Our Code of Community and Collective Values is a living document that we commit to updating, revisiting, and consistently offering room for edits in order to remain in alignment of anti-racist practices, inclusivity, and the spirit of true collaboration.
COCO’S CODE OF COMMUNITY
Originally Dated: October 18, 2020
Last Updated: August 15th, 2025
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE
At Colt Coeur, we welcome and embrace all human beings and safeguard and embolden our differences.
Our company will not tolerate racism, sexism, queerphobia, ableism, entitlement and any other conduct that threatens to destroy the fabric of the socially equitable industry we are creating.
We would like to acknowledge the variety of visible and invisible access needs of our community of artistic collaborators and audience members and make a commitment to supporting those needs to the best of our abilities.
We recognize the delicacy of theatrical performance and of the social aspects affiliated with theater - but we place the health and well-being of our company and community as paramount. We nurture and prioritize personal investment in our artists, students, community and all we come in contact with.
Action Items:
· We have done away with ‘10 out of 12’ rehearsals and the 6-day work week.
· We hire intimacy directors when needed for productions and we encourage our company to stay home when sick.
· We cover transportation costs for interns and do not ask them to work more than 18 hours a week. We create transparent agreements with each individual that establish a balanced commitment of individual and company goals custom-tailored to the program and area of interest for each intern. Time and effort are an asset the intern brings to the company, we will answer that with resources that further their individual needs/goals/interests.
· We support our collaborators who are working parents by offering flexible rehearsal schedules, as well as private lactation rooms.
· We offer ASL-interpreted performances of our live productions and offer captioning on all virtual performances. We make large-print scripts available for all live productions.
SOCIAL JUSTICE STANCE AND COCO
To ensure that we are a community that commits itself to the We See You White American Theater document, social equity and anti-racist practices, we heavily consider who we work with and make a promise to prioritize Global Majority collaborators and works that reflect our core values and our mission. We are grateful for the generosity of the WSYWAT creators and acknowledge the deficiency in the make-up of our programming and collaborators historically. We commit to amplifying and nurturing the work of Global Majority artists and recognize the tremendous value these artists add to our company and our world.
Action Items:
· The majority of our Colt Coeur community participated in Nicole Brewer’s Anti-Racist Theatre: A Foundational Course in September-November 2020.
· We commit to reaching 50%+ Global Majority representation by 2022 across our Board, Company and production teams. As of 2023, we had reached this goal for our company and production teams, and continue to work toward reaching it with our Board.
· We continue our longstanding commitment to 50%+ Global Majority representation within our Residency Program and Education Initiative.
TRANSFORMATIVE ANTI-RACIST PRACTICES
We make a commitment to uphold transformative and anti-racist work as a company and expect all who collaborate with us to join us in this work. We consistently seek opportunities to grow and to learn how we participate in antiquated, problematic systems. We dedicate our time together to not only champion the arts but also to reflect and assess how we can DO better and BE better for our Global Majority artistic community.
Action Items:
· We have created flow charts to make transparent our points of access. We are working on organizational/project-specific charts to offer artists, staff and audience open and clear channels of communication with the goal of becoming a more equitable institution.
· We will update our Handbook annually so our mission and goals can be laid out clearly for all to see.
OUR IMPACT
We recognize that everything we do in this industry has an impact not only on our artistic community but on our local and global community as well. Our goal is to positively impact the land we utilize for rehearsal, productions, and education; and the communities therein.
We acknowledge that the land upon which we gather to rehearse and present our work in NYC is part of the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape, called “Lenapehoking.” We commit to anti-racist practices and uplift the Lenni-Lenape (and any other indigenous tribes) as the original people of this land and acknowledge the erasure of their history, the loss of their ancestors and culture at the hand of colonialism and continuing practices of racism still present in our industry and our society.
We nurture the next generation of theater artists by offering in-depth exploration of artistic expression through our annual Education Initiative, Mentorship and Internship programs. Since 2010 the Education Initiative has served students from under-resourced NYC public schools; in 2020 we operated virtually and worked with students across the country.
