Press Release: Taffety Punk Adopts Comprehensive Safe Space Policy

In furtherance of their commitment to cultivating an avant-garde and unrestrained creative environment that is characterized by mutual trust and artistic freedom, Taffety Punk Theatre Company has adopted a comprehensive and innovative new policy against discrimination, harassment, and misconduct. Taffety Punk pledges to implement this policy consistently to protect their community members from harm, cultivate an inclusive space for creative exploration, and ensure that Taffety Punk remains a supportive and equitable collective.

Developed in consultation with D.C.-based attorney and safe space advocate Kaiya Lyons, this robust new policy applies to all staff and company members, partners, and audience members who participate in Taffety Punk programs and includes a trauma-informed complaint reporting, investigation, and resolution procedure that can serve as an effective model for the region’s vast theatre community. Lyons, a theatrical policy consultant, collaborated with company members and trustees to create a bespoke policy that takes into consideration the company’s unique structure, projects, and values. Her original model for preventing and theatrical spaces is informed by her years of civil rights litigation and policy experience, as well as a comprehensive study of myriad, diverse safe-space policies and concern resolution processes from a variety of theatre organizations in the United States and abroad.

In a public statement about the policy’s development, Taffety Punk stated, “We recognize that in order to create truly radical – and radically inclusive – art, our people and spaces must be free from all forms of intimidation, oppression, exploitation, humiliation, discrimination, and harassment. All members of our community must work together to create a safe space for each other by treating everyone who joins us on this journey with dignity, decency, honesty, and respect.” The company hopes this progressive policy will empower potential victims of misconduct to come forward with the knowledge and confidence that their complaint will be investigated with care, urgency, and accountability. 

Read the full policy below.