More backstage diversity

[BillConnerFASTC]

All I know is if I referred to "females in professional tech theater" and the "cow principle" in the same post, I'd be severely ostracized.

 

[derekleffew]

"Many people are saying" that no one is better at milking the clock than WI stagehands.

 

[TheaterEd]

the "cow principle."

when it's milking time, every able-bodied person goes to the barn to help out

Lol, THIS. People are always surprised at how fast my set strikes go. Not me. You tell the parents that the kids can't leave until the stage is clear and you have to spend the whole time getting them to NOT take things apart.

remove the economic barriers to college.

And also quality schools. While there are some true gems over in Milwaukee, there are not nearly enough opportunities for the young people to create art. They won't go into theater if they don't realize it's an option. As a person from rural Wisconsin, I never dreamed that I could make a living working behind a sound board. I just thought it was something people do as a hobby. I never thought I could be a theater teacher, because I didn't know that there were such things as high school acting classes.

I truly hope that access to technology helps the young people of today to find career paths that actually interest them, but with college tuition being what it is, our inner city kids are stuck in a vicious cycle and people are graduating with theater degrees only to find that it's more profitable to stay in retail.

(Are you coming to AWTE? Ripon on the 21st.)

I sincerely hope so, but I have some scheduling issues that I need to resolve to make that happen! Working on it!

 

[MNicolai]

Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota, FL, just announced a variety of events coming up championing women in theater. Anybody in the Sarasota/Tampa/St Pete area may want to check this out next month.

​

Meet the Guests for the Modern Works Festival Panel Discussions
These 60-minute Q&As are a terrific opportunity to meet some of the women leading the charge in American theater. All festival panel discussions are free, but you must reserve your tickets to secure your seat, as availability is very limited.

Playwriting with Martyna Majok - Thursday, October 4th at 8pm Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok returns to Sarasota after becoming the first female playwright to win the Greenfield Prize in early 2018. With an array of the most prestigious playwriting awards and multiple high-profile commissions, Martyna is one of the most exciting and important new voices in theater. (Tickets)

Women in Technical Theatre - Sunday, October 7th at 5pm Three beloved industry professionals from the region join the Urbanite stage to in a rare opportunity to discuss their responsibilities and experiences behind the scenes. Panelists include American Stage Stage Manager and Sound Designer Rachel Harrison, Urbanite Theatre Production Stage Manager Amanda LaForge and New College Production Manager Monica Cross. (Tickets)

Women in Theatre Leadership: Stephanie Gularte - Wednesday, October 10th at 5pm Artistic Director Stephanie Gularte will discuss her path from starting a theater in Sacramento to becoming the leading force of St. Petersburg's acclaimed theater American Stage. (Tickets)

Women in Theatre Leadership: Linda DiGabriele - Friday, October 12 at 5pm Longtime Managing Director Linda DiGabriele has guided the business side of Asolo Rep for over two decades as a part of her 45 total years at the company. (Tickets)

 

[Quillons]

Does film/television figure into this?

Just had a LA Times article pop up on my facebook feed: "Female-dominated Hollywood crafts jobs see gender bias, according to new study"
The article focuses on a script supervisor, and the pay gap between women-dominated roles and comparable male-dominated roles. Near the bottom is a bit about how just over half of women who responded to a survey said they experienced sexual harassment in the workplace within the last three years. So, yes, it appears to be film/television as well.

 

[Sayen]

In my own travels, I have found more frequently that a given middle or high school tech theater program is likely to be heavily female or heavily male. 50/50 splits are not common. I would say more often at this level the crews I encounter actually are mostly women

This has been my experience too, although now that I'm thinking on it, subjectively I see mostly male students at competitions, other than design. I do notice that male students want to talk over and dominate many tech projects, and I have to work to make sure girls don't become passive and miss opportunities. I've had several very talented female students who were my top techs in a given year, but many of them went on to higher paying fields like engineering. I've also had professional crews come through and openly make sexist remarks about the composition of my crew, sometimes in front of my crew, so the negative atmosphere is definitely there in our industry.

At the high school level, where many techs start, we need to look at how the industry is presented to women. Even with little things-for example, I had to train myself to stop saying things like, "I need three strong guys for this job," and focus on more inclusive language. Everyone gets to lift!

 

[TheaterEd]

Everyone gets to lift!

My go to phrase is to just call out "I need Three people with hands!". So far, I have never come across a tech with no hands, however I did have a one handed student and one student with a birth defect and they always liked when I would say that and would often make a joke about it.

 

[Chase P.]

It does seem to be an interest that begins early. I worked on lighting backstage in 6th grade - ran the autotransformer switchboard. Played with colored lighting and electricity before that. Who in society is discouraging or preventing little girls from playing with lights at that age?

This really makes me think (and thank you for that!). I was encouraged to explore basic electrical circuits, tools, woodworking as a child. If someone of any gender isn't given the opportunity to explore those interests early, what's it going to do further down the line? I'm going to have to ask some of the amazing women I'm lucky enough to work with if their play as children set them up to feel enabled to explore the technical side of life and make them the successes they are today. If that wasn't encouraged early, then an even bigger kudos to them for overcoming that gap on their own.

I had to train myself to stop saying things like, "I need three strong guys for this job," and focus on more inclusive language. Everyone gets to lift!

This has been really hard for me. I was raised using "guys" as a gender neutral "hey everybody" kind of phrase. I'm finding some success substituting "folks" instead. I'm happy that at a recent meeting before a crew call with new overhire, the theater management had us all go around and introduce ourselves, including name, department, and preferred pronouns. It's on all of us to make this a welcoming industry for everyone, from how we talk to each other, all the way to hiring and promotion practices.