Former Memorial High School theater program director and Overture Center theater technician Davin Pickell recently founded Seeding Equity, a nonprofit with the goal of expanding access to performing arts and theater technology training among underrepresented students, according to The Capital Times. A 2021 survey from the United States Institute for Theatre Technology showed that people of color account for only 13% of the technical theater workforce across the U.S.
Specialties for stagehands range from artistic work to carpentry, lighting, sound design, electrical work, and more. Pickell, with co-founder Andrew Butterworth, has already begun work through partnerships with area schools to organize student trips to see professional productions, from local plays to Broadway shows, with backstage access and planned cast member discussions.
