Why Cody Renard Richard Created a Scholarship to Diversify the Backstage of Broadway – Playbill
The scholarship is gearing up for its sixth cycle, giving $10,000 to theatre students who want to pursue a career behind-the-scenes.
When stage manager Cody Renard Richard was first starting his career in New York, he remembered feeling alone. Even though he was working in an industry that emphasized community, he was also hyperaware of how, as a stage manager, he was often one of the only faces backstage that wasn’t white.
“I think navigating New York, I’m an only child, I moved here not knowing many people. Navigating the business on my own was a fun challenge, but also isolating,” he recalls feeling. That was why, in 2021, Richard (whose Broadway credits include the upcoming Ragtime revival) launched the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship, to help foster BIPOC students who want to pursue a career working backstage in theatre—such as in management, directing, or designing.
“For me, it was really about providing space for folks so they didn’t have to go through what I went through,” says Richard. “And providing space for folks who were going through similar situations so we can all come together and talk about what’s happening in these silos. So people know that they’re not alone. So people know that there are other folks who look like them, going through the same thing at different universities.”
The scholarship, which opens for its sixth round of applications October 1, provides students that are enrolled full-time at a university with $10,000, an all-expense-paid trip to New York with their scholarship cohort, and networking opportunities and work sessions with industry professionals.
Though the CRR scholarship has only been distributing funding for four years, the results have already manifested themselves. Fifty-five students have come through the program, which has distributed more than $400,000. Scholarship alums have gone on to work on shows such as Hamilton and Pirates! The Penzance Musical.
Moses Garcia was studying directing at Carnegie Mellon University when he received the scholarship. Then through the program’s network, Garcia was able to meet director Saheem Ali and became one of Ali’s go-to associates. Garcia is now an associate director on Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway.
“At Carnegie Mellon, it was sort of like, everyone for themselves and ‘good luck, and we’ll see you whenever you’ve hit it big,'” says Garcia. “To have someone like Saheem to share my fears and really talk through the different challenges that I’m going through in terms of: Do I do this job? Do I not do this job? I’m feeling really burnt out right now, how do you take care of yourself? There’s so many different parts of the industry that can’t be taught in school, that you really are figuring out as you’re launching [your career]. The deep connection that I have, both with Saheem and Cody, really ignited a fire in me.”
As the theatre industry takes steps to diversify the faces onstage, these artists believe that offstage diversity is just as important. After all, directors are the ones overseeing the vision for a production while stage managers are the ones who have to speak up if any workplace issues arise. As stories that are being told onstage expand to include artists of many backgrounds, new conversations on Broadway have ensued on how to best support the telling of those stories—such as how to work with different hair types or how to make backstage more accessible to people with disabilities.
“One of the things I’m learning in my career is the positions off-stage have the most autonomy to disrupt the systems and structures that already exist,” explains Garcia. “There are many times when I’m in rooms and I’m the middle person between the company [of actors]. And I’m also the middle person between general managers and producers. Having the knowledge of how both of those entities work, I’m able to uplift and shine a light on issues that either one of those parties might not quite understand.” That ability to understand multiple perspectives is even more important in an environment like Buena Vista Social Club. Even though it’s a show with a focus on Cuban culture, different races are represented backstage and onstage, as well as different languages. “Everyone’s identity and lived experience is carried with them and manifests in different ways. So, it’s really just about leading with curiosity, to find find a point of connection, to really support people and really know that you’re in their corner.”
Currently, with the Trump Administration tamping down on diversity programs, and many corporations walking back their own inclusion programs in response, a program like the CRR Scholarship has only increased in importance.
Says Garcia: “The people that are stewards of equity, diversity, and inclusion, their positions have never been more important, because so many people are rolling back on what they once said that they were for. And we’re even seeing it in our industry, where we’re letting people slide by and re-enter the industry—when a couple years ago, the industry collectively said, ‘No, we’re not going to uphold these antiquated ideologies anymore’ … Just because we’re under a new, scary administration that is threatening all of this, it shouldn’t mean that we’re turning our backs on one another just because it’s convenient or because we’re operating out of fear.”
Despite the wider cultural backsliding on diversity, Richard is unfazed. He still feels an intense calling to advocate for representation behind the scenes. What currently gives him motivation are the students who have gone through the CRR scholarship, entered the industry, and becoming small stewards of change in their own shows. To him, the scholarship isn’t just about training skilled artists, it’s about creating “the best humans we can.”
“This work is essential,” he says passionately. “In order for students to reach their full potential, they need to be connected with people who look like them. They need to be given these resources. They need the funds in order for them to even make it through school so they can even try to reach their full potential.” As a parting thought, he adds, smiling, “I love it, and I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I have the resources and the time and the passion for it. Hopefully one day, someone else can run it. But right now, it’s something that really gives me strength.”
Click here for more information on CJJ and other scholarships for students studying theatre.
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