On behalf of Maestra Music and the Miranda Family Fund, in partnership with Playbill, we were thrilled to host the inaugural RISE Summit on Tuesday, September 24th at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

The RISE Summit, sponsored in part by Disney Theatricals and AKA, hosted a series of panels and seminars speaking to this year’s theme of Belonging: Past and Present. The Summit hosted site-specific activations provided by our partners at Playbill and Women & Theatre. Special morning remarks were led by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the keynote featured Eisa Davis in conversation with RISE Program Manager Victoria Detres.

RISE Network Partners lead the following panels:

AAPI Voices
Hosted by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition

Stats and other collected data show where disparities in hiring still exist across disciplines in the theatre. Now what? After companies make efforts to widen their pools of artists, how can they be mindful of making their spaces healthy and welcoming for artists that have not been routinely included in their ecosystems? AAPAC (The Asian American Performers Action Coalition) will share findings from their most recent “Visibility Reports”, as well as the “The AAPAC Theater Practices Toolkit: Creating an inclusive environment for AAPI/Asian artists,” a new initiative intended to help address ongoing issues facing AAPI theatre artists in the workplace and spark new discussions around radical inclusion. The newly formed Asian American Theatre Artists Collective (created by Christine Toy Johnson) will share information on their new community resource directory of hirable AAPI theatre artists across disciplines and the impetus for its creation. Panelists include Johnson and Nandita Shenoy (members of AAPAC’s steering committee), Ethan Heard (Associate Artistic Director, Signature Theatre), independent casting director Andrea Zee, and Equity Stage Manager Fran Acuña Almiron.

Finding the Funds: Making Equitable Theater under Capitalism
Hosted by ACCESS Broadway NY, Design Action, Theatre Advocacy Project, and Theatre Producers of Color

Two designers, a producer, an HR professional, and an accessibility advisor discuss the money of theatre making in this facilitated conversation organized in partnership between Design Action, Theatre Producers of Color, Theatre Advocacy Project, and ACCESS Broadway New York. This conversation will delve into pay equity, funding co-designs and collective designs, hiring practices and retention, protected classes, representation, and how we balance all these things and continue to create theatre as production costs continue to rise. It is a conversation about where pay equity meets equitable representation. Join us as we identify structural barriers in the system that need to change and discuss sustainable models for financing our work looking forward. Panelists will include moderator Amara McNeil (Design Action), Sammy Lopez (Producer, TPOC), Carolina Ortiz Herrera (Lighting Designer, Design Action), Maria Porto (Accessibility Advisor, ACCESS Broadway NY), and Caylin Waller (HR Professional, Executive Director, and Co-Founder of TAP).

The Place From Whence We Came
Hosted by Dramatists Guild Foundation

This panel discussion brings together three prominent playwrights, Goldie E. Patrick, Garlia Cornelia Jones, and Stacey Rose, to discuss the importance of community building in the theater industry, specifically within regional theater. Moderated by the Dramatists Guild Foundation's Community Impact and Engagement Manager, Jacquelyn Jordan, this discussion aims to provide actionable insights for anyone interested in creating and contributing to a more vibrant, supportive environment where people can connect, collaborate, and thrive.

With the generous support of our sponsors that have underwritten this event, partners and donors were able to attend at no cost. A suggested donation of $20 was encouraged for the general public.

Interested in learning more about supporting the 2025 RISE Summit? Email info@risetheatre.org