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1500
Midevil Theatre
There was a perception in society during medieval times that theatre was better suited for men than women. One interesting exception was the German writer Hrothsvitha, who "is considered by some to be the first person since antiquity to compose drama in the Latin West"(VTC, 2018). She wrote many plays, and her plays tended to present women as people with solid and noble personalities. This contradicted the view of women that most people in her society had: that they were weak in character. -
Margret Hughes: The first actress
Margaret Hughes is thought to be the first woman to take on the British stage. On December 8, 1660, Margaret played the part of Desdemona in the new King’s Company production of Shakespeare’s Othello at the Vere Street Theatre. This performance was the first part of societal beliefs changing about women in theatre. By the late 1660s, Margaret had become established as a leading actress (VTC, 2018) -
Theatre by and for Women
Throughout the history of theatre, women have been relegated to minor positions. Although in Greece, playwrights often included women in their plays, they did not write plays themselves or act in them. (Brockett. pg. 248). In England, women weren't allowed to appear on stage until 1661, and though many women were persistent they seldom wrote plays or attain positions of power in the theatre until the twentieth century. - Pictured is a greek theatre. -
Hallie Flanagan: National Director of the Federal Theatre Project
After graduate school, Halle Flanagan taught theatre and directed at Grinnell, where she earned a reputation as an innovative director. This led her to appointment as professor of drama and director of experimental theater at Vassar College. In 1926, she became the first woman to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed her to study theatre in Europe and the Soviet Union (VTC, 2018) -
Civil Rights Movement
Changes have come about in the theatre mostly through the concern about women's rights which dates back to at LEAST the nineteenth century. Women didn't start to see changes until around the 1960s, and even then, it was very few and women still felt the need to fight for their rights. Many women were concerned about gaining equal rights within the existing system and keeping them. These potential differences have influenced the way women playwrights write their work (Brockett. pg.249). -
Feminist Writers
After the 1960s and into the 1970s there were several theatres throughout the U.S. that opened up to showcase the work of feminist writers. Some of those theatres include The Looking Glass Theatre, New Georges, Six Figures Theatre Company, Voice and Vision, as well as Woman Seeking. Over the past few decades with an uprising in the civil rights movement, the number of theatres strictly devoted to publicizing plays written by women has gone up tremendously. (Brockett. pg. 249) -
Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman, a women's rights activist and playwright had great success with her first play; Getting Out. Her play was voted the best new play by the American Theatre Company in 1977. However, she is best known for the play 'Night, Mother, which was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. Norman has gone on to write several books and plays as well as music for the broadway musical The Secret Garden (Brockett. pg. 250). -
Beth Hensley
Beth Hensley gained popularity through her play Crimes of the Heart which was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. The play focuses on the lives of three sisters. It begins with news that the youngest sister has shot her husband due to the fact that she "didn't like his looks". Hensley went on the create more plays such as The Miss Firecracker Contest (1984), Impossible Marriage (1998), and The Jackson (2012) (Brockett. pg. 249.) -
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein is best known for her play The Heidi Chronicles. The Heidi Chronicles won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize and was the first play ever written by a woman to win the Tony Award. The play is set in the 1960s and ends in the early 1980s as it goes through the ever-changing political and personal life of Heidi. As Heidi discovers feminism, she sees both sides of feminism. How the women's movement has fulfilled its promises, and how it hasn't (Brockett. pg. 248). -
Womens Theatre Festival
Women’s Voices Theater Festival was created as a response to the claim that there is little work by women in theatre. This year's festival of women-driven work will run in January and February in the greater Washington, D.C. area. This organization created by Serena Norr is a place for women who are passionate directors, producers, playwrights, etc. to finally have a place to come together and share what they love to do most (WTF, 2015).