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DESPITE NOTABLE SUCCESSES, WOMEN DIRECTORS AND PLAYWRIGHTS ARE UNDER-REPRESENTED IN THE THEATER, NYSCA REPORT FINDSNEW YORK CITY, NY -- Noting the successes of plays by women -- such as Yasmina Reza's ART; Rebecca Gilman's SPINNING INTO BUTTER; Becky Mode's FULLY COMMITTED; Margaret Edson's WIT; Claudia Shear's DIRTY BLONDE; Eve Ensler's THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES and Paula Vogel's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE -- the recently released REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN: A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT? produced by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Theatre Program, asks the question:"This new generation of women artists, nurtured and developed in non-profit theatre, is achieving impressive prominence. But do these successes indicate that women directors, playwrights and producers have achieved parity in these once male-dominated realms? Or are these exceptional successes that prove the rule -- that women are still largely operating in the margins of prominence and power?" The results which the report presents are dismaying. Since the late 1970's -- when the study ACTION FOR WOMEN IN THEATRE found that from 1969 to 1975 the total number of professional women playwrights and directors hired by regional and Off-Broadway theatres was only 7% -- there has been some slow progress. For instance, as reported by AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, in the 2000-01 season, 23% of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) member theatre productions were directed by women and 20% had a woman on the writing team. (Note that multiple productions of a few plays mean that not as many women actually had plays presented as these figures indicate.) However, the 2001-02 season shows a decline, the report emphasizes. According to American Theatre, in the current season, women directors are only 16% and playwright representation is only 17%. "Although women submit about half of all the works available to artistic directors, only 16 percent of produced plays are by women and 17 percent have female directors. This is down from 21 percent and 23 percent, respectively, since just last year," critic Linda Winer emphasized in a NEWSDAY in a review of the report. Tina Howe (THE NEST; MUSEUM; PAINTING CHURCHES; ONE SHOE OFF; PRIDE'S CROSSING) has received a Obie for distinguished Playwriting, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Tony nomination for best play (COASTAL DISTURBANCES) among many other awards, but in Alexis Greene's book WOMEN WHO WRITE PLAYS; INTERVIEWS WITH AMERICAN DRAMATISTS, in response to the question "Have you been able to support yourself as a playwright", Howe says: I teach, I write screenplays, and I toy with writing fake memoirs. I take out loans. I have a terrible time. We all have a terrible time." Furthermore, the Executive Summary of the report observes that "Even at many theatres with the avowed mission of producing new American plays, the number of plays by women produced on the main stage was extremely low; in some cases, none. More scarce still were female playwrights of color." "AS A WOMAN GOING TO THE THEATRE.I'VE BEEN TRAINED TO EXPECT THAT THE THEATRE WILL NOT BE ABOUT ME...." - Linda Winer To produce the report, NYSCA's Theatre program invited a diverse group of 135 scholars, artists, critics, producers and sociologists from around the country to participate in a series of roundtable and panel discussions held in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco over the course of three years. The sessions were hosted by NYSCA, Women's Project and Productions, New Georges, Judith Shakespeare Company, and Theatre Communications Group. Project Directors/Curators were Susan Jonas, Theatre Program, New York State Council on the Arts and Suzanne Bennett, Associate Artistic Director, The Women's Project. The Coordinator was translator/author Erica Warmbrunn. Among the participants were: playwrights Neena Beeber, Lenora Champagne, Darrah Cloud, Constance Congdon, Mary Gallagher, Tina Howe, Jake-ann Jones, Lynn Nottage, and Kate Moira Ryan; Performer/Writers Lisa Kron, Deb Margolin, and Lizzie Olesker; directors Karin Coonrod, Roberta Levitow, Emily Morse, and Diane Paulus; artistic directors Carole Rothman (Second Stage), Julia Miles; (The Women's Project) and Casey Childs; (Primary Stages) performers Jessica Hecht, (Stop Kiss) Helen Stenborg, (Wit) and Peggy Shaw. (Split Britches) Also included were critics Alexis Greene, Margo Jefferson, (New York Times) Alisa Solomon, (Village Voice) Sam Whitehead, and Linda Winer; (Newsday) executive directors Ben Cameron, (Theatre Communications Group) Jane Ann Crumm, (The Drama League) and Virginia Louloudes of Alliance of Resident Theatres- New York; producer Susan Gallin and scholars Gayle Austin, Judith Barlow, Una Chaudhuri, Mei Ling Cheng, Virginia Valian; (whose study WHY SO SLOW? addresses the problems women face rising in corporate industry) and biographer Helen Sheehy. A major problem addressed in the discussions was the perception that audiences identify more with men and a resultant pressure to write plays from a male point of view. "As a woman going to the theatre. I've been trained to expect that the theatre will not be about me" or about half the world like me, Linda Winer told the Forum, and she noted the impact of seeing Wendy Wasserstein's UNCOMMON WOMEN AND OTHERS in 1978, saying: "The stuff of my life had never been considered material for the theater by playwrights." The report also observes that expectations about the form of the play as well as about the skill of the playwright are informed by gender. Plays by women are likely to be considered "risky," regardless of their subject or form. "Furthermore, when form is indeed experimental or unconventional, plays are evaluated differently by critics according to the gender of the author," the report states. "Critic Jonathan Kalb compared the critical reception of similar plays by Beth Henley and John Guare, to demonstrate that when 'a man challenges received ideas of form. he is seen as taking a risk,' but when women challenge the status quo, or 'try to do something different, they are often treated as though they don't know what they are doing.'" STRATEGIES INCLUDE MENTORSHIP, NETWORKING, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION Among strategies recommended by the Forum were mentorship, networking, strengthening "the old girls' network, and creating alliances across professions. Martha