Grand Theatre diversifies board of directors, welcomes first actor

The Grand Theatre is diversifying its board of directors by adding a new position to be served by an actor for the first time in recent history.

The now 16-member board installed actor E.B. Smith on Monday. The veteran American actor is entering his ninth season at the Stratford Festival Theatre. His 25-year acting career has landed him gigs across North America including at the theatre in London.

"There's often a bit of a disconnect between making the art and the practical doing of the work and the governance that is the engine to make that all happen … I think I can certainly help bridge that gap a little bit," he said.

"It's what we do so it makes sense," said Deb Harvey, executive director of the Grand Theatre, about adding a seat for an actor.

"We're an arts organization so we should be represented and have that perspective on the board," she added.

The past board's 15 members, that come from a spectrum of backgrounds including legal and financial, are all returning for the three-year term.

More diverse programming

Beyond the desire to connect more intimately with the people on the stage, Harvey said, the theatre is also working toward diversifying its programming to reflect its audience and community. 

More recently, the theatre became the only Canadian stop to welcome Barber Shop Chronicles, a production that features mainly all-black talent.

"We are trying to have a more diverse playbill and I think that if you're going to do that you need representation on your board of directors and you need representation on your staff," said Harvey.

"[The theatre has] a vision to produce diverse, relevant and original stories and to be fearless and to take some risks," she said.

Smith, a black man, had racial slurs hurled at him twice in London back in 2016 when he was portraying Marin Luther King, Jr., starring in the Grand Theatre's The Mountaintop.

He said he hopes his experiences and personal stories will contribute to a more accepting community.

"If we allow people to have access to those [stories] and experiences like I had in London when I was attacked verbally, we can open the window to what that does to people. The theatre serves to humanize and then allow empathy for people," he said.

"As boards look to the future … It's very important that a board is able to access communities that have been underserved by the arts historically so the more diversity we can find on boards — racially, economically, socially — the more we can help serve and bring more people through the doors and remind people this is a community resource … It's not exclusive," he said.

Smith is the only black man serving on the board.