Part 1 of the Wisconsin Theatre Diversity Study
What is this study? Check out this post for more info!
3/29/2026 Update: We have updated the graphs for AIP and Milwaukee to improve their readability.
4/1/2026 Update: Adjusted language in the Actor/Director breakdown analysis.
In the interest of transparency and accountability, and because of the Diversity Generals team’s direct connections with the company, we will be starting the release of the study with All In Productions (AIP). All other companies will be picked at random, alternating between strorefront and Equity.
We have elected to utilize the casting information across their full production history dating back to their first production in 2014 (The Last Five Years) to present (Embers) as the numbers would poorly reflect the need for growth within the organization with only one fully staged production since the relaunch of the Diversity Generals.
Actor Breakdown
The below data is the number of roles cast with actors of each demographic and the percentage total.
White - 74 roles, 77.1%
Latino/a/x - 7 roles, 7.3%
Multiracial - 7 roles, 7.3%
Black - 7 roles, 6.3%
South Asian (SA) - 1 role, 1%
Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) - 1 role, 1%
Director Breakdown
The below data is the number of times a director of each demographic was hired and the percentage total.
White - 11, 84.62%
Black - 1, 7.69%
Latino/a/x - 1, 7.69%
These numbers reflect 13 full productions consisting of 96 total roles for actors. Their casting rate of white actors at 77.1% puts them at the 8th highest/6th lowest rate out of 13 storefront companies.
That 77.1% represents more than double the representation in city racial demographics, while their 6.3% Black actor casting rate is less than 1/5 of the representation of Milwaukee's largest racial demographic of 36.5%. *None of AIP's individual non-white casting demographics equaled or exceeded their relative representational populations per in the City of Milwaukee that were tracked per the census. (Updated 4/1/2026)
Milwaukee Demographics
White (Alone) - 31.1%
Black (Alone) - 38.5%
Latino/a/x or Hispanic - 20.9%
AAPI (Alone) - 5.2%
Indigenous (Alone) - .8%
All Others (Including Multiracial) - 3.6%
Current Milwaukee Census Estimates: Link
We acknowledge that census data is imperfect, in part due to a lack of representation for SWANA and South Asian populations and confusion for Latin/Hispanic populations, but it gives us a starting point to understand where we’re falling short when it comes to representation in our community.