Becoming a White Man in the Theatre

HowlRound: We published an article recently by a group of distinguished women—theatre practitioners and scholars—about the inherent bias in criticism in the American Theatre that is primarily written by white men. The article was not a personal attack on any single individual, despite being accused as such. It states quite clearly, in quoting Paula Vogel, one of the playwrights referenced in the piece: “The complaint is not personal, in other words: it is structural. Individual critics are ‘not the enemy.’” The article then implores, “We need a more expansive and informed notion of how critics come to decide what is ‘good,’ and a more honest conversation about why ‘good’ is often associated with plays by and about white men.”