Bringing Theatre Women Together for Change: The 50/50 in 2020 Movement

Join 50/50 in 2020

As a follow-up to last week's post on the Los Angeles Female Playwrights' Initiative, this week we'll be taking a look at the movement that spawned the West Coast group: the New York-based 50/50 in 2020 initiative. Created in response to the 2009 Sands Study, which confirmed the 2002 statistic that fewer than 20% of professionally produced plays in the U.S. are written by women, 50/50 in 2020 is a participatory movement with the goal of achieving parity for professional women theatre artists by the year 2020.

50/50 in 2020 was created by three women who have extensive firsthand knowledge of the theatre community and what it means to be a woman working within it: Susan Jonas (NYU), whose 2002 NYSCA Study, Report On The Status Of Women: A Limited Engagement? brought the abysmal statistics on women's representation in theatre to the attention of the theatre community (her 20% statistic had not changed as of the 2009 Sands Study); Melody Brooks, Artistic Director of New Perspectives Theatre Company; and Julie Crosby, Producing Artistic Director of Women's Project. Allied with The League of Professional Theatre Women, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the movement's founders set the goal of achieving full representation for women in theatre by 2020.

The movement supports works written, directed, and/or designed by women in the professional theatre, and advocates for more opportunities for women to be involved in professional productions, as well as equal pay for women in theatre. Although the official initiative began in 2009, it builds upon years of work by the women - and their organizations - who decided it was finally time for a national movement.

Women's Project, founded by Julia Miles in 1978, is the oldest theatre company in the U.S. dedicated to producing and promoting theatre created by women. An impressive lineup of playwrights and directors have gotten their start at Women's Project, including Eve Ensler, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel. The company has staged over 600 mainstage and development projects and published 11 anthologies of women playwrights. Now under the Artistic Direction of Julie Crosby, Women's Project continues to produce plays by women and offers a free, two-year development lab program for mid-career playwrights, directors, and producers. The lab offers artists the opportunity both to develop their craft under the mentorship of accomplished women theatre artists, and also to network with each other and create community, which is vital to the advancement of women in theatre.

New Perspectives Theatre Company (New York, NY) was founded in 1991 by Melody Brooks with the goal of developing and presenting new works not only by women but also by playwrights of color, particularly works that have a strong social justice component or deal with social issues. Like Women's Project, New Perspective also has a lab development program for women playwrights, Women's Work, to help advance its mission to showcase "a range of voices that reflect the true diversity of contemporary America." 50/50 in 2020 seems a logical outgrowth of this mission.

The League of Professional Theatre Women was another logical partner for the 50/50 in 2020 movement. For 30 years, the organization has advocated and promoted opportunities for women in the professional theatre, as well as provided a community for networking and mutual support.

The cornerstone of 50/50 in 2020 is Works By Women, a group that goes to see productions written, directed, and/or designed by women in New York. Any woman can submit a show for consideration for listing on their blog and for a possible group outing, though shows must be on Broadway, Off-Broadway, or Off-Off-Broadway. Works By Women also profiles women theatre artists and their shows in articles and interviews on the blog. They organize theatre-going events through a Meetup group organized by director Ludovica Villar-Hauser, and the group often receives discounts on tickets from producers and theatres. These group trips to see shows by women are wonderful opportunities for women working professionally in theatre (as well as interested supporters) to meet each other, network, and create community while demonstrating that there is an audience for works by women.

One can't help but envision similar groups springing up around the country, as one already has in Los Angeles, as the 50/50 in 2020 initiative grows. Why not start one in your community?

And if you are in New York and interested in getting involved, visit the 50/50 in 2020 Facebook page to meet up with the movement.

Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative Brings Local Focus to National Movement

Click here to download a free FPI Badge

The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, or LAFPI, was formed almost 2 years ago by playwrights Laura Shamas and Jennie Webb as a local, West Coast branch of the national movement for gender parity in the world of American theatre. Shamas and Webb started the LAFPI as an outgrowth of the East-Coast-based 50/50 in 2020 movement (which will be the subject of a future WomenArts blog post), which was formed in response to the findings of the Sands Study. 

Released in 2009 to media hype that skewed and obscured its salient findings, the study confirmed prior research that only approximately 20% of plays produced in American theatres are written by women, and that this fact stands in apparent opposition to the fact that many of the most successful plays (financially and critically) are written by women.

