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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
By Blood a Queen, In Heart a Clown
Essay

By Blood a Queen, In Heart a Clown

Beyond the Façade of Shotgun Cabaret’s Faux Real

20 August 2015

Jake Rosenberg on Shotgun Players Cabaret presentation of Monique Jenkinson’s Faux Real in Berkeley, California.

TranShakespeare
Essay

TranShakespeare

Lisa Wolpe, and the Art of Empathy

16 August 2015

Director Emma Went interviews international arts activist Lisa Wolpe about the origins and ethos of TranShakespeare.

How We Grow
Essay

How We Grow

An Interview with Azure D. Osborne-Lee

15 August 2015

MJ Kaufman interviews playwright, director, and performer Azure D. Osborne-Lee about his plays and what he sees in the field as a trans artist.

When She Speaks, I Hear Her Revolution
Essay

When She Speaks, I Hear Her Revolution

Salt Lake’s Feminist Open Mic

10 August 2015

Shauna Brock describes Salt Lake City’s monthly open mic series When She Speaks I Hear the Revolution and its strides for diversity and inclusion.

The Trouble with Lists
Essay

The Trouble with Lists

5 July 2015

Lydia Stryk wonders about the limiting nature of a list and questions how helpful they actually are.

Infographic
Essay

Infographic

Who Designs in LORT Theatres by Gender

10 June 2015

Porsche McGovern gathered information on who designs in theatre, and shares her results in an infographic.

The Sixth Annual Lilly Awards Ceremony, hosted by Tony Award Nominee Lisa Kron
Video

The Sixth Annual Lilly Awards Ceremony, hosted by Tony Award Nominee Lisa Kron

01 June 2015
New York, NY, United States

The Lilly Awards Foundation presented the Sixth Annual Lilly Awards Ceremony hosted by Tony Award nominee Lisa Kron livestreamed on the global commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 1 June at 2 p.m. PDT (Vancouver) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York) / 21:00 GMT / 10 p.m. BST (London).

Believably Trans
Essay

Believably Trans

Who Counts as Trans Onstage?

13 May 2015

In this installation, MJ questions what makes a trans character credible onstage, and how does gender fit into color-conscious casting?

A Conversation with MOXIE Theatre’s Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
Essay

A Conversation with MOXIE Theatre’s Delicia Turner Sonnenberg

7 May 2015

Jennifer Lane talks with MOXIE Theatre’s Delicia Turner Sonnenberg about shattering the stereotypes of women’s work and finding balance in her life.

History Matters/Back to the Future's Judith Barlow Prize Award Presentation & Play Reading
Video

History Matters/Back to the Future's Judith Barlow Prize Award Presentation & Play Reading

Sunday 3 May 2015
New York City, NY, United States

History Matters/Back to the Future's Judith Barlow Prize Award Presentation & Play Reading livestreamed from New York City on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 3 May at 3 p.m. EDT (New York) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 12 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 19:00 GMT (London). To participate on Twitter, use hashtag #JudithBarlowPrize and direct your questions to @History2Future. Additionally, follow @HowlRoundTV for updates.

Equity in Theatre Symposium
Video

Equity in Theatre Symposium

Monday 27 April 2015
Toronto, Canada

 

Equity in Theatre and The Theatre Centre in Toronto, Canada presented the opening and closing panels on the state of equity in Canada theatre at Equity in Theatre’s Symposium, a full-day event tackling underrepresentation and gender inequities in the theatre industry livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 27 April 2015. 

The Means of Production
Essay

The Means of Production

Snapshots from the Field—Part II

16 April 2015

Charlotte Meehan and Adara Meyers follow up “Snapshots from the Field” with a look at women theatre artists.

Women Directors in Poland
Essay

Women Directors in Poland

11 April 2015

Scholar Magda Romanska presents an overview of contemporary women directors in Poland.

Sliver of a Full Moon, A Play About Justice for Native Women at Yale Law School
Video

Sliver of a Full Moon, A Play About Justice for Native Women at Yale Law School

Tuesday 31 March 2015
New Haven, CT, United States

Yale Law School presented a reading of Sliver of a Full Moon, the powerful play written by playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle, from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and Mohegan Director Madeline Sayet livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 31 March at 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:30 p.m. MDT (Denver) / 3:30 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 2:30 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage). 

365 Women a Year Project for World Theatre Day 2015
Video

365 Women a Year Project for World Theatre Day 2015

Friday 27 March 2015
New York City, NY, United States

The New International Theatre Experience (NITE) presents a program of talks, readings, and presentations to celebrate World Theatre Day 2015 livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 27 March.

Parenting and Playwriting
Essay

Parenting and Playwriting

The Boyfriend Plot

19 March 2015

Catherine Trieschmann tackles what happens when she leads storytelling exercises with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and almost all of them write about boyfriends.

The Language of "Gender Parity"
Essay

The Language of "Gender Parity"

19 Women Playwrights and Their Voices

15 March 2015

Emma Weisberg considers the complexities of language and summarizes conversations with fourteen women playwrights discussing the question “How do you define gender parity?”

Rape Culture “On Stage” or “As Subject”
Essay

Rape Culture “On Stage” or “As Subject”

11 March 2015

Cecilia Copeland explores what her play R Culture brought up for her as a playwright, as well as what a play about “rape culture” means for her community at large.

Kicking the Can Down the Road Towards Parity
Essay

Kicking the Can Down the Road Towards Parity

2 February 2015

Activist and artist Yvette Heyliger shares her petition for new legislation mandating women artists receive equitable funding from nonprofit arts organizations and institutions.

The Tíaland
Essay

The Tíaland

3 December 2014

Playwright Elaine Ávila illuminates her eye-opening trip to Portugal—wittingly nicknamed Tíaland—as the winner of the DISQUIET International Short Play Competition. There, she is met with historical narratives of overcoming socialized barriers. 

Let’s Talk About It
Essay

Let’s Talk About It

An Exploration of Sex and the New American Theater

30 November 2014

In his essay, Director Evan Caccioppoli explores the future of sex in American theatre.

Logo for Dramatists Guild.
Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century 
Video

Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century 

Tuesday 25 November 25 2014
New York, NY, United States

Dramatists Guild of America presented the conversation Beyond Angry Lesbians and Gay Best Friends: Writing Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 25 November 25at 2:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles)/ 4:30 p.m. CST (Chicago)/ 5:30 p.m. EST (New York)/ 22:30 GMT (London). 

Queering the Room
Essay

Queering the Room

Some Beginning Notions for a Queer Directing Practice

24 October 2014

Director Will Davis shares his experience navigating theatre spaces as a queer person.

Invisible Inclusions
Essay

Invisible Inclusions

Planning the 40th Anniversary Season at People’s Light

14 September 2014

Zak Berkman offers insight into implementing diversity and inclusion as the Producing Director at People's Light.

A More Equal Theater
Essay

A More Equal Theater

23 July 2014

In this last installment, Armando Huipe shares his observations about the identity affinity groups at the 2014 TCG Conference.