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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
(Women’s) History Matters
Essay

(Women’s) History Matters

27 March 2018

Playwright and professor Tammy Ryan explores three initiatives seeking to introduce historic and contemporary plays written by women (back) into the canon.

Making Theatre Out of Slam Poetry
Essay

Making Theatre Out of Slam Poetry

25 March 2018

Yan Chen talks with poet, performer, and playwright Kit Yan about the intersections of genre and intersections of identity in his work.

Why Do Women Climate More Than Men?
Essay

Why Do Women Climate More Than Men?

18 March 2018

Chantal Bilodeau kicks off this week’s series on Theatre in the Age of Climate Change by suggesting that women in the arts may be our planet’s best bet for survival.

The 2018 Theatre Women Awards
Video

The 2018 Theatre Women Awards

Friday 16 March 2018
New York City, NY, United States

The League of Professional Theatre Women presented the 2018 Theatre Women Awards livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 16 March at 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco).

Theatre History Podcast #58
Podcast

Theatre History Podcast #58

What We Think About When We Think About Casting: Dr. Amy Cook’s Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting

6 March 2018

Dr. Amy Cook of Stony Brook University joins us to discuss her new book, Building Character: The Art and Science of Casting.

Sheila Puts Women Center Stage
Essay

Sheila Puts Women Center Stage

30 January 2018

Can friendships survive a separation in time, values, and life choices? Carey Purcell looks at the quiet questioning of the role of women in Sheila by The Associates.

A Play About a Neighborhood
Essay

A Play About a Neighborhood

Community and New Play Development in The Duchess of Stringtown

14 January 2018

Jordan Schwartz, director of literary programs and outreach at Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, discusses a project that originated at the Indiana Women’s Prison and culminated in a production in the neighborhood that was the setting of the story.

#52PlaysbyWomen
Essay

#52PlaysbyWomen

An Advocacy Action Introspection

19 December 2017

Laura Shamas reports on the successes and challenges of launching the year-long social media campaign #52PlaysbyWomen.

Does Your Theatre Department Have a Patriarchy Problem?
Essay

Does Your Theatre Department Have a Patriarchy Problem?

17 December 2017

Director and theatre professor Holly Derr gives advice on how to identify whether your theatre department might be ripe for sexual harrassment, and offers tangible steps for professors to change the culture of their departments.

Don’t Tell Anyone—A Call to Action for a Healthy Work-Life Balance in the Arts
Essay

Don’t Tell Anyone—A Call to Action for a Healthy Work-Life Balance in the Arts

15 December 2017

Adriana Gaviria speaks on how entertainment industry unions and institutions in the US can step up to better advocate for parent artists.

Harnessing the Heroic Narrative of Creative Motherhood
Essay

Harnessing the Heroic Narrative of Creative Motherhood

14 December 2017

Performer Stephanie Hayes reflects on how motherhood helped her reinvent her relationship to her own creativity.

Invisible Leaders and Creating Support for the Parent Artist
Essay

Invisible Leaders and Creating Support for the Parent Artist

A Conversation on Research, Visibility, and Inclusion

13 December 2017

Continuing the series on parent-artists, Ineke Ceder and Catherine Mueller Melwani discuss how research can play a role in creating a bridge between the parent-artist experiencing isolation and the solutions recommended for equity and parity.

Fighting for Gender, Race, and Motherhood in Theatre
Essay

Fighting for Gender, Race, and Motherhood in Theatre

12 December 2017

Stage manager Carmelita Becnel reflects on the need to support mothers, women of color, and stage managers as creative collaborators in the rehearsal room.

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment
Essay

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment

11 December 2017

Devon Berkshire lays out some tangible steps for decision-makers on creating a more family-friendly work environment.

Re-Defining Motherhood and Advocating for Parent Artists
Essay

Re-Defining Motherhood and Advocating for Parent Artists

10 December 2017

Rachel Spencer Hewitt, PAAL founder, kicks off the parent advocacy in the arts series with an overview of the history of PAAL and a rationale for family-friendly practices in the theatre.

Gender Parity in Northeast Ohio Community Theatre
Essay

Gender Parity in Northeast Ohio Community Theatre

5 December 2017

Christine Wright, member of the Northeast Ohio community theatre community, analyzes gender parity in recent Northeast Ohio community theatre seasons.

an actor onstage
M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017
Essay

M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017

An Interview with David Henry Hwang

28 November 2017

Thirty years after M. Butterfly opened on Broadway, Jen Gushue interviews playwright David Henry Hwang about the 2017 revival.

Giving Birth
Essay

Giving Birth

International Debates in Theatrical Form

26 November 2017

Talya Kingston reports on the BIRTH project, a UK-based initiative that features plays about reproductive justice written by an international group of women.

The Monologue Project
Video

The Monologue Project

A special event that celebrates Women of the African Diaspora and their impact on theater and the world.

Monday 20 November 2017
Dallas, TX, United States

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents The Monologue Project in Dallas, Texas livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 20 November 2017 at 8:00 p.m. EST (New York) / 7:00 p.m. CST (Dallas) / 5:00 p.m. PST (San Francisco).

Power and Humiliation in the Theatre
Essay

Power and Humiliation in the Theatre

Reflections Post-Harvey Weinstein

14 November 2017

Lydia Stryk adds to the conversation on sexual harassment by people in power, speaking up about her experiences with sexual harassment and humiliation in the theatre.

It Starts in the Classroom
Essay

It Starts in the Classroom

Approaching Gender Parity through Actor Training

8 November 2017

What are female acting students learning in the classroom? Educator and director Katherine McGerr discusses how gender parity in theatre starts in the classroom.

Female Voices from Brazil
Video

Female Voices from Brazil

Monday 6 November 2017
New York City, NY, United States

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented Female Voices from Brazil with Ana Maria Gonçalves, Cidinha da Silva, and Marcia Zanelatto livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 6 November 2017 at 6:30 p.m. EST (New York) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago) / 3:30 p.m. PST (Los Angeles).

My Gender is Hot Fire
Essay

My Gender is Hot Fire

The Birth of the Non-Binary Monologues Project

30 October 2017

K. Woodzick talks about creating The Non-Binary Monologues Project, and the need for more resources for non-binary theatremakers.

Berkshire Leadership Summit at WAM Theatre
Video

Berkshire Leadership Summit at WAM Theatre

Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October 2017
Lenox, MA, United States

WAM Theatre presented the Berkshire Leadership Summit livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October 2017.

Black and Blue
Essay

Black and Blue

Dramatizing the Life of a Pioneering Policewoman

26 October 2017

Theatre journalist Jim O’Quinn writes about eighty-three year old Yvonne Bechet, whose life and work inspired a new play about policing and racial justice in her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.