Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Subsidised theatres have too few female roles, Equity says
The Guardian: Too many plays performed in theatres subsidised by the taxpayer are dominated by male roles, with female actors often struggling to find work, according to the actors' union, Equity.
The union has sent out letters to 43 artistic directors of subsidised theatre companies highlighting the need for better employment of women in the theatre and asking for their plans to improve the situation. But despite contacting the theatres twice, the union received a "disappointing" response, with only eight .
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2 comments:
While I agree with Stella Duffy about how it is worth seeking out plays that have strong female roles (2nd to last paragraph), I do not agree that theatres producing plays that star predominately male roles is as big of an issue as the actor's union, Equity, makes it out to be. Theatre is a traditional art, yes there are some aspects that are changed like the location or the types of light used, however, today there are still techniques that are incorporated into today's theatre. For many many centuries males have been the primary role players in productions. there were plays that only had male parts and there were plays that required men to dress and act as a woman. Now women are included in the theatre. The number of female roles should not be looked upon as a negative but as a positive. Women are rising up in the theatre world and have come a long way compared to many centuries ago. Change takes time and times are changing. As Lucinda Morrison said in the last paragragh, "theatre share[s] a desire for equal representation, but significant challenges [still]remain."
I do realize that males have an easier time getting roles in theatre, however I think that Equity makes the issue of women having trouble being able to get a part in a play out to be much more of an issue than I personally find it to be. On another note, I have found that females can more easily portray men on stage than vice-versa. If a theatre requires more men than women for a cast, or the other way around, they should not be forced to hire the same number of each gender. When play-writes create a script, they make people certain genders for a reason, not to put women or men out of jobs. Theatre does not want to be sexist, it just gives roles to people who suit the part.
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