October 27, 2008

Women Playwrights Demand Equality

Big props to playwrights Julia Jordan and Sarah Schulman for organizing women playwrights in NY to discuss sexism in the NY theatre. This evening 150 women will be holding a discussion (which I will be attending) with some of the artistic directors of the NY off-Broadway theatres to discuss how to get more women's voices on the marquees.

Contending that their male counterparts in the 2008-9 season are being produced at 14 of the largest Off Broadway institutions at four times the rate that women are (40 plays by men; 10 by women)
And bigger props to my bud playwright Theresa Rebeck for having the guts to go on the record about the sexism:
I personally don’t think playwriting is a gene on a Y chromosome,...Many of our male peers find the debate intolerable. Men in the community seem to think that everything is fine.”...Ms. Rebeck said that male friends “in the system say to me I have to keep my mouth shut; don’t be part of the problem, don’t be a whiner.”
They clearly count on women being too afraid to speak out. It takes people who have clout (like Rebeck) to take a stand. And no, that's not easy. Other women need to stand with her and support her.

Some of the genius artistic directors really showed the glass houses they live in especially Lincoln Center's Andre Bishop who made the genius statement:
Most artistic directors are men, and they don’t relate to or connect with women as much as men,” “I try to think about these things all the time, but I don’t, because I’m a pathetic mortal.
I think he is just plain pathetic and condescending.

Carole Rothman, artistic director and founder of Second Stage, who in the past was known as a stalwart supporter of female artists said:
“Is there a cultural bias against women? I don’t know,” she said, but either way, “People don’t care.”
People. Don't. Care. Wow. I believe that people don't know and that they do care once they learn about the issues. Do we really want a theatre world dominates by males voices and visions? I'm shocked at the narrowmindedness of these so-called culture leaders. These people have influence over what we see in the theatre all across the country. If they produce a show at their theatre it has a much greater chance of being produced somewhere else.

Playwright Gina Gionfriddo also went on the record:
She had been told that her characters were unlikable. “I wonder if Neil LaBute hears this,” she said of a playwright known for his corrosive depictions of human nature. She also suggested that women’s plays often do not resolve as conclusively as those by men, and that they do not follow the Aristotelian model of drama, which makes directors uncomfortable.
I find this fascinating. Women filmmakers have some of the same issues. Women and men write differently because we are different and have different experiences. Is it maybe that all the models that we think work are male models? It's not rocket science. If we want a culture to reflect ALL the participants we need to figure out a way to have ALL women's voices (not just white women) heard.

Charging Bias by Theaters, Female Playwrights to Hold Meeting (NY Times)