League of Professional Theatre Women Holds Women Stage the World Equality Parade Tonight In Times Square

The League of Professional Theatre Women will hold its annual Women Stage the World Equality Parade through Times Square this evening, advocating for gender parity and equality in Broadway theatres and in theatres throughout the country.

Members and non-members are welcome to join by gathering at 5:30pm at the breezeway at the entrances to Broadway's Circle in the Square and Gershwin Theatres, 50th and 51st Streets between Broadway and 8th Avenue. Participants are encouraged to dress as a theatre artist of the past or in the League's official colors, purple and white. The parade will begin at 6pm and conclude at 7:30.

Past participants have worn costumes honoring famous women of the stage such as Dorothy Parker, Katharine Cornell, Aphra Behn, Margo Jones and Hallie Flanagan.

Click here for the parade's webpage and to hear composer/lyricist Sheilah Rae's "Anthem for Women Stage the World."

Women Stage the World, an advocacy project of the LPTW, is designed to educate the public about the role women play in creating theatre and the gender barriers they face as men continue to outnumber women by 4 to 1 in key roles such as playwright, director and designer. "Women buy two-thirds of the tickets and represent 65% of the audience," says Mahayana Landowne, Chair of the Advocacy Committee of the LPTW. "The irony is that 80% of the time, the storytelling on stage is shaped by men's voices, not women's."

Women Stage the World prompts ticket-buyers to ask three questions as they make buying decisions:

(1) Who wrote, directed and designed this play?

(2) What is this theatre's track record in giving opportunities to women?

(3) How can you spread the word and promote women's voices?

The League of Professional Theatre Women is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization presenting numerous events each year as part of its mission to promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in the field. League members are actors, administrators, agents, arrangers, casting directors, choreographers, company managers, composers, critics, designers, directors, dramaturgs, dramatists, educators, general managers, historians, journalists, librettists, lyricists, press agents, playwrights, producers, stage managers, and theatre technicians. Visit theatrewomen.org.

Photo: League of Professional Theatre Women