LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ISC would also like to acknowledge that our company is based in Irvington, NY, which is located on the unceded land of the Munsee-Wappinger-Lenape Native American peoples. We acknowledge their community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. The Irvington Shakespeare Company also acknowledges that it was founded upon exclusions and erasures of many Indigenous peoples, including those on whose land this performance will take place. This acknowledgment demonstrates a commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism in all aspects of our society and the performing arts.
The Irvington Shakespeare Company (ISC) produces professional theater to entertain and inspire audiences, showcasing local talent in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley. We believe Shakespeare’s works are meant to be interpreted, shared, and celebrated by everyone, whether they are familiar with Shakespeare or not. Through diverse and inclusive practices, we aim to decolonize Shakespeare and open up his works for all audiences to engage with and enjoy. During this past year, as the pandemic shut down much of the theatre world in New York City, ISC founder Kamran Saliani quickly recognized the vast potential in his hometown of Irvington, to create professional theater for the community. He reached out to Irvington's Mayor Brian Smith and Greg Allen, the manager of the Irvington Theatre, proposing a local outdoor Shakespeare in the Park summer production offered free to the public. The village and town quickly signed on and this collaboration resulted in a sold-out run of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night performed at the O'Hara Nature Center in Irvington in August 2021. ISC believes live theater should be available to everyone, not only for those that can afford a ticket or have a car. This fundamental belief grounds us as we move forward as a theatre company. ISC productions will be offered at both no cost and/or affordable prices to our audiences. We seek to ensure our productions are physically accessible to everyone. We recognize the historical inequity within the theater industry both in offerings, casting, and audience access. We will challenge this inequity by seeking actors/crews of differing races/ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities & disabilities, and ages. As ISC grows, our executive staff and advisory teams will continue to challenge these inequities as well.
