Convener:
Vicky Graham
Participants:
not noted, but included: Sarah Dickenson, Rebecca Manson-Jones, Rebecca
Atkinson-Lord, Dan Baker, Rajni Shah, Holly Roughan, Marie Solene, Stella
Duffy, Lynn Cordy, Lizzie Crarer, Bethany Pitts, Sue Emmas, Lyn Gardner
Summary of
discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Following on from the formation of new theatre company Agent
160, its first tour, and Lyn Gardner’s Guardian article on sexism in theatre this
week, we asked:
- Are
there women on top?
- How
do we ensure that the astonishing young women in theatre today are still there
in 10, 20 or 50 years’ time?
Discussion:
- Sphinx
has data on this, available on their website. They’re hosting a conference at
West Yorkshire Playhouse on March 2nd.
- Stella
Duffy commented that although it has been decades since she started out, with
confidence that the climate would change, very little has
- Women
are still referred to as a minority.
- Opinions
divided as to whether women are in fact on top
- Drama
schools have been known to admit majority men according to jobs available, not
reflecting 52% female population and talent
- There
are more male roles on screen
- Scandinavian
culture has created more female-led successes (e.g. Borgen, The Killing)
- Motherhood
and childcare requirements make careers difficult to sustain – the industry
doesn’t allow for these
- As
creative people, we should be creative and change our working models, e.g.
welcoming children into the rehearsal space. The fear is that the industry will
default to easier working models – ie. men in charge
- It’s
difficult to square the circle between being a parent and being an artist, but
as artists we should come up with creative solutions and “be the change we want
to see”.
- Many
examples of excellent female role models and leaders, including Vicky
Featherstone, Erica Whyman
- Feeling
was that organisations (especially mainstream) aren’t producing enough female
work, e.g. Donmar, Hampstead, Bush seasons have little / no work by women
- Should
it be the duty of women on top to ensure opportunities for next generation of
women?
- Women
should be able to be artists in their own write, not just “female artists”
- It
was noted that 10 minutes in to the session, there was only one man present
- Sisters
have to do it for themselves!
- A
call to make conscious decisions in programming – a lot of the problems are
down to unconscious choices
- Female
writers aren’t part of the canon
- We
need to see more female writers on syllabus and in schools
- Growing
up, women’s work is equated with a feminist political agenda. What if you don’t
want to be political? Will this change for the next generation?
- Why
do people want 30% participation for women, and not 52%?
- Some
organisations operate blind script reading policies – see Lyn Gardner’s article
and Bruntwood prize
- Implications
of gendered language discussed. We don’t say “he’s a male director” or a
“career man”. Why do we / should we say that for women?
- Concern
about the lack of continuity and support for women’s second and third plays
- We
didn’t have feminism – we jumped straight into post-feminism
- “This
isn’t just about the arts, we need to change the whole fucking thing!”
- Anecdotes
about the aspirations of a group of young producers: all men wanted to be Nick
Starr, the women just wanted a job
- We
need to work on women’s lack of a sense of entitlement and audacity, which is
endemic in society
- We
all have to be the change we want to see, and do it from our own position, e.g.
programming women’s work, only mentoring women and making conscious choices
every time
- The
importance of women looking after other women
- At
one drama school, of 10 directing students, there’s only 1 woman. The boys are
confident, where as the 1 woman isn’t able to say she’s a director yet
- In
Canada, positive discrimination in education pushed so far that boys
underperformed in schools. There’s now a counter drive to address that.
- Do
women help other women enough? Some are territorial, which is endorsed by
society.
- Should
a female artistic director programme work by women even if it’s not as good as
the male work? The question should actually be “what can we do to ensure that
women’s work is as good?”
- We
have to talk about a different kind of leadership, and different types of
success
- 85%
of audiences outside of London are women, who want work with a strong message
- It’s
important to have sell-able plays, and some think women’s work is harder to
sell
- There’s
a tension between programming what people want and educating their taste
- There’s
an idea that work about women is only for women – e.g. if a woman writes a
family story it’s a “domestic drama”, whereas if Mike Leigh writes it, it’s
“universal”
- Value
and sell-ability: does our society value fun enough? It doesn’t all have to be
political. It can be Mamma Mia – all women: producer, writer, director
- We
shouldn’t apologise when work is being made about women, for women. It’s not a
dirty word / concept.
- Why
aren’t men involved in the feminist debate?
Wo-Manifesto(a):
- Blind
submission policies
- Conscious
choices about who we work with
- Being
conscious of our working styles and practices, shifting them if necessary to
accommodate different needs
- Diversity
in panels / people evaluating work
- It’s
everyone’s responsibility to back women – men’s as well as women’s
- Being
sensitive to everyone in the conversation, but still getting the work done
- Evolving
our working models
- Celebrating
really great work by women and their achievements
- Starting
young and starting messaging with tiny tots
- Being
aware that we need to support women at different stages of their career - not
just at the start
- Not
being afraid to challenge stereotyped gender roles in popular culture. E.g.
panto
- Compulsory
female mentors for all senior men in theatre
- Compulsory
male mentors for women in theatre
- Ensuring
feminism is NOT a dirty word
- Next
time we choose a play to see, choose something made by women
Women and money:
- In
publishing, men are paid more
- Nationally,
women earn 10% less than men in equivalent roles
- Women
don’t ask
- Need
for consciousness-raising groups so that women know what they’re worth
Positive examples of all-female plays
- House
of Bernard Alba and Playhouse Creatures
- Tim
Crouch’s Taming of the Shrew
Conversations to be continued:
- Gatekeepers:
why do they make the decisions they make?
- Female
narratives and role models when working with young people
This message added at the end of the report:
ANYONE FOR
FEMINISM/CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING/DRINKS/CHAT/CAKE/SHARING…
Email me via Improbable and I’ll make it :)
MEN WELCOME!!!
(lets do it out of London too!!)
Stella x