On their website, the LAFPI provides a great summary and analysis of the study, which concludes that producers conceive of works by women as less likely to be successful, and therefore works by women are held to much higher standards than works by men. Because of this "prophetic discrimination," women receive far fewer opportunities to develop their craft than men do. And because their plays are not produced until they reach a level of craft that is difficult to achieve without the chance to have their work produced, many leave the profession before they have the chance to truly develop as playwrights. (For a comprehensive overview of the problem, see our collection of articles about Women's Employment in Theatre).

The LAFPI began by commissioning a study of women playwrights in the Los Angeles area, and found that the national 20% statistic was true at the local level as well. They began working on a number of different fronts to address this paradox, with an infectious enthusiasm for their members' works and a positive, action-oriented attitude toward the field as a whole. These women know that they are making a difference, and they are excited about doing it.

Through their informative website and monthly newsletters, the LAFPI provides their members with information about submission opportunities of interest to female playwrights (similar to our WomenArts playwright funding newsletters, with a regional focus). They also have a Resources page that includes links for women playwrights to organizations around the country working for gender parity in theatre, as well as links for L.A. theatregoers and theatremakers, including a list of LAFPI member playwrights with links to their websites. The inclusion of resources for playwrights, producers, and audience members all on one page is representative of the LAFPI's desire to create a community in which playwrights, producers, and audiences work together to make the L.A. theatre scene more interesting and diverse through the production of more works by women.

The LAFPI also actively promotes plays by women that are being produced in the L.A. area, through e-mail blasts and their calendar of Women At Work On Stage, making it easy for audience members to find out what plays by women are being produced and where to see them. Member playwrights benefit from the LAFPI's promotion, and so do theatregoers.

Membership in the LAFPI is free and open to anyone who wants to be a part of the movement. Members can download the LAFPI logos to show their affiliation on websites and print communications, and the group even has merchandise such as T-shirts and hats so members can show their solidarity.

In addition to facilitating and promoting the production of plays by women, the LAFPI is engaged in ongoing conversations about women's representation in the field. Their blog features articles written by different playwrights about their work, the plays they're going to see, and the experience of being a female playwright.

Finally, the group organizes in-person meet-ups to discuss the movement and foster community. Their latest discussion, The Collaborations Conversation, was scheduled for March 25, 2012, on the occasion of SWAN Day. Organized by Ella Martin, the LAFPI's Study Director and the Artistic Director of Theatre Mab Town Hall, the event was open to "all theatre artists - male and female - who are interested in fostering new work for women theatre artists" and included a panel discussion with women theatre artists and professionals. Although this event had to be postponed due to torrential rains, there will be future events designed to bring playwrights, artistic directors, producers, and other collaborators together to form new partnerships for the future.

With their spirit of openness and inclusiveness, along with their incredible motivation, the LAFPI is taking action to ensure that L.A.'s women playwrights - as well as producers and audiences - have the opportunity to be part of the creation of a richer, more diverse theatre scene.

Find out how you can get involved at lafpi.com.

Special Guest Blog About SWAN Day Kenya

Special Guest Blog from Nairobi, Kenya: As part of our ongoing efforts to build more connections among SWAN organizers worldwide, WomenArts arranged for U.S. author/activist Deborah Santana to meet with the SWAN Day Kenya organizers in Nairobi.  We are delighted to post her special guest blog.

Deborah Santana meets with SWAN Day Kenya Artists

My friend, Vee and I walked onto the grounds of the National Theatre of Kenya to meet Sophie Dowllar and some of the women artists who are part of SWAN Day Kenya. In the café, Sophie stood, baby in arms, shining like the sun, welcoming us to a gathering of poets, actors, visual artists, musicians, sculptors, and film and television producers.  Fourteen women and two men sat together around a table, and we sipped sweet chai, discussing the arts in Kenya, and the lack of opportunities for women artists.

Sophie Dowllar

I was introduced to SWAN Day Kenya one year ago and it seemed like a gift from the universe to be with these women whose creativity spans so many genres and whose powerful voices speak with truth and joy.

Sophie organized the first SWAN Day Kenya event in 2008, and the community that evolved from that initial event has grown to address the issues of women as artists, as well as to infuse the participants with adrenalin to continue their work.

Iddi Achieng

Iddi Achieng, an international musical talent is also a sociologist and poet with the Iddi Achieng Trust that supports twenty schools and 3000 students. Lillian Otieno’s organization performs traditional dances and we had the honor of watching an interpretive dance with her, Rebecca and Monica.

Jane Amiri is a storywriter and storyteller, and as a student of sociology, teaches gender issues in seminars and workshops. She said, “Society is the stories we tell.”

