The Interval: I find it so heartening to learn about the accomplishments of women in theatre history, so with the fifth installment of “7 Women of Theatre History You Should Know,” I’m pleased to showcase seven more women who shaped the theatre landscape as we know it today. Some overcame gender or race discrimination but persevered at a time when the field was not welcoming. Some founded theatre companies, or created iconic design elements, or wrote pieces from a perspective not often shown on the Broadway stage. As I have previously noted, reading about one woman leads to another woman, and another, and another.
5 comments:
Woah, I’ve definitely got some new things to add to my reading list and watch list. I’ve never heard of any of these women, but what they accomplished is astounding. Honestly, as a feminist going into theatrical design, I feel a mild since of shame at not knowing that a woman designed the set for The Phantom of the Opera, especially since it’s such an iconic show that comes up in everyday theatrical conversations. Especially the chandelier. (A TD that I worked with was on the original tour and was one of the guys that caught the chandelier as it swung, a story I always found fascinating). Maybe knowing who these women were won’t change much about how you go about your life or your career, but I think they certainly deserve a few minutes of your time. Each of them was a pioneer for women in theatre and each of them overcame ridiculous odds to achieve the level of success that they did, changing the industry as they did.
These women are extremely impressive, working late into their 70s, 80s, and 90s, because they had a cause and a drive to make and/or teach theater. It’s not only important to learn history but it’s also incredibly fascinating, especially when it’s the history not commonly taught. There are going to be countless things you did not know and countless people you did not know made them. Like Margaret said, it’s a bit sad that I didn’t know that the scenic designer of Broadway’s longest running show is a woman. I also just really enjoy the small tidbits you find when looking at historical figures, like Gertrude Jeannette being the first woman in New York with a motorcycle license. At least for me, it’s the oddities like that that make me actually remember the person and thereby their accomplishments and contributions. These people had real lives, sometimes just as badass as their achievements.
3. As other commenters have notes, these women are all very impressive. More than a list of accomplished artists, this is a list of artists who use their art for the change they want to see in the world. I find it interesting that I didn't know any of these artists before this despite all the good they've done, but I do know the names of famous men in the industry who haven't done nearly as much politically. I normally don’t enjoy touting someone’s accomplishments just because they’re a woman. Especially when it is the sort of accomplishment that isn’t even necessarily more difficult to attain as a woman (like getting into college). In this case, though, these women are not noted simply because they won a Tony, but because they have made a huge difference in their world that has gone unnoticed, possibly because of their gender. Recognizing these women is important, because it reminds us of how much of a bias we have towards white men. Some may argue that color and gender shouldn’t matter, but diversity is so important in order for us to make decisions and art that is fully relatable, important, and representative of our actual world, and not just the world of a few people who happened to be in the room.
I really appreciate the opportunity to get to read articles like this because it is so important to have the chance to read more about women’s contribution to theatre. With that being said I’m very aware that I am not good at seeking out resources on my own to become more familiar with the contributions of women in history and am striving to improve that about myself. This is why I find series like this important and this one I felt was particularly well done. It covered some really spectacular women who fulfilled different areas of theatre. Not only did it speak about what their contributions were but it also gave insight to their lives and things they did outside of the theatre to influence them. This article has certainly re-inspired me to be on the lookout for influential female role models to learn more from and aspire to make significant influences like they did. One women whose segment I found particularly intriguing was Maria Bjornson. I had never known that Phantom of the Opera’s scenic design was initially done by a women and was very happy to see that the men she worked with weren’t afraid to accredit some of the opera’s success to her contributions.
I really like Alice Childress' words. She talks about how the 'ordinary' are not ordinary and that is why she chooses to write about them. I think this is so true. Each human is innately different from our DNA to our actions and beliefs. Each of us is so different and no one can truly understand someone else because they each have their own perspective that is impossible to completely get rid of. In my archaeology class, we are learning about how hard it is to truly interpret data correctly because we are not part of the society. We looked at mock graveyards and tried to come up with patterns and unlock and understand the data and society that used the graveyard, but it was really hard because we could not understand the outliers. We could guess for most of them, but those that are not at all by the book were so hard to pin down. The individuality of each ancient civilization makes it hard to fully understand them because although there are generalizations, each is so different. I think this is the same thing that Childress is saying and I agree because it is beautiful to follow a person that is 'ordinary' yet also extraordinary.
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