Richards, Executive Director of The Fund for Women Artists, emphasized both allying with the media reform movement and lobbying the network of funding organizations dedicated to women's issues, as well as the increasing number of women philanthropists. Increased research and education were also recommended -- so that the theater community, audiences, and funders are aware of the effects of gender bias. Strategies to support and give validity to the work of women were also suggested. Noting that "the pivotal role women have played in history is often neglected, and theater history is no exception," the Executive Summary states that: "Through preservation, the work and lives of women in theater would be restored to theater history. Increased resources would increase opportunities for the creation of quality productions. Advocacy would involve valorizing the work of women through means such as documentation, award programs and critical attention. Facilitating alliances, within the field and across professions, would offer women a greater community and increased opportunities for advancement strategies such as networking and mentorship, as well as the heft to leverage change. Finally, there was a perceived need for a forum offering sustained field-wide discussion of diversity, rather than episodic conferences that often lack follow-up. Participants recognized the great opportunity suggested by the Internet in support of all of these areas." The report also quotes Ben Cameron, Executive Director of Theatre Communications Group as saying: "By making this public, and asking people to measure it, we're going to put into people's consciousness that this is worth measuring and paying attention to... [To] not embrace diversity is to collude with. oppression and silence, and we know that's wrong." "AND ANYONE WHO SAYS THAT'S PUTTING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OVER QUALITY IS JUST LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE NOT TO DO THIS, BECAUSE THERE ARE PLENTY OF EXCELLENT PLAYS BY WOMEN OUT THERE - - A THEATER JUST HAS TO BE DETERMINED TO FIND THEM AND PUT THEM ON" - Alexis Greene Critic, dramaturg and teacher Alexis Greene, whose Women who Write Plays was published last year by Smith and Kraus, told Arts Wire that onstage in New York City, in recent seasons at least 9 of the playwrights in her book have had plays produced off-Broadway, including Kia Corthron, Eve Ensler, Tina Howe, Wendy Kesselman, Theresa Rebeck, Carmen Rivera, Paula Vogel, Naomi Wallace and Cheryl West. "This season is looking considerably dryer, however, with only four represented. None, of course, on Broadway," she observed. However she qualified that "that applies to men as well; as the NYSCA Report states, Broadway just doesn't like new plays." Alexis Greene also noted that several of the playwrights she interviewed in her book make their homes outside of New York. For instance, Elizabeth Wong lives in Los Angeles, Pearl Cleage in Atlanta, and Cheryl West in Seattle, "and they, as well as the group as a whole, know that there's more of a market for their plays in regional and local theatres than in New York. Which is not to say that their work is being produced every year." During her interview in Women who Write Plays, Cheryl West points out the role of community theater when getting produced in regional theaters doesn't work. "If you have a journey -- something you want to do -- you cannot wait for the establishment to give you permission....If you have something to say, and your knocking on that door and they're not answering, then you need to start at the community level," she says. And she describes how her group took BEFORE IT HITS HOME -- a play about the tensions between an HIV positive jazz musician and his conservative parents -- to East St. Louis and Iowa, renting trucks and putting it on in the flats. Responding to the problems which Report on the Status of Women: a Limited Engagement? have brought to the forefront, Alexis Greene said: "I am a strong believer that women have to hire women. As a journalist and non-fiction writer, I have learned that a network of smart, supportive women is invaluable. Call it female nepotism. So I think women who are artistic directors and managing directors and dramaturgs and board members and critics and agents -- anybody with an ounce of power in this field -- should make it a part of their conscious agenda to see that women's plays get onstage, and get onstage in the mainstream theatres that have the large production budgets. Arts agencies and private foundations can help by funding initiatives dedicated to women." She emphasized that "Anyone who says that's putting affirmative action over quality is just looking for an excuse not to do this, because there are plenty of excellent plays by women out there -- a theater just has to be determined to find them and put them on." Sources/resources: Plays by women currently on Broadway include Suzan-Lori Parks, TOPDOG UNDERDOG, (Ambassador) and METAMORPHOSES, developed by Mary Zimmerman. (Circle in the Square) Plays by women currently Off Broadway include Carmen Rivera, LA LUPE, (47 Street) Barbara Kahn, WAR BONDS,(Theatre for a New City) and Trish Vandenberg, SURVIVING GRACE. (Union Square) NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS THEATRE PROGRAM REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN: A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT? (Executive Summary) -- http://www.americantheaterweb.com/nysca/opening.html NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS -- http://www.nysca.org
AMERICANTHEATER WEB --
http://www.americantheaterweb.com THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP -- http://www.tcg.org
Linda Winer
Ann Farmer
WOMEN'S PROJECT AND PRODUCTIONS --
http://www.womensproject.org
GUERILLA GIRLS --
http://www.guerrillagirls.com
THE FUND FOR WOMEN ARTISTS --
http://www.womenarts.org THE LEEWAY FOUNDATION -- http://www.leeway.org
