PBN 2025 DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION AWARDS
Arts (Small Company): Academy Players of Rhode Island
Twenty years ago, Rita Maron moved the Academy Players of Rhode Island from East Greenwich to Providence. Founded in 1955, the theater was struggling in its location, and Maron wanted it to be able to thrive in a more culturally diverse setting.
“It was extremely important for me to be in the capital city,” said Maron, the Academy Players’ artistic director.
The move to Providence paid off. The organization’s reach is broader, drawing cast and audience members not only from Rhode Island but also from Massachusetts, Connecticut and even New Hampshire.
The nonprofit theater features approximately eight productions a year, the majority of which are musicals, with an average attendance of 100 at each performance. Maron said for the first time this year, Academy Players of Rhode Island was selected to perform at RI PrideFest in downtown Providence, where it put on “The Wedding Singer.”
Maron said she is constantly looking for plays and musicals that are representative of the communities the theater serves, as part of its focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Encouraging and emphasizing diversity has always been important to Maron, dating back to when she was a classroom music and theater teacher.
“[Theater] is the best place to get the message across and to tell their stories,” Maron said. “I’ve always tried to include that in our programs, whether it’s the LGBT community, Black Lives Matter.”
She said Academy Players of Rhode Island last year performed “In the Heights,” which focused on the Latino community in a neighborhood in New York City, a production that was well received.
From its cast to its crew, Maron said the theater tries to ensure it is diverse: it has cast members of all ages, “from 5 to 105,” along with members on the autism spectrum. The photographer is paralyzed and two actors with Down syndrome starred in the recent production of “The Little Mermaid.”
Raechel Robidoux, Academy Players of Rhode Island’s president, said in a statement that the theater is “deeply committed to ensuring that Academy is a welcoming, inclusive space for all.”
“We believe that theater has the power to unite, to amplify underrepresented voices and to reflect the beautiful diversity of the world around us,” Robidoux wrote.
Each production is dedicated to a charitable cause. Academy Players of Rhode Island raises funds for the selected organization through a percentage of the ticket sales, Maron said. This charitable initiative is called The Stage Door Project, and it has raised more than $25,000 for organizations, including Adoption RI, Relay for Life (the American Cancer Society) and local food pantries, among others. It has proved so popular that it has a growing waitlist of organizations that want to partner with it.
And when performances feature sensitive subjects, Academy Players of Rhode Island has guest speakers and presenters involved with those subjects in its lobby to support audience members.
For example, during the production of “Heathers,” which deals with suicide, teens and bullying, Day One RI, a sexual assault and trauma resource center, was on-site to offer information and support to the audience. Day One also spoke to the cast privately, Maron said. Day One RI received a portion of the ticket proceeds from that production, Maron said.
That focus on the impact of its productions extends to the choices it makes for casting.
Maron said when the theater makes its cast selections, it’s not always about who is the best actor but about offering an opportunity.
“It’s more about giving a goal to someone or a purpose. Some companies just focus in on performance. Our hashtag is ‘Academy is home’ and that’s what we branch off of,” Maron said.
To that end, the theater has three different casts for its upcoming production of “Annie” in March. It had close to 90 people audition, and Maron decided to have three casts so more people would have an opportunity to be in the play.
“I want everybody to have a place where they can go and feel completely protected and safe,” Maron said. “I want to make sure they feel welcome here.”
