Welcome to Equity in Theatre

A call for feminists to gather on Women’s Christmas, January 6^th 2016

It’s that simple.

Nollaig na mBan is traditionally a day for women to gather socially and chat, a quiet celebration of women and their work.

We thought it would be the perfect time for all feminists, women and men, who have been following and supporting the WakingTheFeminists campaign to get together locally over a drink or a cup of tea. It’s a chance to kick start the year by meeting each other, discussing the issues, telling their stories and having a bit of craic.

We call for people who are passionate about equality to gather and have the chats. We call for arts centres everywhere to consider hosting an informal WakingTheFeminists Nollaig na mBan get together for lovers of the arts. We call for members of local drama groups, sports clubs, knitting circles, book clubs, college societies, active retirement groups, parent and toddler groups, what have you, to contact each other and see who wants to meet up. We call for anyone who is keen to host their own WakingTheFeminists Nollaig na mBan gathering to contact a local café or bar to corner some space, to tell their friends, colleagues and neighbours and get them to tell THEIR friends, colleagues and neighbours. Everyone is welcome.

Your WakingTheFeminists Nollaig na mBan get together can be in whatever form you’d like it to take. Two hundred people in a theatre. Two people at a café table. The only requirement is that you have the chats and enjoy yourselves.

Three things we ask of you:

• plan your get together to be open and inclusive – think about what time of day will be most suitable, think about how to facilitate parents with children, think about making sure the venue you pick is accessible for someone with mobility issues, think about inviting people you wouldn’t normally invite, and think about who might be in your local area that you’d like to get to know, or might like to get to know you. Once you have a plan, a time and venue, let us at WakingTheFeminists know and we’ll help spread the word for you.

• take a few photos of your gathering on the day, ideally with a sign saying WakingTheFeminists and your location, and tweet them with #WakingTheFeminists or send them to wakingthefeminists@gmail.com so we can share them on social media.

• talk about what you’d like to change. We believe that feminism means examining the world around us, reimagining what it could be like if the systems in place were built to be inclusive of everyone, and working to make those changes reality. With that in mind, take a moment to discuss with your fellow feminists what changes you’d like to see in the systems around you, big or small, and what practical steps you might take. If you can, share some of these thoughts, ideas and plans online (e.g. on the WakingTheFeminists Facebook page, or by tweeting). Or if you want to send us your thoughts to wakingthefeminists@gmail.com we can share them publicly. Things only change when we talk about them!

Gather, meet each other, find where your common interests lie, see if there are things you can do together to make a change in your own lives. Most of all: have fun, feminists. Onwards!

Events happening around the country and beyond:

• Kildare meeting at the Riverbank at 6.30pm (organised by Brenda Donohue)
• Galway meeting at Neachtain’s pub 8pm (organised by Ionia Ni Chronin of Moonfish Theatre)
• Dublin meeting at Project Arts Centre 4-6pm (organised by Theatre Forum Ireland – further details on their website)
• Carlow: Afternoon meet up at VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art and The George Bernard Shaw Theatre from 1-3pm, organised by Emma Martin
• Sligo: an evening of poetry, music, spoken word, visual art & lore at The Model Sligo at 6pm
• Dublin: Yer Only mBan – storytelling, song & comedy at Smock Alley Theatre at organised by Maeve Stone & Dan Colley
• New York meeting at The Cell 338 W 23rd St 6-8pm (organised by Anna Olson Nugent