Changing the Faces of Theatre

Kellie Dickerson OAM

Music Director

There is no substitute for the training and experience of someone like Cessalee who is in a rare position of expertise to run such a programme as a woman of colour, and who has worked successfully in this highly competitive industry for many years.

Natasha Coen

Crossroads Live Australia

Thank you so much for everything you have done for this production. It has been invaluable to have you on the team so thank you for your guidance and the work you have done with the company…

Amylia Harris

Former Artistic Director, Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Since our first meeting it was clear to me that Cessalee was the change-maker our industry needs and we began working together immediately. In Stage A Change, Cessalee has created an organisation that advocates and educates. She looks to create pathways to reach spaces which had previously been made unavailable to historically excluded humans. She offers a suite of workshops and educational opportunities for both artists and arts leaders. Her services have a ripple effect throughout our entire sector as she works diligently to remove barriers with respect and patience. Cessalee’s practice is a vital service to the theatre ecology and has the very real potential of generating lasting change.

Sarah Neal

Former CEO, Malthouse Theatre

Our work with Cessalee/Stage a Change has enabled Malthouse Theatre to develop an action based, practical and exciting Equity Action Plan, that has been embraced by the whole company. Cessalee's arts sector knowledge combined with her expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion best practice underpins a program that is well paced, allows time for reflection and is in itself an example of successful inclusive practice. As a result we have a clear and cohesive pathway forwards and are more equipped to turn our plan into measurable actions.

Rhys Velasquez

Director, Evolution Casting

Having had the privilege of working closely with the talented individuals behind Stage A Change, I have seen firsthand their dedication to amplifying diverse voices and stories. Their commitment to fostering an environment of support, encouragement, and collaboration in all they do, ensures that each artist involved feels valued and empowered to share their unique perspective with the world.

Kate Sulan

Founding Artistic Director, Rawcus

The work of Stage A Change is generous, targeted and full of strategies and actionable steps to move towards a more inclusive sector. Stage of Change training emboldens and informs both individuals and organisations to recognise and work towards dismantling racism.

Samuel Gaskin

Managing Director, Beat Entertainment

I am a huge fan of Stage A Change. The reason I am so passionate about what they do is because I wish they were around when I was coming up in so-called ‘Australia’

Bayley Turner

Founder, Create Consent

My hope for Stage A Change is that more and more people pick up its legacy and take it forward into the world, into different industries and across different media in our creative sector.

Workshop Participant

Cessalee is fantastic - I only wish she was in the building more regularly. I believe a lot of racial charged issues would have been cleared up before they began to gain momentum. As a white person I always felt to seen by Cessalee and I never felt like there was bias or that she was only in the building to ‘check on the people of colour’ - she was there for everyone and I truely appreciate that…

Workshop Participant

Cessalee's ability to see both sides of an event and to speak to the crux of the issue is really unparalleled. She is able to call people on their bullshit (in a nice way) and cope with almost any situation. I only wish we could have had Stage a Change on board the whole time.

Workshop Participant

The information about the different types of safety and power have given me some great language and viewpoints to encourage and incorporate that more into my work and practice

Workshop Participant

the Venn of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging was a framework I can definitely see me taking into spaces I venture into in the future. I'd never really considered the belonging and covering idea before - as a queer person that really helped me make sense of why I often feel not myself in commercial MT environments so thank you for that! It helped my empathy muscle grow further there.

Workshop Participant

I loved the diversity wheel, the reading aloud of the final statement, and the initial session/s where we spoke about what we wanted as company and recognising what we were or weren't already doing.

Workshop Participant

I appreciated that time was taken to define terms and that staff were encouraged to participate.

Workshop Participant

Overall, the workshop was excellent. I particularly liked the exercises, such as the wheel of power and control, which encouraged lots of self reflection around my own privilege and power. Visuals like this are very effective in getting me/us to “see” our privilege and making connections. Discussion in pairs and then with other participants was very helpful in further illuminating privilege where it may not have been previously seen. Making the investigation/unpacking of privilege central rather than focus entirely on the outcomes of privilege, eg racism, sexism, homophobia etc etc, gets inside/under the operations of power. It strips power back to its base and highlights connections between all these inequalities.