In WOMEN WHO WRITE PLAYS: INTERVIEWS WITH AMERICAN DRAMATISTS, (Smith and Kraus, Hanover, NH) theater critic, dramaturg and teacher Alexis Greene interviews 23 women playwrights. The result is an absorbing book which takes the reader into the lives of women writers and explores their reasons for writing plays, their characters and subjects, and the ways in which their lives intertwine with the work -- providing a detailed a look at the rich body of work currently written by women in this field, as well as charting both their successes and the obstacles they face. The women included in the book range from women who began to write in the 1970's and 1980's to women who are just beginning to be heard. They are Lynne Alvarez, Pearl Cleage, Constance Congdon, Kia Corthron, Migdalia Cruz, Elizabeth Egloff, Eve Ensler, The Five Lesbian Brothers, Beth Henley, Tina Howe, Jake-ann Jones, Wendy Kesselman, Emily Mann, Cherrie Moraga, Lynn Nottage, Teresa Rebeck, Carmen Rivera, Diane Son, Paula Vogel, Naomi Wallace, Cheryl West, Elizabeth Wong, and Wakako Yamauchi. "In their diversity is their strength, " Alexis Greene writes in the introduction. "Each woman talks with a special voice, from her special culture and personal creative world. At the same time, possibly unbeknownst to them, women in this volume have opinions and experiences in common: as artists; as writers making careers in the American theater; as daughters and mothers, friends and lovers; as human beings coping with our complex American society." In addition to each women's own life and each woman's approach to her work and to the theater, of particular interest are the original and creative approaches which Greene elicits in her questions. For instance, The Five Lesbian Brothers (BRAVE SMILES...ANOTHER LESBIAN TRAGEDY; THE SECRETARIES; BRIDES OF THE MOON) describe their collaborative writing process in which (for many of their works) everyone writes on every character and they don't decide who will play which role until the end. Thus, all voices are equally heard and their strength as a whole -- their roles as both writers and performers -- is emphasized. For instance, Jake-ann Jones talks about how she integrated video in DEATH OF A HO:A FAIRY SCAREY WHOREY TALE, in a scene where Rae-Ann, the central character, looks in a mirror and sees other people pointing and laughing at her instead of her own image. Lynn Nottage talks about the use of music in her plays. Elizabeth Wong discusses how she utilizes choruses as well as a transformative space and time. Wakao Yamauchi talks about her use of memory, and Emily Mann discusses the complex, multiple perspectives which her work encompasses. Lynne Alvarez -- whose work deals with machismo, with love relationships, with sexual relationships -- explains how rather than dealing with closed endings, she resolves situations in an open way. She also responds to a question about the visual quality of her work. "Once a play is onstage, I don't care if people change what I visualize. I feel once the play is done and out there, it's out there -- like those paper boats with candles that you send out on the water. But for me to write it, to be on the world of the play, the visual has to be there. I can immediately inhabit the world of any play that I've written if I think of the central image. It doesn't fade." In her Preface to Women Who Write Plays, Molly Smith, Artistic Director of the Arena Stage writes: "How marvelous it would be to put all these women's work on every stage in America; to see the art into which they have poured dreams, sweat, and commitment made manifest." Sources/resources:
Alexis Greene
SOME SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS PRESENTED BY REPORT ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT?After reading the report on women in theater by the New York State Council on the Arts, (NYSCA) I wondered about practical solutions that could begin to change the status quo. In brainstorming with women playwrights and directors, as well as lawyers and experts from other fields where issues of increased participation by women are already being addressed, we collectively identified recommendations that might help the theatrical community reach a future of greater equality. Here are some. First of all, the NYSCA report represents a crisis in the theater, and crises require strong responses. In this case, the Dramatists Guild could immediately convene and fund a crisis action committee, composed of people at all levels. Other national associations might do the same. The dramatic changes needed to end the disenfranchisement of women can be approached and set out clearly, drawing upon successes in fields ranging from sports to medicine. Ultimate success will likely focus on three areas -- accountability, recruitment, and uprooting the hidden processes that place women on the margins. Accountability begins from the top down. Funders of nonprofit theaters might consider policies to reward the theaters that find ways to make women equal participants. Theater boards can establish similar markers. Recruitment is also paramount. Theaters can undertake proactive steps to recruit women, including the hundreds of talented writers who have become disenchanted. Outreach might consist of personal meetings with women writers, community open houses to welcome women artists, individual letters soliciting work and phone call follow-up, commissioning of work, and demonstrating a willingness to engage in artistic conversations. Barriers should be assessed, including whether women have access to mentors, resources, play publication, child-care, referrals and agents. Hidden processes need fundamental attention. Methods of play selection, for example, bear examination to uncover the old boy networks, exclusionary cliques and methods of communication that subtly ignore or exclude women. Decision-making can be broadened to include women already inside theatrical institutions, from those in costume design to development, as well as focus groups of prospective audience members. Larger theaters might consider alliances with smaller companies that have track records of incorporating women. What is clear is that dismantling discrimination is not a burden that can be carried by an individual woman. It is a responsibility to be approached vigorously by every segment of the theatrical world. For example, media stereotyping could be addressed by teams of people from national theatrical associations. Sexual harassment and discriminatory policies can be challenged by an established ombudsperson who can field complaints and issue public reports. Some of these changes may be awkward, but they are probably no more painful than the years of exclusion experienced by women whose first love is in creating theater. Seasons of women can easily be filled, and our ability to help theaters crack the problem of inequality is critical to all of our futures. As long as women's visions and voices are silenced, theaters may well continue to wonder "where are the audiences?" The solutions are complementary. Inside the theatrical community is enough intelligence, creativity, skill and goodwill to make the theater a model of equal participation, and the theater as a whole will benefit from it.