Action Items:
· We commit to continued focus on our Education Initiative, to growing our Mentorship program for the public school students in our community, as well as for emerging artists, and to supporting more students and emerging artists in ongoing and authentic engagement.
· We build community relationships and support local businesses by hosting events at neighborhood establishments and by offering exposure to our audiences via ads or offers in our programs.
· We support continuing our relationship with the Lenni-Lenape people and territory by sharing a statement at first rehearsals, Community and Board meetings, and printed at all public gatherings.
· We have pledged our support of Groundwater Arts Community Project’s Divest to Invest campaign and we pledge that we will ACCEPT NO fossil fuel sponsorships. #FOSSILFREECULTURE Nor will we accept sponsorships from Companies that are known to discriminate against people or violate human rights and Weapons manufacturing companies.
GROWTH AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Growth and adaptation can only happen with accountability. We vow to hold ourselves accountable to the mission of our company and this code of community and openly invite any feedback from the people with whom we work.
Along with this document, we are a work-in-progress. This code and our company must never stop growing, improving, and adapting. We are open to always learning and to becoming better.
Action Items:
· We invite you to engage with us and help us with this call to accountability. Please contact us via email at coltcoeur@gmail.com.
· We will update this document and provide dates accordingly as we do the work.
ASPIRATIONS
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve, and continually move towards equitable practices, the following items have been identified as important, but due to a myriad of reasons, we are unable to change in the immediate.
Our hope is that this section clearly lists out our planned initiatives, and provides a way to hold ourselves accountable to seeing them through.
· Consider a position called Community-Impact Liaison, who works towards engaging with both the current, and the Indigenous peoples of the communities we rehearse and perform in to create authentic, lasting relationships, and opportunities of collaboration and fellowship.
· Hold Town Halls consistently throughout the year in order to provide accessible opportunities to meet with the communities we work and give them the space to give us feedback, or other offerings that will improve the way we move through the world.
We would like to acknowledge the following people and organizations that have provided incredible resources and information that have helped guide our efforts and research.
· Nicole Brewer’s Anti-Racist Theatre Training
Our role and responsibility:
As a company and community rooted in creativity, dialogue, and engagement, we recognize that political and social events continuously shape the world around us. Throughout every moment and each event that arises, we stay grounded in the purpose that brought us here—and the values that guide us forward. Our work is never separate from the times we live in.
We acknowledge that silence can be interpreted in many ways. But our approach is deliberate: to lead with values, not statements. We serve through the work, making space for a myriad of voices, and upholding a community that invites thought, complexity, and conversation. We hold ourselves and our artists to this shared responsibility—not to declare, but to engage, to create, and to reflect our values in action.
We are here to support artists, foster reflection, and build space for conscientious dialogue. Our programming and practices are expressions of our commitment to equity, humanity, and artistic freedom. These are our values we laid from the beginning- we are committed to staying the course.
Our Collective Values
Artist-Driven - We are driven by curiosity and heart, there is no other ‘bottom line’. Decisions are made in service to the voice of the artists.
Generosity of Spirit - We stand by practices of offering our time, talents, support, privilege, and access in the American Theater to our collaborators and the communities we visit.
Celebration of Diversity - We wholeheartedly invest, celebrate and fortify all of our collaborators of ALL races, ethnicities, nationalities, size, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, education level, income, and abilities.
Empathy - We invest in the humanity of each other. By embracing each unique lived experience, the essence of what connects the world can be illuminated and explored.
Wholeness - We view our collaborators in the richness of their full beings; we aim to understand and support the complexities that every individual brings to the work
Authenticity - We are comfortable with uncertainty, change, and personal and professional growth and evolution. We try to meet people where they are.
Nimble - We find inspiration in being open-minded and open-hearted, by being willing to challenge preconceptions we can continue to evolve our practices to be more inclusive and equitable. We believe in maintaining a flexible yet unwavering mission that enables us to quickly respond, and modify or adjust the way we behave and conduct ourselves as a company.
Individuality - We strive to build a unified company that recognizes and celebrates the individuality of each member.