Steel City Improv Theater hosted a Town Hall Meeting for all of its community members on June 16th at 7 p.m. We met to discuss our plans for safety, programming, and diversity moving forward. It is important to us as an organization that we work together with the voices of our community to ensure a safe and diverse future for everyone. Below are the highlights of the topics discussed at the meeting.
Classes
As of now, classes are set to resume in person this July and August. Class sizes will be significantly smaller & safety precautions will be enforced. Updated safety precautions & class rules can be found on the website HERE. These new policies are in addition to our Code of Conduct found HERE. Our teachers are working to develop online classes in the event that the Covid-19 crisis continues & to expand our online class offerings.
Shows and content
When it comes to live shows, safety is our main concern. The future of our shows is not clear for the next few months. We want to make sure that we honor our mission while keeping the theater as safe as possible for our community members.
We have been hosting online live shows every Friday and Saturday night on Twitch. As we mentioned previously, the future of our shows is one that is not perfectly clear. Our plans are changing rapidly. We are looking to move further into producing scripted and pre-recorded content for our community. It’s an opportunity for our performers to continue practicing the skills they have learned while connecting with SCITizens digitally. We will update our community on the progress of our shows through our mailing list and social media channels as things progress.
Nonprofit
We are very proud to announce that we have submitted our paperwork to officially become a 501c3. Becoming a nonprofit is a dream that Kasey and Justin have been working toward for a very long time. It is their hope that this change will allow them to create programming that will bring improv into the community of Pittsburgh and use it to transform lives.
We are not yet an official 501c3, but will make that announcement as soon as possible.
Diversity Planning
We acknowledge that as an organization there is room for improvement when it comes to prioritizing diversity in the SCIT community and in the Pittsburgh Improv Community as a whole. We welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas on how to ensure that all voices are heard. Here is our immediate plan moving forward:
Our current teachers are being trained to identify student behaviors that are inappropriate, inconsiderate, or racially insensitive to ensure those behaviors don’t extend beyond level one improv classes at our organization. We have a zero-tolerance policy for racism, sexism, or discrimination of any kind.
We are currently working on grants and donor campaigns for the year 2021 to ensure that we are able to hire new leadership positions. We are committed to making sure that women and BIPOC are in leadership roles at the SCIT.
We have begun the beginning stages of creating a scholarship program for people of color in our community interested in taking improv classes with SCIT.
Kasey and Justin have been planning for and working toward a visiting artist program for a few years. It is their vision to bring in visiting artists and teachers that can diversify and expand the level of understanding and knowledge within the Pittsburgh Improv Community.
Next Town Hall
We will be hosting our next town Hall on Wednesday, August 12th at 7 p.m. in person at the theater and on Zoom.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about any of our plans moving forward please contact us at the emails listed below.
Riley Stanzione
Online Artistic Director
onlinead@steelcityimprov.com
Anna Patsch
Marketing & PR Director
pr@steelcityimprov.com
Justin Zell
Education & Corporate Director
justin@steelcityimprov.com
Kasey Daley
Executive & Artistic Director
kasey@steelcityimprov.com