Making Ways by
Tabitha Wa Thaku

Tabitha Wa Thaku is a visual artist who has spent over 25 years producing and teaching art, with her works hanging in the Kenyan National Museum’s permanent collection. Edith Luseno works in television to promote artists and inform people about the beautiful creations of Kenyan women.

Lydiah Dola, women’s rights activist, guitarist and singer, introduced us to her guitar and then serenaded us with her magical music. She uses her voice for power and change.

These women are activists, mothers, sisters, and givers of themselves so that the blessings of their souls, through their art, can right the imbalance of the world. They send images and music into the universe of yearning.

Lydiah Dola

The women introduced the theatre manager, Ken, who said that “Kenya is the incubator of great minds,” and Tony Mboyo of Theatre for Social Transformation, a puppeteer and dancer whose big heart works behind the scenes at SWAN Kenya.

Pulled into a circle of swaying hips and moving feet, Vee and I celebrated these artists as we twisted to drumbeats and guitar chords, smiling from ear to ear, part of the mobilization of painters, writers, poets, singers, acrobats, dancers, sculptors, fashion artists, and every molecule of creativity. Although they spoke about the challenges of selling their art, and trying to earn livings through artistic efforts -  issues that exist here in America as well - the vibrancy of the women’s minds and voices healed me and filled me with dreams for working together as I enjoyed my last day in Kenya.

About Deborah Santana: Deborah Santana is an author, philanthropist, activist for peace and social justice, and founder of Do A Little, a non-profit that serves women and girls in the areas of health, education and happiness. Her memoir, Space Between The Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart, was published in 2005.  She has produced two documentary films with Emmy-award winning director Barbara Rick about the collaborative work of non-profit partners in South Africa and Kenya. She serves as a Board member for ANSA (Artists for a New South Africa), mentors girls and young women, and is a supporter of Marian Wright Edelman’s Freedom Schools in New Orleans.

Ohio Celebrates SWAN Day With a Multi-Generational Showcase in Dayton

This Saturday, March 31st, 2012, the Dayton, OH community will have the opportunity to celebrate the talent of a diverse group of women artists (and some of their male collaborators) who span several generations. Produced by playwright Stacy Lane and co-produced by filmmakers Dara Cosby and Alex Mangen, SWAN Day Dayton, which will take place at the Auditorium in the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch (215 E. Third St.) beginning at 3pm, will feature short film screenings, performances of several short plays, exhibits by painters, readings by published authors, and live music.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Dayton showcase is its inclusion of very young participants. The youngest is Kristina Cardoza, who, at age 10, is the author of the children's book Pinky Bunny's First Day of Kindergarten. Students from Kilbourne Middle School and Thomas Worthington High School will perform the plays Gossip Squirrels, Pulse, and Stalemate under the direction of their teacher, Andy Falter. Art students Tessa Trozzolillo (Free As the Wind), Maggie Price (A Pretty Piece of Flesh), and Coco Gagnet (Cover Girl) will each screen shorts they directed.

Kristina Cardoza
Author - Age 10

The producers have made some great curatorial choices to integrate the meta-themes of childhood and growing up throughout the program. Nicole Simmons' short film Sunday Spin is about a 13-year-old girl's first encounter with love, and Djuna Wahlrab's short Falling Up is about a man who magically goes back to experience moments from his childhood in order to reconnect with his true self. This focus on children and their experiences seems natural; The Zoot Theatre Company, which will perform Stacy Lane's short play Lucy Dreaming, regularly works with children and adolescents through their educational outreach programs, and Lane has previously worked with some of the children who will be appearing on Saturday.

Zoot Theatre

The themes of growth and personal development are echoed in the work of the authors who will give readings. Mary Curran Hackett, an English professor at the University of Cincinnati, will read from her first novel, Proof of Heaven, which is about a little boy living with a chronic health condition that leads both him and his mother on spiritual journeys. Tami Boehmer will read from her book, From Incurable to Incredible, which tells the stories of people - including herself - who have survived cancer against discouraging odds. Sara Berelsman will read from her memoir-in-progress about alcoholism, The Last Rock Bottom. The choice of three authors who deal in different ways with medical conditions and the opportunities they afford individuals for self-discovery will undoubtedly bring a nice sense of coherence to the readings. Nicole Amsler, who writes about "Midwestern dysfunction," Joy Schwab, a feminist poet, and Kristie LeVangie, who writes erotic poetry, round out the group of readers.

