What motivates you to be part of the LINE DRAWN initiative?

Because Fresh Ink Theatre is primarily a femme and queer-run organization, Line Drawn’s mission resonates with us deeply. The safety of our artists and community is paramount to our company’s success, as well as the success of Boston theatre as a whole. Fresh Ink wants to be at the forefront of practices that prioritize equity and wellbeing in Boston.

How have you implemented the LINE DRAWN standards and other abuse and harassment prevention practices in your theater?

Spurred by Line Drawn and our community’s larger call for action, we completely revamped our DEI policy in 2021, which we update yearly at minimum. All Line Drawn policies are included in our policy, as well as our own commitments to equity and equality. We now hire intimacy directors for every single production, and prioritize continuous consent in all spaces. Additionally, we modeled our practices for reporting incidents of harm after the Line Drawn guidelines, including multiple avenues for reporting and a focus on preventing harm.

What impact has LINE DRAWN had on your work?

“Being a member of Line Drawn has helped us plan for safety better, ensuring structures are in place before collaborators arrive in our spaces. Additionally, by Line Drawn brainstorming with a broad spectrum of companies and codifying best practices, the collaborators we invite into our spaces are better prepared to work safely and equitably.

We are proactive about our practices, which leads to more psychological safety in our theatrical processes so many of our artists are able to bring their whole selves into the room. We pride ourselves on making that room safe enough for everyone to do that, and that was highly influenced by Line Drawn.”