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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
Director Stevie Zimmerman Brings Fresh Energy to DC
Essay

Director Stevie Zimmerman Brings Fresh Energy to DC

8 July 2014

Patricia Davis interviews DC-based director Stevie Zimmerman, discussing casting, directing styles, and the challenges of new work.

Women, Leadership, and Parity
Essay

Women, Leadership, and Parity

Interview with Julie Crosby

1 July 2014

P. Carl interviews Julie Crosby on leadership, gender parity, and Women’s Project Theater. 

The Kilroys Were Here
Essay

The Kilroys Were Here

Moving Female Playwrights into Production

22 June 2014

P. Carl interviews Joy Meads, Carla Ching, Annah Feinberg, and Kelly Miller on how THE LIST was produced and responses since its release.

Facing Facts on Tracking Parity and Diversity
Essay

Facing Facts on Tracking Parity and Diversity

16 June 2014

My hope is that for an issue as important as this one, we’ll all extend our collaborative impulses beyond the rehearsal room. (We’re not always so good at that.) Instead of working at cross purposes and duplicating each other’s efforts, let’s pool our resources and face facts together. We’ll be stronger for having worked side-by-side, don’t you think?

What it Means to Sound Designers to Take Away the Tony
Essay

What it Means to Sound Designers to Take Away the Tony

12 June 2014

Last night there was an outpouring of disgust, sadness, confusion, anger, and frustration over a decision to again treat our field as though we are not as important as the rest of the team. This rush of emotion comes because this is not new to us at all. The amount of work in order to be validated by the Tony Awards as a category, which was instated in 2008, seems to have meant nothing at all if it suddenly goes away. It’s not about an award. It’s not about the spotlight—most of us work very hard to go unnoticed during a performance (unless we need to be noticed). It’s about validation for the work that we do and how hard it is to do this work.

Is Diversity A Codeword for Exclusion?
Essay

Is Diversity A Codeword for Exclusion?

11 June 2014

Jonathan Mandell offers his opinions on dviersity in theatre. 

In Praise of Being a Blind Reader
Essay

In Praise of Being a Blind Reader

21 May 2014

Karla Jennings provides insight into the benefits of blind submissions in playwriting.

portrait of laura shamas
Women Playwrights
Essay

Women Playwrights

Who is Keeping Count?

21 May 2014

Is there really no institution in 2014 that will sponsor an ongoing annual study of American women playwrights working in theater seasons around the country (and directors, producers, designers, for that matter)? What if there were a way to fund some sort of new national study, to formalize a precise methodology of what shows/seasons to count and when, and get an accurate assessment of what the gender equity percentages for women playwrights in the United States really are in 2014? If we can’t find an institution or university that will fund this (which seems a shame), is there a DIY way to organize an all-inclusive study that includes every region of the country? Can we pool our resources and do this?

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Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Project at Little Black Dress INK
Video

Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Project at Little Black Dress INK

Sunday 18 May 2014
Los Angeles, CA, United States

Little Black Dress INK, Los Angeles presented its 2014 Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Project livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 18 May at 12 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) /2 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 3 p.m. EDT (Toronto).

A Man at Diva Fest
Essay

A Man at Diva Fest

Stuart Bousel Adapts Kristin Hersh’s Rat Girl

8 May 2014

Lily Janiak discusses the world premiere of Stuart Eugene Bousel's adaptation of Rat Girl, a memior by Kristin Hersh, lead singer of Throwing Muses.

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Defining Gender Parity Town Hall
Video

Defining Gender Parity Town Hall

Saturday 26 April 2014
Boston, MA, United States

StageSource, Boston presented the Defining Gender Parity Town Hall livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 26 April at 8 a.m. PDT/ 10 a.m. CDT/ 11 a.m. EDT/ 15:00 GMT/ 4 p.m. BST/ 17:00 CEST.

Plays by Women
Essay

Plays by Women

One Theater’s Story

17 March 2014

As a former fellow-traveler, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale than the summiteers, all of this got me thinking: For the twenty two years of Theater of the First Amendment’s producing life as the resident professional company of George Mason University, how did we do?

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Conversation about Gender & Power in David Ives’ Venus in Fur at Goodman Theatre
Video

Conversation about Gender & Power in David Ives’ Venus in Fur at Goodman Theatre

Sunday 16 March 2014
Chicago, IL, United States

Goodman Theatre in Chicago presents an Artist Encounter for David Ives’ play, Venus in Fur, featuring director Joanie Schultz, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 16 March at 3 p.m. PDT/ 5 p.m. CDT/ 6 p.m. EDT/ 22:00 GMT.

