Celebrating Lois Smith
“A great actor at the height of her powers.”
Latest Entries
“Describe the Night” in Houston while Hurricane Harvey Raged – a first hand account of directing under pressure by Giovanna Sardelli
On Tuesday I began packing my bags, which was unexpected since I had arrived in Houston, TX only a week earlier to begin rehearsals on the World Premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Describe The Night. Hurricane Harvey had been raging since Saturday and on Tuesday we’d taken advantage of a brief break in the near constant … Continue reading
The Year of Indefatigable Women by Glenda Frank
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
Responding to Our Times: On the Veranda by Catherine Castellani
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
Responding to Our Times: Making It by Harriet Slaughter
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
What Theatre Artists and Administrators Should Know About Sexual Harassment by Cheryl Davis
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
A Brief History of the Gender Parity Movement in Theatre by Jenny Lyn Bader
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 IS a Feminist Play Anyway? What Is vs. What Should Be by Catherine Castellani
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
