theatre and women

The major goal of this essay is to do research to support or refute the claim that women find it more difficult than men to pursue careers in theater. Second, this essay will go through some of the challenges that women face when pursuing various occupations in theatre. Theater is essentially the study of various artistic mediums that involves actors and actresses sharing a variety of experiences with the audience. The experiences might be made up or real. After conducting a research using several sources, it is safe to state the fact that it is harder for women to pursue careers that are based on theatre as compared to Women. Since time immemorial, the gap in gender has pervaded in almost every industry and career. Women have been affected significantly since men are delegated most of the opportunities. The first point that can be used to prove on this point is that most of the people who run theaters do not take female playwrights as serious as they ought to be taken (“Women and Feminism in Theatre NP”). Most of this people assume that Women are of less significance as compared to men. The main reason behind this action is the fact that most men who run the theaters cannot be able to relate ideas and stories that are told from a female perspective (Diamond & Elin & Denise & Candice 18). Basically, in order for Women to pull out or be successful in the theatre careers they have to pull ideas and tell stories from a male perspective.

Secondly, Women find it harder or have a difficulty in pursuing theatre careers in that most of the focus is given to men (“Women and Feminism in Theatre NP”). A good example that can be used to prove on this fact is that most of the activities and stories narrated in theaters are not the type that most women would want to hear or relate. In most cases, this stories favor what men would want to hear and relate while pursuing their career in theatre. As a result of this, most women have a difficulty in pursuing theatre since they lose interest and morale (Diamond & Elin & Denise & Candice 43). Basically, in order to ensure that there is a balance between Men and Women, most of the activities and stories being narrated should be what men and women want to hear. This will ensure that Women will be much more interested and have a positive morale while pursuing their careers.

The other reason that can be used to support the fact that Women have a harder time pursuing careers in theatre is the fact that most men who operate in theatres are bias when it comes to the selection of voices (“The Impact of Feminism on the Theatre on JSTOR NP”). In this case, man’s voice is the most authentic as compared to that of a woman. This is the main reason why most of the voice overs are done by men, it is very hard to find a voice over in theater that has been done by a Woman. Due to this biasness and selection on voice, Women are left out with other fewer opportunities in theatre (MacArthur & Michelle 12). It is also important to note that women find it hard in pursuing theatre in careers since in most cases when it comes to performing the actual play, women are not given leading roles as compared to men. Generally, it is safe to state the fact that men are given a majority of the leading roles.

As much as Women may be given leading roles, the ratio of women compared to men is very low. It is also quite evident that Women have a harder/difficult time in pursuing since they are not well presented (French 14). Generally, most of the theater schools have a fewer representation of females as compared to men. Based on a survey that was conducted last year, it was found out that most of the people who pursue theatre programs are men. The main reason behind this fact is that men are well represented, most of the activities in theatre schools can be seen to match the skills and characters of a man. Very few activities match the skills and characters of a Woman (“The Impact Of Feminism On The Theatre On JSTOR NP”). Women also find it hard since they have to work extra hard so that they can be able to outdo men. Basically, women have to put two times the effort of a man so that they can make it in their career. When we look at the World of theatre most of the Women who have pulled through are people who have dedicated all of their life and time into theatre and all of its related activities.

Another major reason why Women find it hard pursuing theater careers is the fact that most of the directors, producers and stage/theatre directors are male. Based on a recent survey, when we look at England, only 33% of the directors and producers are female while the rest are Women. In theatre, only 38% of the Women are actors while 62% are male (Diamond & Elin & Denise & Candice 30). Lastly, when we look at the National figures, the number of females pursuing theatre careers fell at 34% while men were at 66% (French 27). When we look at this gap and difference, it is safe to state that it is not a soft bed for most of the Women in theatres. The only way that this ratio can be improved is by ensuing that women are given equal or more chances just like men.

It is safe to state the fact that as a result of the male dominance in the World of theatre, women find it difficult in adapting and being successful. Secondly, it is also important to note that as a result of the dominance of males in theatre, women tend to be harassed (French 31). In real life, women tend to be harassed much more as compared to Women. Harassment can take place through many forms, for example, women tend to be sexually harassed or forced to do things that they do not feel like doing. In the end, some of the Women who are greatly talented end up dropping out or lose the interest in pursuing their career.

Another major reason that can be used to support the fact that Women find it hard while pursuing theatre careers is the fact that the history and weight of theatre does not support the side of most female playwrights (Diamond & Elin & Denise & Candice 40). In most Countries such as America and Britain, most of the playwrights and canon are overwhelmingly male. In turn, as a result of the dominance of males in theatre, a majority of the Women end up feeling like they are unwanted hence dropping or pulling out of their careers (Diamond & Elin & Denise & Candice 29). Secondly, based on a survey that was carried out this year, most of the theaters have employed very few or no female directors. A good example that can be used to prove on this fact is that Chichester Festival theatre has no female director.

Basically, mentoring women in such a situation is very difficult and unprofessional. In order to make things easier for women pursuing theatre, there ought to be a representation of women in the Board of directors. Mentoring and coaching people is sometimes influenced on one’s gender, for example women understand each other better (MacArthur & Michelle 18). Sometimes Women end up dropping/pursuing theatre programs since they do not relate or have a connection with most of the theatre directors. Consequently, some Women find it hard contemplating and relating with male directors and as a result they cannot be as better as their male counterparts.

The Shakespeare experience has also made the life of Women in theatre programs difficult in that Shakespeare was a very biased person (French 40). As mentioned earlier, theatre is widely attached to its own history. Generally, as a result of Shakespeare’s biasness, Women have fewer opportunities and minimal representation in most theatres. A good example that can be used to prove the fact that Shakespeare was a very biased person is the fact that most of his theatrical writings can be said to represent male Companies. According to facts, it is said that out of 981 Shakespeare characters, 826 characters are male while the females are 155 (MacArthur & Michelle 18). Secondly, the most outspoken woman in Shakespeare’s books is Rosalind, she has 730 lines while Hamlet has more than 1539 (MacArthur & Michelle 25). As a result of this example set out by the leading fathers in theatre, most of the current theatre directors are very bias and prefer men as compared to men.

CONCLUSION

In Conclusion, it is safe to state the fact that it is very hard for Women to pursue theatre careers and programs as compared to men. The main reason behind this fact is that most of the Women are not well represented in the theatres, they are not given the same opportunities as the men. Women also find it hard since most of the theatre schools have minimal representation of Women as directors, consequently, this makes the process of learning and empowering women very hard. Generally, in order to ensure that Women are not subjected to difficult/hard times while pursuing a career in theatre, Women ought to be given more opportunities and representation. They should be given more roles. More room should also be given to appointment of Women as theatre directors.

Works Cited

MacArthur, Michelle. “Where Are All the Women? Equity, Post-Feminism, and Canadian Theatre.” Canadian Theatre Review165 (2016): 8-13.

Diamond, Elin, Denise Varney, and Candice Amich, eds. Performance, Feminism and Affect in Neoliberal Times. Springer, 2017.

“The Impact of Feminism on the Theatre on JSTOR.” Jstor.org. N.P., 2017. Web. 15 Nov. 2017.

Solga, Kim. Theatre and Feminism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

French, Sarah. “Introduction: Staging Queer Feminisms.” Staging Queer Feminisms. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017. 1-30.

“Women and Feminism in Theatre.” N.P., 2017. Web. 15 Nov. 2017.