Few thrills are comparable to watching the November wave of highly qualified women winning seats in federal and state governments.  A Navy pilot, a woman who began her studies in a community college on the reservation, young mothers, and a former CIA officer – these candidates came in all shapes and sizes.   Is it … Continue reading →

The first known appearance of the story of Robin Hood with most of its familiar elements (stealing from the rich and giving to the poor; Sherwood Forest; evil sheriff; band of Merry Men) can be found in a mid-fifteenth-century English ballad. The origins of the myth itself date back to the 1300s. The tale transcends … Continue reading →

Accepting the third Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award, Adelheid Roosen addressed a full auditorium at CUNY Grad Center, Elebash Recital Hall, hosted by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center the 23th of October 2017 Welcome, feel at home and I hope your chair feels like a birds nest. First of all I want to thank the … Continue reading →

  Television has been anticipating a woman president for years.  In “Madam Secretary” Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni) rose to a vice-presidential candidate; in “The Veep,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character succeeded to the presidency; on “Scandal,” a powerful Washington crisis-manager (Kerry Washington) is also the president’s confidante.  The skits on the satirical “Saturday Night Live” played Hillary … Continue reading →

I’m lying on my new acupuncturist’s table and she’s taking my pulse for the third time when she tells me, “You’re on the veranda.” How’s that? “You’re not sick, but you’re not well, either.” OH in so many ways, lady. The rejection letter that told me I scored very well with readers but not just … Continue reading →

As Director of Labor Relations for the Broadway League, Producer Elizabeth McCann and I used to joke during negotiation sessions we would know  we “made it” when the day came we would clinch a deal while in the ladies room! The male negotiators would always emerge from the men’s room proudly  announcing they “sealed a … Continue reading →

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (beneath the root of a tree, at the bottom of the ocean), you know that sexual harassment in the workplace has been a topic in the news lately. What performers and other theatre professionals may tend to forget is that while they are artists, they are also “acting” … Continue reading →

In October 1978, the Feminist Theatre Study Group picketed five shows on London’s West End, handing out leaflets that began with a few questions. To wit, Did the characters in this play imply that: Blondes are dumb? Wives nag? Feminists are frustrated? Whores have hearts of gold? Mothers-in-law interfere? Lesbians are aggressive? Intellectual women are … Continue reading →

What does it mean to describe a play as feminist? What are you looking for when you put out a call for feminist scripts? This is the second in a series exploring possible answers from different angles. What is: too often, women are not assessed as fully human people. What should be: our humanity and personhood should … Continue reading →