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Gender

Content here is about theatre works that explicitly address gender or about issues around gender in the field at large. Don’t miss MJ Kaufman’s series Gender Power and Politics or studies on who designs and directs in LORT theatres by pronoun and women’s leadership in LORT theatres. Many of these pieces also take an intersectional approach, such as “We Have Suffered Enough: The Cost of Performing Trauma for Women of Color” and “Let Them Speak: It’s Time to See More Works from Women Writers of Color on Stages Across America.”

The Latest

Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers
Video
Beyond the 2 Percent—A Manifesto: Raising the Bar for Womxn Composers
Watch as the panel creates and signs a global manifesto demanding immediate change and decolonization in a still deeply entrenched patriarchal field.
Wednesday 7 February 2024
New York City
Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020
Essay
Who Designs and Directs in LORT Theatres by Pronoun, 2012-2020
by Porsche McGovern
6 November 2023
More Cultivation, Less Crane Machine: Who Gets to Design in LORT Theatres
Essay
More Cultivation, Less Crane Machine: Who Gets to Design in LORT Theatres
by Porsche McGovern, Sherrice Mojgani
6 November 2023
Why Are There So Few Women Leading Theatres and What Can Be Done About It?
Essay

Why Are There So Few Women Leading Theatres and What Can Be Done About It?

1 December 2015

Researchers Sumru Erkut and Ineke Ceder discuss their study and offer suggestions for including more women and people of color in leadership positions in US regional theatres.

​StageSource’s Gender Parity Task Force
Essay

​StageSource’s Gender Parity Task Force

30 November 2015

Julie Hennrikus, Executive Director of StageSource in Boston, MA, writes about initiatives toward gender parity in New England.

Gender Parity in Theatre
Essay

Gender Parity in Theatre

An Exploration of How Change Happens and Where We Go From Here

29 November 2015

Shellen Lubin launches a series on gender parity on HowlRound this week. She addresses how this is a critical moment in time for women in theatre to make a huge irreversible leap forward.

The Fierce Angels Feast at Double Nickels Theatre Company
Video

The Fierce Angels Feast at Double Nickels Theatre Company

Friday 20 November 2015
Washington, DC, United States

Double Nickels Theatre Company in Washington, DC hosted a Fierce Angels Feast livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 20 November at 3:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 6:30 p.m. EST (New York) / 23:30 GMT (London). In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @HowlRoundTV.

Performances in the Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform
Video

Performances in the Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform

Thursday 12 November - Saturday 14 November 2015
Cluj, Romania

Temps d’Images Festival / Independent Performing Arts Platform in Cluj, Romania presented She’s a Good Boy by Compania 28, Cunthate [ură] by BÉZNĂ Theatre, and Domestic Products livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 12 November to Saturday 14 November. In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @HowlRoundTV

Women’s Voices Theater Festival
Essay

Women’s Voices Theater Festival

A Weekend in the Emerald City

10 November 2015

Holly L. Derr on Destiny of Desire by Karen Zacarías, Animal by Claire Lizzimore, Queens Girl in the World by Caleen Sinette Jennings, Women Laughing Alone with Salad by Sheila Callaghan, and Uprising by Gabrielle Fulton, all part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival in Washington, DC.

Why I Will Never Produce Another All-Female Outdoor Show Again
Essay

Why I Will Never Produce Another All-Female Outdoor Show Again

9 November 2015

Erin Butcher writes about the difficult experiences she faced producing a show in a public park with an all-female cast and crew. 

The Hir Symposium Moderated by Author Taylor Mac
Video

The Hir Symposium Moderated by Author Taylor Mac

Monday 2 November 2015
New York, NY, United States

Playwrights Horizons in New York City presented the Hir Symposium moderated by Hir playwright Taylor Mac livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 2 November at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EST (New York). In Twitter, follow @PHnyc@howlroundtv—and use hashtag #howlround.

About Us Without Us
Essay

About Us Without Us

Trans Women, Labor, Power, and Performance

2 November 2015

This installment of the Gender Power and Politics Series is written by Rosza Daniel Lang/Levitsky, who discusses the lack of opportunities for trans women artists.