Patricia Berg

To top off the entertainment, jazz vocalist Patricia Berg will sing songs from her latest CD release, Sweet Sorrow.

In addition to the performances, paintings by Trish McKinney, Dawn McCoy, and Heather Lea Reid will be exhibited, and the Dayton chapter of The League of Women Voters - one of the first in the nation - will be present to inspire women to vote for candidates who represent their interests. And one can hope that the afternoon will also include a screening of co-producer Alex Mangen's hilarious short film, Soothing Nature Day Spa.

Click Here to Watch
Alex Mangen's Video

Artists and audience members of all ages are sure to be inspired by the vast display of local talent at SWAN Day Dayton. WomenArts would like to congratulate the Dayton producers and artists for putting together such an ambitious and intriguing SWAN celebration - may it be their first of many!

For more information, visit http://swandaydayton.blogspot.com/.

SWAN Day Pittsburgh Rocks!

Tressa Glover, Martha Richards, and Don DiGiulio
Celebrate SWAN Day Pittsburgh 2012  (Photo: Katelyn Petraitis)

On Thursday, March 15 and Friday, March 16, Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio of the No Name Players presented SWAN Day Pittsburgh. I attended the Thursday night performance and I was completely blown away by the talent of the participants and the overall concept and execution of the production.

SWAN Day Pittsburgh is unique because all of the participating artists are asked to create new works in response to videotaped interviews of women from Pennsylvania. This year Glover and DiGiulio interviewed women from all over the state at the Pennsylvania Conference on Women as well as women in their home town of Pittsburgh, and then distributed the videos to local musicians, dancers, and theater artists.

The women who were interviewed discussed a wide range of topics - some talked about their careers, some talked about overcoming fear or finding inner strength, one woman discussed her feelings about a friend who would not leave an abusive relationship, and another talked about the challenge of learning that her son had stage four cancer. The videos were shown as a pre-show event, and it was inspiring to see the thoughtfulness, courage and tenacity that these women demonstrate in their everyday lives. The mainstream media tends to ignore these women, and it was wonderful to contemplate this world of ordinary women who do extraordinary things every day.

Some of the artists used direct quotes from the videos as the basis for a scene, song, or dance, and others responded to the spirit or message of the women on screen. During the main show, a few of the video clips were interspersed with the live performances so that the audience could see the connections between the women's statements and the artists' creations.

Even though I have been running WomenArts for seventeen years, I know that there will always be thousands of amazing women artists that I have never met, and SWAN Day Pittsburgh offered so many new discoveries in one evening.  There were 14 acts and 72 people listed in the program.  It was an extraordinary display of talent, and there was a wonderful warm sense of community among the artists and the audience.

It is hard to single out particular artists, since I enjoyed all of them, but I was especially moved by the songs performed by Deana Muro, Erika May, and Betsy Lawrence. Award-winning poet Toi Derricotte read a piece that she had written that morning because she felt so inspired after the tech rehearsal. I was thrilled to meet Toi Derricotte because I have long admired both her poetry and her work as the founder of Cave Canem, a non-profit dedicated to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African-American poets.

The evening included three great short plays - Zero Mile Mark by Carol Mullen about three women who discover their inner strength on a challenging hike, Mom's Kitchen by Robin Walsh about two sisters coping with their mother's death, and Bugaboo by Virginia Wall Gruenert, a very funny piece about  women struggling to overcome their fears through group therapy.

There was a visual art display in the lobby and a wonderful fire dance performed outdoors by Steel Town Fire during the intermission. During the second half of the show, I especially loved From Me to You, a dance piece choreographed by Maria Caruso and exquisitely performed by Elizabeth Praedin.  Caruso is the founder of Bodiography Contemporary Ballet, a company created to provide performance opportunities for ballet dancers with healthy, athletic, but non-stereotypical ballet bodies.

SWAN Day Pittsburgh is an official WomenArts SWAN Partner this year, and producers Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio have really captured the essence of SWAN Day. Their event was artistically ambitious, women's perspectives were at the core of all of the art, and it was clear that their SWAN events are really building a sense of solidarity among the artists in their community.

It takes a generous heart and a huge amount of work to organize an event like this that showcases so many artists in so many disciplines. It was clear that Tressa Glover and Don DiGiulio had selected the artists carefully and then worked hard to create an environment where the artists felt supported to stretch and develop new works. Congratulations to the two of them for producing this event with so much grace and skill, and thanks to all the artists for their excellent work.

 To see more pictures from SWAN Day Pittsburgh, please click here.