Cynthia L. Cooper is a playwright in New York City. She was a two-time Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, where she coordinated a Women's Playwriting Festival. Her plays have been produced by the Women's Project and Productions, Wings, Bailiwick, Theatreworks USA, Primary Stages, Art and Work Ensemble, WOW Caf, Starfish Theatreworks, Women's Theater Project (MN), Enrichment Works (CA), New Jersey Women's Theatre, Lakeshore Players, A Daring Adventure, Belladonna Productions, Hutchinson Festival of New Plays, and elsewhere. Her play, HOW SHE PLAYED THE GAME, has been produced in New York, Boston, Reno, Vancouver, Montreal, Budapest, Helsinki, Philadelphia, and 60 other venues. Her plays are included in ten volumes, including HIT THE NERVE (Holt) and WOMEN HEROES. (Applause) She works as a journalist and has a background as a lawyer involved in social issues. She can be reached at coopcyn@mindspring.com
From the National Association of Artists' Organizations: (NAAO)AN OPEN LETTER CONCERNING THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE ARTSAt a time when the principles of diversity, tolerance, and open communication are more important than ever in American public life, the Bush administration has turned away from those principles in its proposed slate of National Council on the Arts nominees announced in February of 2002. President Bush's nominees include several individuals whose extremist views on some issues are emblematic of the intolerance so tragically made real on September 11. Such nominations send deeply mixed messages about the President's support of diverse forms of expression, and about his support of the Arts Endowment itself. In fact, the nominees with views far from mainstream American opinion send troubling messages about the Bush administration's commitment to such areas as racial, gender, and sexual equality. The administration's nominees represent a drastic change from the historic character of National Council members. The first members of the Council, established through the National Arts and Cultural Development Act of 1964, included noted artists such as Marian Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, Agnes de Mille, Richard Diebenkorn, Duke Ellington, Helen Hayes, Harper Lee, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Richard Rogers, Rosalind Russell, David Smith, John Steinbeck, and Isaac Stern. Members of the National Council on the Arts by law are to be selected by the President for their widely recognized knowledge of the arts or their expertise or profound interest in the arts. However, President Bush does not seem to have adhered to the standards embodied by the history of the Council. For example, information released by the White House concerning nominee Don V. Cogman, a businessman and former chief of staff to the late conservative Senator Dewey F. Bartlett, (R-Ok), does not indicate any involvement by Mr. Cogman in the arts. However, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, Mr. Cogman has served as a trustee of the Acting Company in New York. However, more troubling is the nomination of David Gelernter, a professor of computer science at Yale University and a painter and writer, who is also an art critic for the conservative periodical The Weekly Standard and the former culture columnist for the New York Post. Mr. Gerlenter's beliefs concerning women and homosexuality, as he has expressed them in published interviews and his own published writing, are far from the mainstream and have no place on an advisory body responsible for national policy. Mr. Gelernter's nomination is even more problematic, as he is the sole non-commercial artist whom the President has nominated. The only other artist appointed by the President is art director and independent businesswoman Maribeth Walton McGinley, who has fundraising ties to the conservative Heritage Foundation-a longtime NEA foe and declared advocate of the agency's elimination. Such nominations can be read as attempts to control or undermine the NEA, as the agency's foes have been unable to muster support either in Congress or among the country's citizens to abolish the agency, in spite of several attempts over the NEA's 37-year history. The above mentioned nominees are inappropriate choices for the National Council. Looking at the distinguished roster of Americans who, rising above politics, have honored the Council with their service in the past, submitting nominees such as these approaches insult, both to America's cultural community, the richest in the world, and to the people of America, who deserve better.
