Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
Consultant for EDI in Theater and Performing Arts
In rehearsal for WILD GOOSE DREAMS @ SpeakEasy Stage.
L-R: Sunjae Kim, Ciaran D’Hondt, Fady Demian, Jeff Song, Eunji Lim, John D. Haggerty [photo: Anabel Rios]
Six Dimensions of Inclusion:
Safe: Feeling welcomed and comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas, and disagreements without fear of retribution.
Respected: Feeling accepted and being treated fairly and with dignity.
Connected: Feeling a sense of belonging, having meaningful interactions at work, and feeling aligned to the project’s or organization’s values and concept.
Acknowledged: Feeling seen, valued, and recognized for your unique contributions.
Supported: Feeling that you are provided what is needed to get the work done and achieve your potential while having a healthy work-life balance.
Empowered: Feeling a sense of purpose and agency to contribute towards achieving the project’s/organization’s vision and concept.
For most of his adult life, Jeff has been a fierce and passionate advocate and ally for social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in corporate, educational, and performing arts settings.
In 2024, Jeff received EDI training certification through the Inclusive Stages Cohort Certification Program.
Jeff is currently consulting for Central Square Theater as an EDI liaison to support their 2024-2025 season.
Creating work for the theater stage is a community based endeavor. Every human part of the theater infrastructure (cast, creative team, stage management team, technicians, staff, front of house, etc.) - needs to feel Safe, Respected, Connected, Acknowledged, Supported, and Empowered in order to do their best work.
Proactive and intentional EDI support needs to be woven into the fabric of every production from Day 1, helping teams begin to work well together with trust, kindness, curiosity, grace, and patience. There is never a guarantee that any production will be trouble-free, but experience has shown that it can be extremely challenging to avoid/resolve conflicts- and recover trust - if EDI support is only applied after-the-fact, as a repair mechanism. EDI work can support best practices around communication, encourage compassionate feedback, and help to build bridges between inclusion gaps, access gaps, communication gaps.
In the language of Inclusive Stages training, EDI support strives to help create “an environment where diversity, emotional safety, and psychological well-being are foundational” so that individuals can feel the freedom to create with curiosity and without fear.