06/06/2020
Although All Terrain Theater has been significantly less active over the past few years, it remains committed to promoting women and people of color theater artists. This company was created to provide a vehicle for underrepresented writers and artists to share their stories, often to serve as a stepping stone to other projects.
All Terrain Theater is not an institution, it is a gathering place for artists to come together to create work.
I founded this company because I had written a play during my postpartum recovery as a new mom and I wanted to see it produced. I was privileged to collaborate with a lot of supportive artists who made me realize how empowering it was to create art with other people.
Although the entity known as All Terrain Theater has scaled back to hosting occasional private developmental workshops for women and people of color, it is important that artists and the public understand that All Terrain Theater is committed to anti-racism efforts that challenge white supremacy, internally as an organization and through our programming.
As a producer, director, and artist, I recognize that individuals and organizations experience misogyny, racism, and other forms of oppression in many ways, some of them so insidious that we may not recognize them unless we're forced to. I understand that being a multi-racial woman does not exempt me from needing to do anti-racist work. I also recognize that every day, we have new opportunities to make better choices than the ones we made before.
At this time, I am dedicating my energy to elevating Black writers and invite All Terrain Theater supporters to research unfamiliar African American playwrights, read their work, and request that theaters produce particularly relevant pieces. Not every play or playwright will be a good fit for every theater, but we are past the point of making excuses for not producing more work by Black writers.
Tracy Held
Founder of All Terrain Theater