from the Board of Trustees -- Sources/resources:
_"Arts Community Asks President Bush to Make National Council on
the Arts Nominations Who are Integrally Involved in the Arts;
Who Represent the Spirit of our Nation's Arts and Culture"
"Arts Community Reaction to the President's Nominations for the
National Council on the Arts" --
http://www.artswire.org/nca.html
ELIZABETH K. OTERO WINS KENNEDY CENTER/AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL "SI TV PLAYWRITING AWARD" FOR HER PLAY, GASElizabeth K. Otero has won the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) Si TV Playwriting Award for her play, GAS, which was staged this past November at the National Hispanic Cultural Center as part of the University of New Mexico's (UNM) WORDS AFIRE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL. Otero is a recent BA graduate of the UNM Department of Theatre and Dance.Dedicated to stimulating the voices of young Latino playwrights in America, The Si TV Latino Playwriting Award is presented to the author of the best student-written play by a Latino student playwright participating in the KC/ACTF. The winner receives $2500 and an internship to the O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwrights Conference. Additionally, Dramatic Publishing Company offers the winner a contract to publish, license, and market the play, and a grant of $500 will be made to the theatre department of the college or university producing the winning play. Elizabeth Otero has been writing plays since she was 7 years old. "I had a long break of not writing though until I transferred to UNM in my third year of college and met Digby Wolfe, my cherished mentor," she told Arts Wire. "He introduced me to the real world of writing plays, and I've been doing it ever since." Otero describes her play GAS in this way: "GAS is basically a play about love overcoming racial differences. It takes place in Las Vegas, NM and is centered around Guillermo Martinez, a 17-year-old Chicano who is dealing with his mother getting married for the first time. Not only that but she's marrying an Anglo. Oh no! Guillermo hangs out at the local gas station with Frank, the quirky gas station attendant from Oklahoma who has basically been Guillermo's father figure since he came to Las Vegas. Janel, a 23-year-old 1/2 Chicana, 1/2 White woman comes into their lives when she stops at the gas station to get some gas. She is escaping her problems back in Las Cruces. She's forced to hang around these two characters for quite a while as her car is stolen from the pumps while she's inside the store trying to pay. The play ensues with Guillermo and Janel getting closer and further apart as they deal with their differences. There is a lot to laugh at in the play as we also see the adventures of the stolen car. We see the thieves take the car and then the car gets stolen from them. By the end of the play Janel and Guillermo fall for each other, Frank wins the lottery and buys them both cars, and the true identity of Guillermo's real father is identified. He's not puro Chicano like he thinks he is. Everything seems to be in line and everyone will accept each other for who they are, not what racial group they belong to." Directed by Sabina Zuniga-Varela, GAS was the first full length play to be produced at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Otero played the role of Janel. Among Otero's other works which have been produced are THE BIG I COMEDY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT -- "I was on the team of writers for this funny radio show about the construction going on I-25"; and MISSING INGREDIENT which was produced under the overall show title of ALMAS -- "This short play dealt with the lack of cultural knowledge of generation X Chicanos." She recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy writing and performing, and she is currently a member of the LA Connection Comedy Theatre -- doing improv, sketch writing and performing. She's also converting GAS into a screen-play -- "as I've always pictured it on the big screen.'" "Basically I think comedy has a very healing quality in that it brings people together and laughs at our hardships and differences," Elizabeth Otero comments. "It trivializes negative attitudes and actions and shows us that everyone is basically alike. This is why I like to write multicultural things. I'm Latina, but I don't only associate only with Hispanics. No one does so why is that always what we see in Hispanic movies and television?" Sources/resources:
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO --
http://www.unm.edu
KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATER FESTIVAL
--
http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/actf/ SI TV -- http://www.sitv.com ConferencesPORTLAND, ORMay 31- June 2, 2002
THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP SPRING CONVENING: "The need for new approaches to the creation of new theatrical work has been a recurrent theme sounded throughout the field. At the TCG biennial National Conference in Philadelphia, issues involving creation of new work accounted for more Open Space breakout sessions than any other single theme. A subsequent meeting in Boston, sponsored by TCG and the New England Foundation for the Arts, brought together a small group of theatre leaders, presenters and artists' managers. In both cases we heard a common theme: that new times demand new thinking about the creation of new work." Planned by a task force representing a wide range of the field, NEW WORKS: NEW WAYS is based on the experiences of these meetings, as well as on the ACT II Conference held in Boston which brought together for-profit and the not-for-profit theatre fields. Participants will include Theatre Communications Group (TCG) theatres, individual artists, presenters, museum and visual arts professionals, commercial theatre representatives and artists' managers. "In searching for a fuller understanding of the needs and commonalities among the various sectors of our field that produce and present new work, we hope to look beyond the refinement of existing individual theatre new play programs," TCG states. "We hope to think about the resources we command collectively, rather than the resources any one theatre commands individually." For more information, visit the THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP website at http://www.tcg.org EXPLORING INEQUITY: GENDER BIAS IN DANCE - NYC
NEW YORK CITY, NY EXPLORING INEQUITY: GENDER BIAS IN DANCE "I'm interested that in the early 20th Century, modern dance seemed to be a field dominated by women, with the men marginalized. (obviously this was a departure from the ballet world) Now the figures are different and even though there are women, what seems to be very much the case is that the men get paid more and may even be getting more grants disproportionate to their percentages in the field. What's that all about?" - Amy Schwartzman Brightbill, Moderator Co-presented by Dance Theater Workshop's (DTW) Artist Services Department and Public Imaginations Community Program, this discussion will examine the impact of gender bias on the disbursement of money, power and opportunity in the field of dance. Panelists will consider patterns of gender-discrimination and the degree to which long-standing stigmas have served to compartmentalize the work of so many female choreographers. In speaking about key issues of concern, panelists will also aim to identify possible measures for change. For instance, DTW notes that based on Apollinaire Scherr's November 4, 2001 New York Times article "Making a Career With One Eye on a Gender Gap":
Amy Schwartzman Brightbill is the Information Officer of the New York Arts Recovery Fund, based at the New York Foundation for the Arts, (NYFA) which was created to help the arts community recover from the aftermath of September 11. The former Executive Director of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, she educates artists and arts administrators about legal issues that affect them and also teaches non-verbal communication skills. As a performer or director she has worked with Meredith Monk, Blondell Cummings, Alyson Pou and the Kings County Shakespeare Company, with whom she is an Associate Artist. Panelists: ELLA BAFF, Executive Director, Jacob's Pillow GABRI CHRISTA, Choreographer and Filmmaker KAY CUMMINGS, Chair, Department of Dance, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Curator for Dance Events, Symphony Space JOANNA MENDLE-SHAW, Choreographer and Educator SALLY SOMMER, Professor, Florida State University, Choreographer and Dance Critic For more information, visit DTW's website at http://www.dtw.org
Future DTW seminars include: Visit the site to find out more.