Simple SWAN Celebrations: Watch Films by Women

Order This Book

If you are looking for a simple way to celebrate Support Women Artists Now Day next Saturday by yourself or with friends, think about watching a film written or directed by a woman at a theatre or on DVD.  If you want advice about picking a film, you can consult a handy new guide written by SWAN Day co-founder, Jan Lisa Huttner.

Huttner, also known as the Hot Pink Pen, writes reviews for WomenArts of films written or directed by women.  You can find her recent reviews on our website at: www.WomenArts.org/reviews or on her website at www.thehotpinkpen.com.  She has recently compiled her reviews of her favorite 50 movies from the past ten years in a convenient book: Penny's Picks: 50 Movies by Women Filmmakers 2002 - 2011.  The book is available on Amazon.com in paper or Kindle formats.

Huttner is an iconclast with a great sense of humor, so whether you agree with her or not, her reviews are always a lot of fun to read. Her unabashed feminist perspective is a refreshing change of pace from the reviews by men that dominate the mainstream press. Since many of the films she has written about are now available on DVD or streaming video, the book is a great way to find films by women that you can watch at home. The book also includes a brief chronology of SWAN Day and its predecessor, WITASWAN (Women in the Audience Supporting Women Artists Now), as well as a preface by WomenArts Executive Director Martha Richards.

WomenArts has an additional page of helpful websites about women in film on our website at: www.WomenArts.org/news/film_viewer_resources.htm

As Huttner has pointed out in countless blogs and lectures, women have a lot of untapped box office power. Hollywood is driven by profits and if we can show that there is a large, paying audience for films by and about women, then producers will be interested in making more of those films. You can help by watching films written or directed by women on SWAN Day and throughout the year.  Tell your friends to do the same.  Together we can make a difference!

Lenelle Moïse Explores Haitian History in "Ache What Make"

On Tuesday, March 13, I saw Lenelle Moïse's latest work in progress, Ache What Make, at the month-long Women Center Stage Festival in New York.

Moïse is Haitian-American, and "Ache What Make" is a series of performance poems about her responses to the Haitian earthquake and its aftermath. As a member of the Haitian diaspora, she has a unique perspective on the crisis in Haiti. She still has relatives there, and she is acutely aware of the fact that if her parents had made different choices, "it could have been my hand sticking out of the rubble."

Watch the Ache What Make Video Clip

As Moïse said in an interview with Women Center Stage, "The media bombarded us with blurry images of dusty, nameless faces or distant, bird’s eye shots of shattered shacks and limp bodies in mass graves. But for me, as someone in the Diaspora, the Haitians on the screen were individuals with middle names, favorite colors, recurring jokes, hopes and dreams. Ache What Make offers a new way of seeing. It’s about zooming in and affirming life. I hope the audience takes in my Haitian hope."

Ache What Make invites audience members to see the current Haitian crisis in its historical context. In one of the opening poems, Moïse talks about the successful Haitian Revolution against the French which lasted from 1791-1804. Under the brilliant military leadership of Toussaint Louverture, the revolution established the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people. In fact, Haiti abolished slavery in 1804 - five decades before the U.S. did.

However, the French and other slave-owners in the New World were deeply alarmed by the successful slave rebellion. To make sure that no other slaves followed the Haitian example, they imposed economic sanctions that did lasting damage to the financial stability of the island.

Moïse looks at post-earthquake Haiti in the context of that proud moment of successful rebellion, and the two centuries of racist backlash that followed it. The current poverty in Haiti meant that the earthquake had a much bigger impact there than similar quakes in richer countries. Moïse sees that poverty as the result of two centuries of economic polices towards Haiti that still reflect the original harsh response to the slave rebellion.

I have been following Moïse's work for over a decade, and she gets better every year. She is an amazing poet, and in the past couple of years she has added music to her shows. She often records a vocal sound loop at the beginning of a poem, and then plays it back as the accompaniment for the rest of the poem.

Ache What Make is a brave exploration of a complex and timely topic, and I look forward to seeing the finished version. The play is a perfect example of the ways that artists can help us see the emotional and historical dimensions of current events and help us find the hope we need to move towards a better future.

Women Center Stage is one of our official Support Women Artists Now/SWAN Partners this year, and WomenArts is proud to be collaborating with them. Ache What Make is only one event in their month-long festival of plays by women artists.  Be sure to check out their full schedule at: http://www.CultureProject.org/wcs/2012-schedule/.

Read the Women Center Stage interview with Lenelle Moïse at: www.CultureProject.org/wcs/spotlight-lenelle-moise/