Community Agreements

A community agreement or room agreement can be an effective way to build trust within your group. As a set of values that everyone agrees to uphold as you work together, the agreement provides a common framework for what you collectively consider to be a safe and respectful workplace and serves as a tool for communication, as well as helping to resolve any conflicts that may arise.

Creating a community agreement can be a rewarding experience that sets the tone for everyone going forward. And while creating an agreement can take a little time up front — anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours — the time spent creating and maintaining the agreement is an investment that can save everyone time and stress later on. Having a community agreement in place can help turn that hour-long conflict that lingers throughout production into a 10-minute conversation that resolves the issue for everyone.

Every production is different, and every group of artists is different, so it’s likely every community agreement will be different. There are many ways to create a successful community agreement.

This guide is meant to support the process of creating a community agreement, but you need to do the work! Everyone needs to participate and be accountable in creating a community agreement.

Please remember, the community agreement itself is not the end goal. It is a tool that you can use to achieve the goal: a safe and respectful workplace for everyone.

Getting Started

A community agreement works best when it’s created as early in the creative process as you can. Creating a community agreement doesn’t have to be done in one sitting. You can break the process up into a few steps and work on it over a couple of days.

The most important part of this process is the conversation that happens within the group. Everyone involved in the production should participate and the agreement must work for and be agreed to by everyone in the room. Not every person will be ready to speak at first, so be sure to encourage everyone in the room to have their say and to listen to what everyone else has to say.

Remember — a community agreement is about articulating values that are important to everyone in the room, not rules! Values aren’t about making friendships, they’re about demonstrating respect. You don’t need to like each other to make good art, but you do need to respect one another.

Choosing a leader

It’s important to choose a Community Agreement Leader (or Leaders) from your group to lead the discussion and give everyone in the room equal footing to participate in the process.

The Community Agreement Leader should be a neutral facilitator with a theatre background and an understanding of the group’s goals. They should be comfortable speaking to the group and may be a person already in a leadership role, such as a stage manager, director, or perhaps a member of the company who has experience with community agreements. One option may be hiring a trained facilitation team to lead the discussion, though not every engager will choose this route.

Defining Values

In a room with 20 people, with 20 perspectives, there can be 20 different definitions of the word “values.” Generally speaking, values are beliefs or principles that guide you or are most important to you.

A few things to remember while writing down values:

Phrase each value positively and actively
“I value respect in a room” instead of “I value people not being rude”
Avoid traps such as stating values that can be construed as selfish, manipulative, or unrealistic
“I value getting a hug to start my day”
Be as specific as possible and ask questions until you understand what the value is
Ask “How would you know that value if you received it?” or “Can you describe what that value feels like or looks like?”
Look for wording that accommodates and encompasses contrasting contributions
People may submit values that conflict on some level, like “I value structure in my work” and “I value spontaneity in my work”. “We value being able to work differently” can encompass both statements.
Be personal
Say what matters to you!

Here are a few basic techniques and prompts for establishing the group’s shared values. This is a suggestion – feel free to invent your own method! Give the group some time to individually reflect and write down 1-3 answers to any of the prompts below.

Questions

You don’t have to share these answers, but they may help you consider which values matter most to you.

What made your best rehearsal/performances experiences possible?
If it wasn’t the best experience, what actions could have made it better?
What do you feel gets most ignored or forgotten in a room that you wish wasn’t?

Examples

I value to help deliver my best work.

being able to ask questions without being judged
being able to say, “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know yet” and not feel like I’m failing
a space free from the distraction of phones

I value to help feel respected in the workplace.

active listening
everyone arriving on time
everyone being prepared

I value to help collaborate efficiently in the workplace.

being able to try new things
being able make mistakes
being given the space to learn and grow

What we can all offer in this room is .

kindness
patience

Creating the Agreement

After everyone has had an opportunity to consider their responses, it’s time to share them with the group and compile them into a collective list that everyone can agree on — this is your community agreement.

Each person can read their values out loud, or they can be submitted anonymously to the Community Agreement Leader — whatever process works best for the room. The results are better when people are comfortable and gathered in a circle where everyone can see each other as they share.

Once a list of everyone’s values has been made, ask:

Can this list be narrowed down if there are overlaps?
Can it be made into a one-page document?
How clear and concise can you make the values list?

It’s also important to agree on how you will deal with situations when a value hasn’t been respected and needs to be discussed. It’s crucial that this process is determined now – when the community agreement is being created – rather than later, when you’re in the midst of a contentious situation.

Everyone present in making the community agreement needs to agree to uphold it. Keep working at it until that’s possible!

Once the group’s shared values (and plan to deal with any issues) have been compiled into a community agreement, that document needs to be shared with everyone working on the production. Be sure to review the values list as part of the move into the theatre before tech rehearsals start. In fact, whenever someone new enters the workplace, introduce them to your community agreement, ask them if they have any questions, and give them an opportunity to suggest adding a value they may think is missing.

The community agreement must live somewhere where it can be easily seen and reviewed at any time. Posting it on the walls of your workplace (the rehearsal room, green room, wardrobe rooms, etc.) works great. It may also be in a shared online document or a group email.

Maintaining the Agreement

Everyone is responsible for maintaining the community agreement and check-ins are a useful way to do that! Whether that’s scheduled check-ins or pop-up checkins prompted by a Community Agreement Leader, find a time for the group to reflect on how well the community agreement is being used/maintained. Consider asking questions, like “Are our values being met?” or “What can we work on from our values list?” or “Do we need to add anything to our values list?”.

When a value needs to be discussed

When flagging someone’s actions as being not respectful of your community agreement, speaking up will sometimes be difficult. Shake off the idea that you are “creating the problem” by trying to discuss and address a problem. Remind yourself, “I am speaking up because I care about these relationships and finding a resolution for whatever conflict came up.” There is a way to discuss a concern respectfully and sincerely, with an aim to find resolution. Remember, the health of the room’s working relationship and a collaborative partnership can be achieved again.

The Community Agreement Leader or person who assumed that leadership role can set aside a time to discuss and work through the concerns that have been raised. Consider whether this can occur one-on-one or perhaps between a few individuals, or whether it’s better to discuss it with the entire group. It’s always a good idea to gather in a circle as a group. Your Community Agreement Leader can lead the discussion on what values were not met and how a resolution can be achieved. Does the situation require a sincere apology? Do we need to consider changing the language of the community agreement to be more specific? What can we do to return harmony to the room?

Keep in mind that not all behaviour that contravenes the community agreement can be resolved through this process. When dealing with inappropriate behaviour (as defined in Equity’s Bylaws), the issue may need to be addressed through official action, such as requesting an investigation by the engager, reporting the incident, or filing a formal complaint under Equity’s Bylaws.

Additional Resources

Equity Resources

External Resources

First Day Talk Template

Respectful Workplace Policy Template