EventsNEW HAVEN, CNApril 26, 2002 - 8:00 PM Shubert Theater LAURIE ANDERSON "HAPPINESS is my way of looking at some of the things that both interest and trouble me: the evolution of behavior, how we learn and what we remember, expectations, the meaning of justice and the effects of increasing speed; colored by the darker elements of doubt and fear. Every story should have a beginning, a middle and an end but as Godard has said 'not necessarily in that order'. I have never really trusted traditional narrative and in this piece I am trying to move even further away from it and express the way my own mind actually works. In "Happiness" stories float and images recur in different guises. I am not looking for conclusions but for another way to look at the world." - Laurie Anderson Combining a DJ'ed combination of keyboards, violin, and digital processing, as well as several MIDI triggers, with experiences from her own life, Laurie Anderson's new work HAPPINESS was described by the LOS ANGELES TIMES as "sitting around an electronic hearth with a masterful, appealingly obsessive storyteller." For more information, visit http://www.shubert.com/shows/anderson/ Resources: LAURIE ANDERSON -- http://www.laurieanderson.com/
Mark Swed
Art StartsARTISTS TRUST MOVES TO NEW QUARTERS; REACHES OUT TO ARTISTS WITH HANDS ON HELPSEATTLE, WA -- In December 2001, Artist Trust purchased and moved into permanent new office space in Seattle's Capitol Hill district. At 1835 12th Avenue, the new office space provides twice the square footage of the former Artist Trust offices -- along with street access, parking spaces, a meeting room for selection panels, and ample staff work spaces. "The primary new benefit is that we're now in neighborhood area instead of a downtown high rise and are much more accessible to artists," said Program Director Heather Dwyer. "It's definitely changed the feel of what we do. We're dealing with artists a lot more in person. We're able to help artists with grant applications, with resumes -- hands on help either applying to our programs or to other programs." In their new home, Artists Trust will be offering expanded benefits for artists. A new Artist Resource Center will be developed to include an array of books, periodicals, and a computer for doing Internet research. Developed in conjunction with the Seattle Arts Commission, the Resource Center will feature information such as learning about other grant programs, looking at slides and how to set up an audition tape. Artist Trust also now houses the Washington Lawyers for the Arts and have taken on the administration of their scheduling. Artist Trust was founded in 1986 by a group of artists and artist supporters who sought a creative way to remedy the lack of support for individual artists of all disciplines in Washington State. During its 14-year history, Artist Trust has supported 889 Washington State artists with over $1.6 million in grants and fellowships. Other programs include a website with information and resources for artists, the ARTIST TRUST JOURNAL, and Artist Assets, a comprehensive resource of artist business and career information on issues such as funding and professional opportunities, affordable workspace, health care, and intellectual property rights. For more information, visit http://www.artisttrust.org SEVERAL DANCERS CORE'S LUNCHTIME IN THE STUDIO OFFERS NOONTIME PERFORMANCES AND A FREE LUNCH ATLANTA, GA -- This year Several Dancers Core is hosting LUNCHTIME IN THE STUDIO, a series of noontime performances, discussions, and lecture demonstrations led by Sue Schroeder, the Artistic and Executive Director of Several Dancers Core. Lunchtime in the Studio is held between Noon-1:00 PM on the third Wednesday of each month in Decatur. Free lunch -- provided by area businesses including Taco Mac, Willy's Mexicana Grill and Starbucks on Decatur Square -- is provided on-site to the first 40 audience members. The March lunchtime series was a sneak preview of FACING SURVIVAL, the concert being presented at CORE Performance Company's upcoming performance at 7 Stages. "The goal of the series is to expand the diversity of creative offerings in Decatur, to bring more business to the south side of Decatur Square, and to develop new audiences for CORE Performance Company, the professional touring company within Several Dancers Core, in a convenient and welcoming environment," they state. Several Dancers Core, a contemporary, professional dance organization, creates, performs, and presents experimental contemporary dance and performance. Several Dancers Core was founded in Houston, Texas in 1980. Now dual-based in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas, the company promotes dance awareness and education through performances, presentations, workshops, and classes in contemporary approaches to movement. "Committed to risk and innovation, Several Dancers Core exists to foster the creative process," they state. CORE Performance Company, the professional dance company within Several Dancers Core, focuses on the ongoing development of the artistic process through the creation of new work. Made up of individual artists, the company performs new choreography which evolves through experimentation, improvisation, and collaborations with artists from different mediums. Through an active performing schedule in Houston, Atlanta, and on tour, the company is committed to educating people of diverse ages and communities about their own creative potential. Lunchtime in the Studio is free and open to the public. For more information contact Several Dancers Core at 404-373-4154. "Lunchtime in the Studio" is supported in part by a grant from the Catherine R. Arnold Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc. and the Georgia Council for the Arts. For more information, visit http://www.severaldancerscore.org
NYFA OpportunitiesKNOWLEDGE IN TECHNOLOGY (KIT)NYFA's Knowledge in Technology (KIT) program assists small and mid-sized nonprofit arts organizations improve their organizational effectiveness through the development of a mission-based technology plan. This program includes workshops, one-on-one technical assistance from expert consultants, access to a listserv that serves as a "just in time" support network, and a technology planning guide for arts organizations in print and electronic formats. Upon completion of the plan, organizations receive a small grant towards implementation of their plan. THE RECEIPT DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2002. The program will only accept six applicants who will receive six months of consulting and an implementation grant of $3,000. Program guidelines and a Request for Proposal (RFP) may be downloaded at http://nyfa.org/kit/index.html For further information please call (212) 366-6900 ext.224 or email kit@nyfa.org ARTS & TECHNOLOGY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TECHTAP) PROGRAM DEADLINE FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2002 The Arts & Technology Technical Assistance Program (TechTAP) was developed to address the short-term, problem specific needs of small to mid-sized New York State nonprofit arts organizations in the process of integrating technology into their administration and programs. The program provides subsidies for consultants, staff training, and/or professional development. TechTAP funded projects develop a sustainable vision of what New York State arts organizations that directly serve artists can achieve via technology. Organizations may request up to $3,000. For further information on TechTAP email techtap@nyfa.org, go to http://www.nyfa.org/techtap or call 212-366-6900, extension 224.