A pin that says "ban bossy."
The Perils of Directing as a Woman
Essay

The Perils of Directing as a Woman

14 March 2014

Sheryl Sandberg, author of "Lean In", has just launched a campaign to "Ban Bossy," so that girls who used to be called bossy start to be told instead that they are leaders. Efforts like this to change the culture, though, are long-game solutions to an immediate problem. In the meantime, how do women directors, especially those just starting out, balance the competing demands of actually leading with gendered expectations as to what constitutes good leadership?

The Revolution Will Be Systemic
Essay

The Revolution Will Be Systemic

A Response to “Women Directors”

5 March 2014

Jess K. Smith calls for a “revolution of language” and a revolution is necessary. However, the revolution is not about language, it’s about creating a world built on respect, understanding, and bringing to an end a system of domination and submission. What budding female directors are doing when their words betray their confidence is allowing themselves to be thought of as submissive.

Women Directors
Essay

Women Directors

Language Worth Repeating

5 March 2014

Director Jess K. Smith investigates women directors' use of language in theatre and calls for a revolution of women's use of language that is not apologetic, dominating, or rooted in fear.

Photo from Rasheeda Speaking.
“Post-Racial” Tensions in Rivendell's Rasheeda Speaking
Essay

“Post-Racial” Tensions in Rivendell's Rasheeda Speaking

27 February 2014

Dani Snyder-Young looks at the world premiere of Joel Drake Johnson’s Rasheeda Speaking, and reflects on seeing a play about race, with a mostly white audience. 

A long pipeline.
The Myth of the American Theater Pipeline
Essay

The Myth of the American Theater Pipeline

24 February 2014

Holly L. Derr argues against the traditional idea of a "pipeline" of plays flowing from New York to other places in the country.

Portrait of Amelia Bassano Lanier.
A New Approach to Othello
Essay

A New Approach to Othello

Shakespeare's Dark Lady

10 February 2014

By showing that Othello has similar content to her poetry, and Emilia bears multiple resemblances to Amelia Bassano herself, "Writing Othello" makes the case that the "dark lady" had a hand in crafting this play. It translates academic research into practical performance on stage.

Poster for Jester's Cap.
Homosexuality in Theater for Young Audiences
Essay

Homosexuality in Theater for Young Audiences

Jester’s Cap

21 January 2014

Alice Stanley reflects on Binary Theatre Company's production of Jester's Cap, by Daniel Pennyway and making theatre that contains feminism and same-sex love for a possibly-conservative audience.

Strangle, Throttle, Silence
Essay

Strangle, Throttle, Silence

Talkbacks and Artist Safety

13 December 2013

Lauren Gunderson offers advice on dealing with threatending situations at talkbacks, and how theaters can better protect their artists during audience engagement.

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Aristotle's Impact on Gender Parity, Playwriting, and Production panel at Rogue Machine Theatre
Video

Aristotle's Impact on Gender Parity, Playwriting, and Production panel at Rogue Machine Theatre

Tuesday 10 December 2013
Los Angeles, CA, United States

Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles presents "Aristotle was a Man!", a panel discussion unpacking the assumptions made by the original dramaturg regarding dramatic structure and discuss the long term impact on today's playwriting, production, and gender parity livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 10 December at 11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. CST / 2 p.m. EST / 19:00 GMT. To participate in this discussion, direct your comments on Twitter @RogueMachineLA and use #howlround.

Image from Titus Andronicus.
Taffety Punk’s Riot Grrrls Wring Humor from Titus Andronicus
Essay

Taffety Punk’s Riot Grrrls Wring Humor from Titus Andronicus

7 November 2013

Patricia Davis reviews Taffety Punks' production of the unproducable: a humorous interpretation of Titus Andronicus, presented by the all-female Riot Grrrls.

Photo from Julius Caesar.
Hard Times
Essay

Hard Times

From London, A Caesar In Chains

22 October 2013

The Donmar Warehouse's all-female production of Julius Caesar encloses the story into a women’s prison to bring to light contemporary commentary on freedom and betrayal.

Photo from What Every Girl Should Know.
Our Own Best Judges
Essay

Our Own Best Judges

Young Female Characters On Stage

17 October 2013

Lily Janiak dissects various productions in San Fransisco with the critical question: Do their female characters represent as wide a range of the human experience as their males?