Susan Stroman:Women are Criticized More

She talks about in the beginning being a woman in a male-dominated profession.

You know, when I first started in the business it was really male-dominated. For a very long time. That is starting to change—I would say it’s starting to change in the last ten years—you see many more women directing. But when I first started, it was really male-dominated, so it’s just recently that other women have been—whether the word is “allowed” to direct I don’t know—but you do find more women. Now I do feel, when I really analyze these things, that women are criticized more than men; that’s in politics and every art form. I think a woman who is successful is critiqued more harshly than a man is critiqued. So I think that sometimes can be hard on women. It can be like, “why bother?” a little bit. But when you’re in the theatre—at least when I am—I consider myself a worker bee in the sense of I do the work, and I love the work of it. You don’t do any show to be celebrated.

https://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2014/08/an-interview-with-susan-stroman/



What are your top five favorite movie musicals?

1. Top Hat
2. The Bandwagon
3. Swing Time
4. Center Stage (because I worked on that one)
5. Holiday Inn

Updated On: 3/3/20 at 06:45 PM

When you were younger, did you have a conversation with yourself like: I’m a woman and I’m in charge, and people might have an attitude about that, so I need to think about how I present myself?


When I started, which would be like 35 years ago, I actually would do everything I could to dress down. I would make sure that I didn’t wear makeup, and wore almost a suit, and put on a baseball cap. I wanted to make sure that my femininity would not get in the way of anything. Now I do not think women should do that today. And I wouldn’t do it today. But when I started out it was definitely something I felt I had to do. I thought, “If I’m going to get this job, I can’t look like a babe,” you know?

One hears all the time about women having it tougher when they venture into a male-dominated industry. Men, especially of the older type, sometimes doubt this because they don't feel that they had any easy time.

But when Susan Stroman says it, it carries a lot of weight for me, as she has been so successful and as she is such a genuine person.