Up the Sisterhood!
Mon, 6 Dec 1999, 03:51 pmWalter Plinge9 posts in thread
Up the Sisterhood!
Mon, 6 Dec 1999, 03:51 pmOK I have a question, one I hope will lead to intellegent discussion and not nasty fingerpointing and intellectual skullduggery.
If men are in such short supply in ameteur theatre, why don't more companies do plays for women? Indeed with the ratio of men to women you would think almost all of the plays out there would be predominantly female and yet they're not.
And before I hear the cries of "There are no plays written for women!!" how come Kim Shaw has managed to find brilliant ones for Blak Yak every year since our inception?
Riddle me that Batman!!
LEAH
If men are in such short supply in ameteur theatre, why don't more companies do plays for women? Indeed with the ratio of men to women you would think almost all of the plays out there would be predominantly female and yet they're not.
And before I hear the cries of "There are no plays written for women!!" how come Kim Shaw has managed to find brilliant ones for Blak Yak every year since our inception?
Riddle me that Batman!!
LEAH
RE: Up the Sisterhood!
Mon, 6 Dec 1999, 11:43 pmFinding good women's roles is one of the priorities for me, when I am looking for plays, but it is by no means the only one - I'm not going to propose "Mrs Smiggins and her Friends Enjoy Murder Over A Nice Cup of Coffee" just because it happens to feature twelve women....
The major reason that Women's roles are one of my higher priorities is because the "average" play has more roles for men - despite the fact that there seem to be more women in community theatre, and SOMEONE has to tip back the balance.
I am sitting here with this year's Finley Entries in front of me and at quick count the 'boys' are doing a lot better, roles wise, despite the fact that it was one of the best 'girls' years for a while.
(Good Plays for Women Actors this year including - Little Women, Jigsaws, Stepping Out, Five Women Wearing The Same Dress and Nunsence).
Another way to look it is, despite five plays with 80% female cast or higher, the men still were offered more roles in 1999, even though the pool of male actors is smaller.
Writing for Stage Whispers I see a heap of theatre and quite often I am asked if I can think of an actor who could fill a role that has gone uncast at rehearsal. In the past fifteen months I would have been asked for one woman's role (which was very specific) and maybe twelve or more men.
The true goddess of Theatre For Women Actors in Perth is Terry Hackett who after a plethora of strong women's plays is directing Dinkum Assorted which opens at KADS in February with FIFTEEN good roles for women !
Kimberley
(Acting in Dinkum and directing a 10 Woman Show for Blak Yak - July 2000)
.
The major reason that Women's roles are one of my higher priorities is because the "average" play has more roles for men - despite the fact that there seem to be more women in community theatre, and SOMEONE has to tip back the balance.
I am sitting here with this year's Finley Entries in front of me and at quick count the 'boys' are doing a lot better, roles wise, despite the fact that it was one of the best 'girls' years for a while.
(Good Plays for Women Actors this year including - Little Women, Jigsaws, Stepping Out, Five Women Wearing The Same Dress and Nunsence).
Another way to look it is, despite five plays with 80% female cast or higher, the men still were offered more roles in 1999, even though the pool of male actors is smaller.
Writing for Stage Whispers I see a heap of theatre and quite often I am asked if I can think of an actor who could fill a role that has gone uncast at rehearsal. In the past fifteen months I would have been asked for one woman's role (which was very specific) and maybe twelve or more men.
The true goddess of Theatre For Women Actors in Perth is Terry Hackett who after a plethora of strong women's plays is directing Dinkum Assorted which opens at KADS in February with FIFTEEN good roles for women !
Kimberley
(Acting in Dinkum and directing a 10 Woman Show for Blak Yak - July 2000)
.