Mission & Work

The Alliance's mission is to serve as an expert advocate and educational resource for full inclusion in theatre, film, television and related media.

We promote inclusive hiring practices and standards, diversity in leadership and balanced portrayals of persons of color and persons with disabilities. The Alliance considers diversity a comprehensive issue which extends to the participation of those who make up the artistic team: actors, directors, designers, writers, stunt performers, choreographers, as well as the production team and administrative staff, board of directors and the audience.

The only organization of its kind in the country, the Alliance's principal concerns are that artists who are African American, Asian Pacific American, Caribbean Black, South Asian, Latino, Arab American, Persian American, Native American, Deaf and hard of hearing, blind and low vision, artists who have mobility, physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities are denied equitable professional opportunities; and that this exclusion represents a serious loss to the cultural life of the nation.  Exclusion further denies artists and audiences alike the artistic benefits of diversity, and denies the public an accurate reflection of American society.

To carry forward this mission

• we advise casting directors, production companies, theatre organizations, film studios and television networks with a range of needs from consulting to casting;

• we convene artists and decision makers for symposia, working groups and educational forums;

• we solicit and publish Opinion Pieces to add new voices to the discourse on diversity and inclusion;

• we convene DEAL - Disability in Entertainment and Arts Link - a working group and think tank that develops new strategies, new models, and a new framework for the inclusion of artists with disabilities and disability issues in the media.