Outlander Theatre Project: Creating a Non-Profit Theatre Based on Presenting Politically, Socially, and Culturally Diverse Stories

Interviews with TCU Students About their Research

This project illustrates the creation of the Outlander Theatre Company and its inaugural production of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992. Specifically, I document the introduction of the Outlander Theatre Company, the process of creating the production, the obstacles present in the process, and finally the plan for the theatre moving forward. Through this experience, I developed a greater understanding of the idea of building a strong foundation of diversity in theatre, often calledd "power equity," and of how it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in the theatre—all with the ultimate goal of allowing for diverse artists to control the narrative of BIPOC stories being told in theatre today. Finally, I address the statistics of BIPOC theatre professionals in theatre today and how we must address creating true diversity in theatre moving forward.

Comments from Mentors

It’s not every day that an Acting emphasis B.F.A. Theatre major decides to pursue a minor in business while also being in the Honors College, constantly crewing andacting in plays and holding a part-time job; it’s even more rare that they finish both programs as an Honors Laureate Summa Cum Laude. Rarer still is that on top of all this they successfully start a theatre company and produce a play—with the added complexity of making it available for online streaming due to pandemic restrictions—and win the top Honors College award. Cameron Vance is that rare bird, and his chronicle charting the creation of Outlander Theatre Company is evidence of his application oftheartistic skillsand business acumen developed inhis courses towards therealization ofa non-profit company focusedon stories of racial diversity and perspectives. This triadof artisticsensitivity,social activismand entrepreneurial drive wasin play every step of the way, and having co-foundeda grass-roots theatre in my pre-academia life, I was happy to assist Cameron in answering this calling. Cameron's intellectual adroitness is equaled only by his enterprising productivity, his artisticintuition and the sensibility that imbues every endeavor he approaches. His academic and theatrical achievements in the Department of Theatre are too numerous to list here, but TCU hasn’t seen or heard the last of Cameron; no doubt we will be bragging about him in years to come for his artistic ventures and successes.

—Krista Scott