Our commitment to you.
Creative activities and self-expression can so often seem off-limits to many people – this includes the world of theatre. In our community, we saw a need to make theatre programming and arts education accessible for all. It’s one of the main reasons why PYTCo was created in the first place.
At PYTCo, we believe that everyone can flourish when everyone is included. It’s why our mission is centered around providing theater experiences and education to promote participation, appreciation, and understanding of the arts for everyone in our community, not just some.
Our organization is committed to building a tradition of theatre-going and engagement by creating work that interests new audiences. We’re committed to choosing productions that tell stories from different points of view and encourage everyone within our community to get involved by breaking down barriers to entry such as price, skillset, and more.
At PYTCo, we are dedicated to fostering change within our community and within the theatre industry itself. Upon the revitalization of the Sampson Theatre, we will continue to be intentional when it comes to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
We are committed to rethinking processes that are in place just because we’ve always done it that certain way. We are committed, long term, to listening to our community and fostering change throughout the culture and composition of the theatre institution.
Improving equality, diversity, and inclusion across the arts is key to releasing the true potential of our community’s artistic and cultural talent. We want to ensure that the art that gets made through PYTCo is not just outstanding in form and content, but relevant to the widest possible audiences.
PYTCo’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Penn Yan Theatre Company has the opportunity and responsibility to be a voice for racial justice and equality for all; both within our organization and within the larger community.
We pledge to pursue our mission for sustainable economic development, excellence in arts and education by continuing to open opportunities for our black, brown, and LGBTQIA+ neighbors and friends and others of marginalized experiences. We understand that without social justice, our communities are weaker, and therefore, so are we.
We pledge to have comfortable and safe facilities and performances for all our neighbors. We will not tolerate any actions, words, or aggression, whether intentional or unintentional, to the contrary. We pledge to engage artists of diverse backgrounds and identities in our programs musical, visual, dance, theatrical and educational.
We commit to engaging leadership at every level of our organization to establish clear and concrete steps for success in diversity, equity, and inclusion.