off-stage right

I certainly have written a lot about the under-representation women in theatre theatre, and I think great strides are being made to work on the problem.  Here is an example of folks making things better!

At the end of the year the Guardian’s Theatre Blog posted a top blogs list.  It got a bit of a backlash for not being that diverse, not surprising (the backlash) since a thrilling conversation on diversity was the hottest topic in the theatre blogosphere!  What was surprising was the list being a bit lacking since the Guardian’s Theatre Blog is written by Lyn Gardner (YES, A WOMAN).

One response from Drama, Daily created a great list of the women blogging about theatre.   I was honored to be included in the list which the wonderful Issac Butler over at Parabasis quickly wrote a post (does anyone write quicker than Issac – seriously?) and linked to Drama, Daily with an encouraging call to read the work of those on the list.  These two posts have become a great asset in locating a new bloggers for me to follow.

And today, I was quite surprised and again honored to find a shout out from the Guardian’s Theatre Blog!  First, cheers to Lyn for re-addressing the issue.   Second, a thanks to Lyn for drawing specific attention to Off-Stage Right.

From the Guardian’s Theatre Blog:

Noises Off has, in the past, spoken on several occasions about the under-representation of women in the theatre industry. It’s an important issue and one that bears repeated examination – particularly when the person guilty of under-representing people is, erm, me.

In response to my recent list of 2009′s best theatre bloggers, George Hunka (one of those who had been honourably mentioned) made the point that: “Looking at the Top 5 list, I see five white males – no women or bloggers-of-color, nobody over the age of 35 or so … talk about your lack of diversity!” Now, while it is true that I had no idea about the age or skin colour of some of the writers I featured (like Matt Freeman or August Schulenburg), I have to put my hands up to this and admit: it’s a fair cop.

Thankfully, however, there’s always someone out there to set you right. Isaac Butler (yes, one of those white men under 35) is drawing attention to this post on the Drama, Daily blog, which has responded to my list with a list of dozens of female theatre bloggers. It includes some familiar names like Alison Croggon and Chloe Veltman but also a host of other great writers. I particularly liked this post from Jodi Schoenbrun Carter on the Off Stage Right blog, where she discusses the idea of music mash-ups and asks whether the same thing could be done in the theatre (Chekhov mixed with Adam Rapp anyone?). And there’s an interesting post from Monica Reida of the Fragments blog about the influential Cuban playwright María Irene Fornés. Links to many other women bloggers from places like Canada and Australia have been added in the comments below the original Drama, Daily post, so, as Isaac Butler puts it “Click through! Read them! Subscribe to the ones you like!”

Thanks to all for reading and PLEASE check out the lists.  There are a lot of great bloggers out there and a lot of them are female.  You can always check out my “What’s being talked about on the Blogroll” to follow the hot topics of the theatre blogosphere.

Related posts:

1. 7 things that the theatre industry should be thankful for this year