CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, March 03, 2020

Women Count V: Women Hired Off-Broadway 2014/15 through 2018/19

urban excavations: The Women Count report series collects and publishes analyses of production credits to assess gender parity in theater hiring decisions. Since 2014 we have asked: whose plays are being done, who is directing them, and how many women are being hired for theatrical off-stage roles in New York’s theaters beyond Broadway? The goal of the report series is to change the conversation from anecdotes to action plans to support advocacy efforts on behalf of women playwrights, performers, and off-stage theater workers.

1 comment:

Elena Keogh said...

It is encouraging to see that members of the theatre industry are assessing the number of women in various "non - performer" roles such as playwrighting, directing, and technical fields. The results of Women Count V truly do not surprise me, as fields such as stage management and costume design tend to be more female-dominated, however, sound designers, lighting designers, and set designers tend to be more male-dominated. The trend seems to be that women are very represented in one field but under-represented in another. Moving forward, I would like to see this gap begin to close so that departments as a whole see more of a balance between men and women. It is also very encouraging to see that more plays written by women are being produced by theatres, as it means that audience members are being exposed to a different perspective, and along with that female directors contribute to that perspective.