Aussie theatre a boys' club

I just saw this on the ABC performing arts site: http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s2763949.htm Apparently, Aussie theatre is full of males. And making it impossible for women to work in it. ... I honestly don't know where anyone would get that idea from. Women outrate men in all of the arts, not just theatre. That men have been getting top positions in a few big name companies smacks of someone being annoyed at being passed over if you ask me (or a writer given a dud press release and finding an angle, any angle, to write about it). I would state that it's easier getting an "upper echelon" (quoting the article) job in theatre if you've already had an upper echelon job, and has nothing to do with gender but the fact that it's circular hiring. Anyone think men are ruling Aussie theatre? EDIT: It's also as if they purposely ignore the many companies in Melbourne which are run by women. La Mama and 45 downstairs come to mind immediately.

I would be very suprised, given the very liberal views of most "creatives", if there was a deliberate gender bias in the theatre industry. Also, it's law of averages isn't it? There will be some years where there will be a gender imabalance either way. I also noticed the article only seemed to refer to the upcoming season. I agree with you Na, it seems to smack of jealousy and/or journationalism (sensationalising journalism). I will also add that the article failed to mention the West where I think most, if not all of our major theatre companies have female AD's and on the last few productions I have worked on the majority of the crew were female. The only area I can think of their being an imbalance over here is that most lighting designers that get hired seem to be male, but I have no proof of that and am probably wrong.

"...the West where I think most, if not all of our major theatre companies have female AD's..." No, this isn't true. The funded companies, and their ADs: Barking Gecko: Jeremy Rice Black Swan: Kate Cherry Deckchair : Chris Bendall Perth Theatre Co: Mel Cantwell Spare Parts: Philip Mitchell Yirra Yaakin: Kyle Morrison That makes 2 out of 6 companies with a female AD. A few years ago Angela Chaplin headed Deckchair, but Alan Becher was at PTC and Tom Gutteridge at Black Swan...and I don't think Yirra Yaakin had a female AD but I might be wrong...so the net result is either that it's stayed the same or there's one extra female in a major position than there used to be. But I don't think you can call that a majority. Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------

I suspect that Garreth may have been including Community Theatre Companies in his calculations. Sue.

Actually, I was referring to the list Craig has posted. I thought that spare parts was headed up by a female AD and Deckchair too. Just goes to show I am clearly not paying enough attention. Cheers Craig.

First, I should acknowledge that I omitted to mention Buzz Dance Theatre as one of the funded companies, which in its history has predominantly had female Artistic Directors (currently Cadi McCarthy), making it 3 out of 7... which evens up the score a little bit. And regarding my above post, that's not to say that there weren't some very strong female directors in independent productions (often under the Umbrella of the funded companies): Marcelle Schmitz, Emily McLean, Jenny Davis, Mel Cantwell (prior to her taking over the vacancy at PTC), and Renee Newman-Storen being ones that spring to mind... The trouble with the premise of this thread (not enough gender balance in the positions of Artistic Director) is that there simply aren't enough positions as Artistic Director in the first place, and those positions tend to be clung to by the incumbents for quite long periods of time. I think I'm correct in saying that of the funded companies in Perth, Black Swan and Buzz Dance are the only ones to have been led by more than 2 Artistic Directors in the past 10 years. For several companies that statement could apply for much longer. With only rare opportunities to change the status quo, it's difficult for any director, male or female, to attain top position in a company. There were probably eligible female candidates over the years who unfortunately missed out simply because there were no job vacancies at the time for anyone of any gender. Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------