Saturday, February 11, 2012
Theatres must join fight for older women's roles - Equity
The Stage: Equity vice president Jean Rogers has called on the theatre sector to follow the example set by broadcasters and take steps to address the lack of opportunities for older female performers. Rogers was speaking after the publication of research revealing that TV viewers have concerns about the lack of middle- and older-aged women on screen. She claimed the report was a “vindication” of the union’s campaign calling on broadcasters to cast more female performers. However, Rogers said that, while the broadcast industry is beginning to make improvements in relation to “gender balance and awareness of the issue”, the “same awareness and will to improve the situation” is not apparent in the theatre sector.
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4 comments:
Sadly performance, namely film and television performance, has always been a looks-based industry. There are times when the qualified are certainly put down due to discrepancies in their looks in relation to the character or due to a fear that they will not appeal to an audience. This is particularly true for older actors, who have more trouble finding roles as compared to their more youthful counterparts. Even women who are supposed to be older are sometimes portrayed by younger females, giving real world people unrealistic expectations for how they should look. In art, it is important to stay true to the vision of the work, but also to portray looks true to life and less to pertain to a standard ideal that has been developed in the past few decades.
Betty White. If that isn't enough of an argument for this, I don't know what is. Take a hint, everyone. Look how incredibly successful she's been and how many roles she has had in the past year alone. Obviously older women can be just as successful and attractive to an audience as any other demographical representation.
This seems silly to me. Production companies are not choosing their productions based on whether or not they have older women characters. I really don't think people are intentionally trying to exclude these actresses. You could make this kind of argument for so many underrepresented groups, but it is just a little pointless. Artistic directors are not in charge of ensuring that every single demographic is represented in their season. They are in charge of putting on relevant and interesting shows. Like Kassondra said, there are more younger characters because those are the people that we like watching. I think that this is a sad/desperate argument to be making such a big deal out of.
I've heard people say that if you want to be a performer as a career choice, you better be attractive, because you won't get anywhere if you're not. I think that mentality applies to older performers as well, which is seriously unfortunate. The impact that women like Maggie Smith, Betty White, and Phylicia Rashad have had in the film and theater industry is way more remarkable and admirable than trying to cast someone younger in a role because they'd be more appealing. Older performers have just as much as their younger colleagues. Looks shouldn't matter; talent should.
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