AMERICAN THEATRE?: Awards ceremonies are thorny, polarizing beasts. The very idea of giving out awards for art can seem like a direct contradiction of what art is meant to be. What is the value in singling out artists and their work? And why is it that performers are almost always singled out along the gender binary?
4 comments:
I am very proud of the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards for taking this step towards a more inclusive awards system. It is an amazing idea to implement in high school level awards systems because, as the author said, they do not have the same responsibility as the EGOT awards do of keeping an industry afloat. The gender binary awards have been an issue for a very long time, but have become more of an issue in recent history, and I can only imagine will become an active problem in the future. It is a very effective way of keeping nonbinary and gender nonconforming performers out of the theatre industry or especially out of the spotlight. That is a huge problem. If more high school and regional award systems start to take the same approach that the Shuler Hensley Awards have begun to take it would create a norm for younger generations to then take with them as they grew into the industry, and hopefully make some real change.
I understand that awards for art are a direct contradiction of what art is meant to be, but I love awards :). Performers are so intensely singled out by gender that it has become a well-respected institution to award performers by gender. I hate that performance is such a gender-focused career, it is so exclusionary for theatre artists who are non-binary or not adhering to the gender binary. I love that his state theatre awards show is slowly breaking the mold and creating awards that are not binary or gendered. I think it is so sad that the origination of theatre award shows was so sexist that the origination of the system of awards for this career is based on bigotry and sexism. I hope that we can slowly but surely create a system of prestige that is not so binary. I am so excited to see my field evolve and grow to become more equitable and inclusive.
This article was incredibly fascinating. I don't think it was a secret that the reason why these awards were gendered is because "That's just the way it's always been", they were most certainly products of their time. What is very interesting to me though, is the way this organization has structured their awards to not only provide recognition to those who they deem truly deserving of it, while at the same time mostly dismantling the gender binary that these awards encourage, but the gendered awards that stay, stay for a reason. It's worth noting that these reasons are inherently tied to opportunities that exist outside of the organization that bestows these awards, and I think it reflects a bigger industry holdover. We live in ever-changing times, and while these things take time, I also can't help but note that a lot of these industry practices are well overdue for change, especially these major award shows that are rooted in some ancient industry practices (looking at you, oscars, emmys, etc..)
Good job Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards. I feel like the question of whether or not to get rid of the gender-specific awards in ceremonies comes and goes every couple of years, and instead of getting an answer, it gets dropped off until someone decides to put it on the table again. I can justify why it had to be implemented way back in the day, but we have moved past that time I think. There is no reason why it can’t be “best performance” or “best actor” instead of having to split it off in two. There has been a lot of progress accomplished this past decade in regard to LGBTQ issues, gendered language is one of the things that are rapidly changing. Although it took some time for it to stick, now it is entirely normal to introduce yourself with your name and pronouns which I think is a step in the right direction.
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