Female Playwrights Charge Gender Bias By Theaters (NY Times)

I think part of the problem is that because of limited opportunities to begin with there are much fewer established female playwrights that have been writing for a long time. Off-Broadway companies tend to produce the same writers again and again. Adam Rapp (Playwrights Horizons/Rattlestick), Lee Blessing (Primary Stages), John Patrick Shanley (MTC), Neil Labute (MCC), Douglas Carter Beane (2nd Stage), Itmar Moses (MTC), Charles Busch (MTC), and David Henry Hwang (The Public) are just a few examples off the top of my head.

Then if the slots for newcomers are additionally limited to women, it gets even harder. That said, I worry a bit about the implication that because a play is written by a woman is somehow has an inherent higher artistic value. I hate to use them as an example because they work very hard, but I've seen most shows at The Women's Project on 55th Street in the past few years and the majority of them weren't great. (Although Aliens with Extraordinary Skills is if you're free today or tomorrow before it closes.)

Do these women honestly think sexism is the reason their plays aren't produced?

Do producers really care what sex THE PLAYWRIGHT is?

You really think Tracy Letts' plays are only produced because he's a "boy Tracy?"

The theatre is the most open medium for minorities to express themselves. You won't find more people in power who are more amenable to diversity.

Write some plays or musicals that make money ladies, and you'll see demand for your own work rise.

While I understand their concern, they also need to think of...other possibilities as to why their plays aren't being produced.

For one thing, many writers write plays that aren't being produced because they won't make money. And it's not just plays written by females that aren't being produced for that reason, it's the same for males. If the play won't make money, or an audience can't connect, then it won't be chosen. It doesn't matter the gender, if there's no connection it won't work.

I always hear about how hard it is for women to get highly respected jobs. It's also hard for males to get certain jobs. It's hard for people of any color to get certain jobs. It's hard for people who don't have a higher education to get jobs, and it's hard for those who do have a higher education to get jobs.

It's hard for everyone, and the sooner we all put our reasons for why we aren't hired aside, and instead just work harder, we can hope to get the jobs we want.

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