News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

LPTW's Women Stage the World to Host 'Theatre Women March on Broadway', 6/11

By: May. 23, 2013
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

LATEST NEWS

Photos: Miranda, Bryant, Kroll & Rannells in ALL IN on Broadway
Playwright & Director Joel Paley Passes Away at 69
Colman Domingo in Talks for National Theatre Project in 2026
LEFT ON TENTH Will Be Available to License from Dramatists Play Service

On Tuesday, June 11th at 6 p.m., Women Stage the World, an advocacy project from The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), will bring to life a suffragette inspired parade in which Broadway theatregoers will see over 100 women parading and advocating for equal representation in theatre. Many parading will be wearing costumes in honor of famous women who set the stage: you may recognize the likes of Dorothy Parker, Katharine Cornell, Aphra Behn, Margo Jones, Lady Gregory or Hallie Flanagan, the director of WPA Theatre.

Women Stage the World 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 as playwright, director and designer. "Women buy two-thirds of the tickets and represent 65% of the audience," said Deborah Savadge (playwright), one of the co-chairs of the Advocacy Committee. "The irony is that 80% of the time, the storytelling on stage is shaped by men's voices not women's."

"The parade will be a celebration of our accomplishments and a chance to engage the public in a conversation about the future," said Mahayana Landowne (director), who co-chairs the Advocacy Committee. "Given the public interest in Governor Cuomo's Women's Equality Act and Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, the timing could not be better for this conversation. We see it as an inflection point and we are seizing the moment to raise awareness and change up the status quo."

Women Stage the World will prompt ticket-buyers to ask three questions each time they purchase a theatre ticket: (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? Like the suffragettes before them, Women Stage the World will empower women and men to become aware, take action and influence others.

There is good news in this story, several NY theatres have impressive track records in producing work by women including Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Three Graces, New Georges and The Women's Project. "In a field that is influenced by existing networks and long-standing relationships, artistic directors and literary managers need to find ways to remain open to work by women artists," say Savadge and Landowne. They offer up the example of symphony orchestras that moved to a "blind audition" where candidates audition behind screens. It has more than doubled the number of female concert musicians employed professionally around the country.

In the week following the parade, a national dialogue will commence connecting theatre artists in New York with regions around the country to explore the issue and brainstorm solutions. Outcomes of this progressive conversation will be posted on www.womenstagetheworld.org and used to mobilize a next round of action in September.

UPCOMING EVENTS FROM LPTW:

On Monday, June 3, 2013 at 6:00 pm The League of Professional Theatre Women is presenting Tony-Award winning actress Patti LuPone in an Oral History interview at the Bruno Walter Auditorium of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on 65th Street & Amsterdam Avenue. She will be interviewed by Broadway.com's KATHY HENDERSON. Admission is free, but seats will be on a first-come-first-seated basis.

On Wednesday, June 5, 2013, the League of Professional Theatre Women is recognizing the talents of four outstanding women, Peggy Eisenhauer, Judith Malina, Mia Katigbak, and Ashley Marinaccio, at the
League's 2013 Awards Luncheon to be held at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, June 5 at Sardi's Restaurant (Sardi's Restaurant is located at 234 West 44th Street, and the event will be held in the Eugenia Room on the 4th floor). Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/LPTW13LuncheonTix.

The League of Professional Theatre Women is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization. It presents numerous events each year as part of its mission to promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in the field. None of its work is possible without generous philanthropic support. The League, celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, now boasts a membership of nearly 500 women representing a diversity of theatre professionals in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. League members are actors, administrators, agents, arrangers, casting directors, choreographers, company managers, composers, critics, designers, directors, dramaturges, educators, general managers, historians, journalists, librettists, lyricists, press agents, producers, stage managers, and theatre technicians. To find out more about how you can support its endeavors, visit the website www.theatrewomen.org and click on the "Support Us" tab.




Videos