You Don’t Have to be an Ally, but Don’t be an Enemy
Essay

You Don’t Have to be an Ally, but Don’t be an Enemy

A Response to the Jubilee Responses

30 October 2015

Playwright Catherine Castellani responds to some of the outcry about the Jubilee proposal.

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition 2015 Collaboration Award Gala
Video

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition 2015 Collaboration Award Gala

Sunday 25 October 2015
New York, NY, United States

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition and all its member organizations celebrated the winner, honored finalists, and finalists of the 2015 Collaboration Award, designed to encourage professional women in the arts and media from different specializations to work collaboratively on an arts or media project, livestreamed at howlround.tv on Sunday 25 October at 3 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York). In Twitter, follow @WomenArtsMedia and @HowlRoundTV and use hashtags #CollabAwards and #howlround.

Equity in Theatre
Essay

Equity in Theatre

What exactly does it mean and what would it take to actually have it?

24 October 2015

Shellen Lubin summarizes the discussions and themes of the Equity in Theatre Symposium and International Summit on Gender Parity in Theatre, which took place in Toronto in April, 2015.

Welcome to the Jubilee
Essay

Welcome to the Jubilee

17 October 2015

The Committee of the Jubilee makes a call to action to support a vision of every theatre in the United States of America producing work by women, people of color, artists of varied physical and cognitive abilities, and/or LGBTQIA artists in the 2020–2021 season.

Boy Writes Girl
Essay

Boy Writes Girl

An Introduction

15 October 2015

Playwright Matthew Minnicino kick starts his series by addressing the tradition and implications of male playwrights writing female characters. 

Conversation: Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage
Video

Conversation: Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage

Tuesday 13 October 2015
Boston, MA, United States

 

ArtsEmerson in Boston presented a public dialogue Exploring the Difference between Real and Imagined Bodies on Stage livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Tuesday 13 October at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 23:00 GMT. 

Extending the Frame for Women Playwrights
Essay

Extending the Frame for Women Playwrights

8 October 2015

Martha Steketee explores the lens and artistry of Jody Christopherson in “Necessary Exposure The Female Playwright Project: Portraits of Playwrights Who Identify as Female” in New York City.

Something is Afoot in Washington, DC
Essay

Something is Afoot in Washington, DC

7 October 2015

Holly Derr reports on the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, bringing together more than 50 of the Washington, DC’s professional theaters to feature world premieres of new plays and musicals by women.

Reporting from the Front
Essay

Reporting from the Front

The Tenth Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa—Part 3

5 October 2015

Part three of Aphra Behn’s report from The Tenth Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

#ReadingForParity
Essay

#ReadingForParity

4 October 2015

Writer Sarah Rebell recaps her summer spent reading only plays written by women. 

Reporting from the Front
Essay

Reporting from the Front

The Tenth Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa—Part 2

3 October 2015

In the second installment of her series, Guerilla Girl Aphra Behn recalls some memorable moments at the Women Playwrights International Conference.

Reporting from the Front
Essay

Reporting from the Front

The Tenth Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa—Part 1

2 October 2015

In the first installment of her series, Guerilla Girl Aphra Behn discusses the origins of the Women’s Playwrights International Conference and Guerilla Girls On Tour.

Fear and the Representation Problem
Essay

Fear and the Representation Problem

20 September 2015

Dramaturg Alex Barron posits that homogenous seasons may have less to do with sexism and racism than with risk aversion.

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities
Video

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities

Tuesday 15 September 2015
New York, NY, United States

The Ford Foundation hosted Beyond the Hashtag, a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 15 September at 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 23:00 GMT. 

Interview of the 2015 Tony-Award Winning Playwright Lisa Kron for the Launch of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival
Video

Interview of the 2015 Tony-Award Winning Playwright Lisa Kron for the Launch of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival

Tuesday 8 September 2015
Washington, DC, United States

 

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival in Washington, DC—the largest collaboration of theatre companies working simultaneously to produce original works by female writers in history—presented the livestreaming of its official launch on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 8 September at 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 23:00 GMT / Wednesday 9 September at 9 a.m. AEST (Sydney).

A Flourishing Theatre
Essay

A Flourishing Theatre

Satire and Political Critique at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa

25 August 2015

Paul Adolphsen explores major themes of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa.