LMDA Statement on Kennedy Center

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas stands in solidarity with the Dramatists Guild and Actors Equity Association and all artists resigning from the Board, all company members of canceled or severely impacted productions or processes at the Kennedy Center, and all artists and their allies who are outraged and protesting the changes in the Center’s leadership, funding, and programming due to actions of the Trump Administration. We cannot ignore unethical practices, processes, and actions.  

For those artists who are in the midst of difficult choices for the safety of artists from communities that are under direct attack – we stand with you. There are many ways and strategies to resist the attack on the arts: some can be visible; some may be working in more discreet ways towards the goal of making theatre that heals and builds bridges, creates spaces of cathartic laughter, and moves our society towards empathy.

LMDA believes that theatre is a vital art form that has the power to nourish, educate, and transform individuals, their communities, and their societies. At its best, this is what the Kennedy Center does. LMDA has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the dramaturgy initiative of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival; dozens of LMDA members have had their dramaturgical journeys launched, supported, and sustained by KCACTF. We especially hold those members in our thoughts at this time. 

For forty years, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas has worked in the nuance of artistic collaboration, which sometimes includes the pain of systemic and institutional rupture. In the wake of actions designed to compromise the primary values of the Kennedy Center and our field, we both condemn and keep account of the suppression of viewpoints and the destruction of artistic integrity. LMDA invites dramaturgs, literary managers, and other dramaturgical workers to seek support in our community and resources around anti-oppression, advocacy, institutional, and freelance dramaturgy. We are actively investigating the best ways in which we can support our membership in the weeks and months ahead. We commit to deep listening, which is a dramaturgical skill, to hear what you need at the moment and ask artists impacted what support looks like at this moment.