Diversity in Improv (The 'Improv So White' Reckoning)
2016-present
The ongoing critique that major improv institutions are demographically and culturally narrow — producing and privileging white middle-class performer perspectives — and the programmatic responses to it.
Known for
- Catalyzed by American Theatre's 2019 'Improv So White? Yes, And' feature and earlier writings.
- Institutional responses: diversity-focused scholarships, affinity-group house teams, curricular reviews.
- Persistent tension: 'Yes, And' as an ethos can mask dominant-culture invisibility by making the majority experience the unspoken default.
Connected to
Concepts
Schools & Theaters