OUR MISSION 

The Fled is an artist Collective providing a radically equitable, anti-racist, anti-oppressive platform for theater artists — to build community, expand their artistry, and make theatre that is actively engaged in our collective liberation and the dismantling of colonialist practices and white ideals. With artists at the helm, particularly our global-majority and historically marginalized artists, we lead our community with curiosity, empathy, and celebration.

By prioritizing accessibility and the decolonization of art, we aim to create space for new audiences and innovate the way we organize and make theatre. Our marginalized and underrepresented artists must steer the ship – beginning with our Black artists, as well as our Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, MENA, Queer, Trans, Gender-nonconforming, Intersex, Disabled, and the multitude of intersecting experiences and aesthetics therein. A space is only safe for all when it is safe for its most vulnerable members. We choose to share power and resources equitably and abundantly, and in doing so actively practice the values we espouse. 

When we celebrate, serve, and lead our community with joy, we are Revolutionary. 

OUR HISTORY

The artists of The Fled were exiled from our former artistic home in the wake of calls for institutional decolonization of the American Theatre.

During the summer and fall of 2020, we, the Resident artists of a historically exploitative institution, stood together as a collective, led by our Black artists in a non-hierarchical structure. We asked for real, radical change that could serve as a blueprint for a new American theatre. After six months of negotiations, on December 4, 2020, over 100 Actors, Writers and Directors, received a message terminating all of our contracts. Though we were praised in the light, we received consistent pushback from leadership in the shadows. At the time, these incidents made us feel isolated and alone, but now we have come together as a collective and we are able to witness the full scope of these abuses. Our former home was but a symptom of the American theatre, which was sick long before COVID.

A theatre should bring strength and power to the community of artists within it. Yet we’ve found ourselves unified and strong in spite of – not because of – the institutional theatre. The American theatre failed us, refused us seats at their table, so we are building a new one and you are welcome to have a seat. 

GUIDEPOSTS FOR OUR WORK

• Equity. We value people over profits. 
• Non-hierarchy. Institutions are strongest when the power is in the hands of the many.
• Liberation. We center BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists and stories. 
• Representation in Leadership. Artists should be represented at all levels of leadership. 
• Compensation. Art is labor. Artists and those who make their work possible must be paid a living wage.
• Radical Transparency. Our creative, administrative, and financial practices and values will be open, transparent, and routinely reevaluated.
• Accessibility. Our art should be accessible to anyone who wants to engage with it. 
• Healing and Growth.  Mistakes are inevitable. We will greet them with empathy and move toward repair. Conflict and discomfort can be fuel for growth and change. Both are necessary.