Funding/Opportunites for OrganizationsARTS AND RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE GRANTSApril 19 is Deadline for Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee Recognizing that the arts can be an important part of the revitalization of rural communities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and the National Endowment for the Arts undertook the Arts and Rural Community Assistance Initiative to offer support for arts projects which address economic development, community development and community heritage. "Music, dance, poetry, plays, storytelling, sculpture - the arts have always been an integral part of rural America, but perhaps even more so now that our nation's rural heritage seems threatened by decades of high unemployment, persistent poverty, population decline and severe economic adjustments. This has been particularly true for natural-resource dependent areas where logging and mining have decreased dramatically," the program states. Projects must include substantial involvement by rural arts organizations with professional staff. State arts agencies and the USDA's state rural development councils help identify potential applicants and projects and also provide comments on proposed projects. The upcoming deadline is for Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Applications must be received in your state's National Forest Office by April 19, 2002. Contact your state arts agency before submitting an application. For guidelines, visit http://www.r8web.com/spf/coop/rca/ In the first four rounds of this Initiative, the Endowment and the Forest Service have awarded more than $1.2 million through 78 grants for arts projects in rural communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico. Grantees have included:
Opportunities for Individuals and OrganizationsTHE KENNEDY CENTER FUND FOR NEW AMERICAN PLAYS The Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays provides Production Grants, Development Grants and Playwright Grants. Production Grants are awarded to theaters to produce world premieres of new plays. Development Grants are awarded to theaters to underwrite expenses relating to both a reading and a subsequent workshop production of a play in development. Playwright Grants are awarded to the winning playwright. In conjunction with a Production Grant, this award is in the amount of $10,000. In conjunction with the Development Grant, this award is in the amount of $2,500. The 2001 winners included:
Victor Lodato
Heather Woodbury Other recipients were Stephen Belber, DRIFTING ELEGANT, The Directors Company (New York, NY) Deborah B. Brevoort, THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE, Women's Project & Productions (New York, NY) Marilyn Felt, ASHER'S COMMAND, J. Howard Wood Theatre (Sanibel, FL) Jennifer Maisel, THEit works in new media for a video rental library available to the general public. Videos will be rented to the public for $3.00 Located in the Green Street MBTA station, The Gallery @ Green Street is an artist-funded and artist-run gallery which features contemporary art by local and regional artists. The mission of the Gallery @ Green Street is: "To move contemporary artwork into contact with a wider and more diverse audience, to redefine the term 'Gallery' by opening non-commercial exhibition venues in existing pedestrian traffic patterns and To educate people outside of contemporary art's traditional audience and encourage them to experience today's art." For more information about submitting work to the video rental program, visit http://www.jameshull.com/video.html For more information about the gallery, visit http://www.jameshull.com Details about these and other opportunities are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/calls.html To submit "calls" for either artists or organizations, send email to artswire@artswire.org Deadline: April 15, 2002, Visual Artists - Photography, Drawings, Narrative or Figurative art Exhibitions, ROCKEFELLER ARTS CENTER GALLERY AT SUNY COLLEGE AT FREDONIA Deadline: April 15, 2002, Videos that deal in some form with student experiences and campus life, STUDENT VIDEO FESTIVAL, BRYANT COLLEGE, RHODE ISLAND Deadline: May 1, 2002 (next deadline) Artists, Photographers within a 100-mile radius of Philadelphia, CREATIVE ARTISTS NETWORK AFFILIATION Deadline: May 1, 2002, Internet artists, THE DIGITAL POCKET GALLERY NET ARTISTS RESPOND TO THEIR HARD DRIVES... Deadline: May 1, 2002, Representational art honoring any sacred religious and spiritual tradition, SACRED ART FROM THE HEART HONORING WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTURES Deadline: May 1, 2002, Artists who are legally blind, American Printing House for the Blind - Exhibition APH INSIGHTS 2002 Deadline: for May 18, 2002 event, Artists volunteers, EARTH CELEBRATIONS - RITES OF SPRING PROCESSION TO SAVE OUR GARDENS Deadline: July 1, 2002, Original fiction, poetry, drama, creative non-fiction, personal essays, critical works, original artworks, THE RUST BELT REVIEW Deadline: Ongoing, Video art, SPARK VIDEO INTERNATIONAL - VIDEO ART SERIES Deadline: Ongoing, Abstract artists, Online Gallery - ABSTRACT EARTH GALLERY
