down and begin again, the letter concluded.
iO
Do you perform at@iochicago?
(The petitioncurrently has over 2,000 signatures.)
I have always been open and interested in involving my community in change and growth in my theater.
One cant grow a business this big without doing that.
But at this point in my life I cant continue to struggle to stay open.
Lorenzo wrote that because theaters like the Groundlings arent very inclusive, she stopped taking classes.
Fifty current and former Groundlings students, teachers, and performers signed the letter.
I hope they see this as a problem that they have the power to fix, Bouier told Vulture.
Theyre gatekeepers, but historically theyve been part of the problem and not the solution.
Especially considering that many Groundlings alums are working.
If that happens, then this letter will have actually had meaning.
So what comes next, and why did it take so long for these theaters to pledge change?
Project Rethinks Laci Mosley said Black improvisers didnt feel safe speaking up until recently.
If not we will always simply be guests in the house of comedy the white man built.
We cannot come back to the old UCB.
This post includes breaking news and has been updated throughout.