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Details about these and other jobs are available on Arts Wire's Web Site at http://www.artswire.org/current/jobs.html To submit jobs to Arts Wire, email them to joblist@artswire.org Please send a text file in the body of the message. (ie no attachments and no HTML) There is no fee for posting job listings. The deadline is Friday for the next week's listings. (which usually are posted on Monday) For the most part, job listings are not edited. The contents of the postings are the responsibility of the originating agency. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Festival of Arts, (Laguna Beach, CA) ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, Parsons School of Design, (New York City, NY) CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF LIBERAL STUDIES, Parsons School of Design, (New York City, NY) ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, The Clay Studio, (Philadelphia, PA) MANAGING DIRECTOR, Cornell Cinema, Cornell University, (Ithaca, NY) PUBLIC ART PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, (San Diego, California) PROGRAM MANAGER, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, Massachusetts Cultural Council, (Boston, MA) PROGRAM COORDINATOR, The Center for Book Arts, (New York, NY) INTERACTIVE WEBSITE COORDINATOR, P.O.V./ American Documentary, (New York City, NY) ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATOR, Albany Pro Musica, (Albany, NY) RIGHTS ADMINISTRATOR - part time, VAGA, the Visual Artists and Galleries Association, (New York City, NY) DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, Queens Museum of Art, (Queens, NY) MARKETING/SALES POSITION, LATINART.COM, (Los Angeles, CA) ASSOCIATE, DEVELOPMENT, RESEARCH AND FOUNDATION/GOVERNMENT FUNDING, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (New York City, NY) ASSOCIATE, CAPITAL CAMPAIGN AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, Jazz at Lincoln Center, (New York City, NY) MGR OF VISITOR SERVICES, Guggenheim Museum, (New York City, NY) ADMISSIONS COORDINATOR, School of Visual Arts, (New York City, NY) ACADEMIC PROGRAMS ASSISTANT, Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture, (New York City, NY) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, DIRECTOR'S OFFICE, Whitney Museum of American Art, (New York City, NY) SPECIAL EVENTS ASSISTANT, Whitney Museum of American Art, (New York City, NY) MOUNTMAKER, - temporary, Asian Art Museum, (San Francisco, CA) CURATOR, (history museum) (New City, New York) SUMMER TEACHERS & ASSISTANT TEACHERS, CASA @ Sheridan School, (Washington, DC) FINANCIAL GURU, Raw Impressions, Inc.(New York, NY) ARTIST/DECORATIVE PAINTER, (Flint Hill, VA) RENTAL STAFF DESIGNER, DODGER COSTUMES, Ltd., (Long Island City, NY) CUSTOMER SERVICE COORDINATOR, Shipping/Receiving, Dodger Costumes, Ltd., (Long Island City, NY) GALLERY EDUCATORS, MUSEUM DOCENTS - relisted with changed information, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, (New York City, NY) MUSEUM INTERNSHIP, Department of Fine Arts, The Jewish Museum, (New York City, NY)
INTERNSHIPS/ VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, Franklin Furnace, (New York
City, NY)
EDUCATION INTERN, New York City Opera, (New York City, NY)
SUMMER INTERN - TEACHER ASSISTANT, Educational Alliance Art
School, (New York City, NY)
A growing list of links to job resources for artists and arts
administrators is available on Arts Wire's Web Site at
http://www.artswire.org/current/jobres.html
Women Filmakers represented a record number of entries at this
year's SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL according to Women Make Movies (WMM)
-- including the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize for PERSONAL VELOCITY
directed by Rebecca Miller and produced by Gary Winick, Lemore
Syvan, and Alexis Alexanian.
Other winners included:
Documentary Grand Jury Prize
Dramatic Audience Award
Additionally, this year, the House of Docs included a celebration
of Women in Art and Politics. Panels, roundtables and
conversations exploring the accomplishments of and challenges
faced by women in art, film and politics included:
CHANGING THE SUBJECT: WOMEN AND DOCUMENTARY
VOICES UNVEILED: A CONVERSATION WITH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR FARAI
CHIDEYA
OPEN HOUSE WITH THE WHITE HOUSE PROJECT
WMM Executive Director Debra Zimmerman, who moderated the panel on
Women and Documentary, commented:
"We are incredibly pleased at the number of women filmmakers who won
prizes this year, but even more exciting is how many of the films are
about women. I am also thrilled that two of the award-wining films were
by and about Latinas -- SENORITA EXTRAVIADA by Lourdes Portillo and REAL
WOMEN HAVE CURVES by Patricia Cardozo. This is unprecedented and
hopefully will impact on opportunities available to women of color in the
industry."
Sources/resources:
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL --
http://www.sundance.org
WOMEN MAKE MOVIES --
http://www.wmm.com
Celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, Women Make Movies is a
multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization
which facilitates the production, promotion, distribution and
exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and about women.
The Women Make Movies 2002 Film & Video Catalog is now available.
Visit the site for information.
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