Welcome to Equity in Theatre

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Hello and happy spring, equity-seeking colleagues!

It’s been a busy time of year with a lot going on.

Over the course of the last three months, we held a successful national play reading series to help raise the profile of women playwrights and highlight the wonderful work that they contribute to our culture. Thank you to everyone attended the series! There were ten events with sixteen playwrights held in eight cities from one coast to the next. By all reports, the readings were well-attended, the audiences were engaged, the playwrights were pleased, and we have since received numerous requests for more events of this kind. You can view photos from some of the readings on the EIT website at the following link: /media/equity-theatre-2016-national-play-reading-series

In February we held two simultaneous launch events in Calgary and Toronto to celebrate the release of Canadian Theatre Review’s “Equity in Theatre” issue, edited by EIT’s Co-organizers, Rebecca Burton and Laine Zisman Newman. Both launches featured performances by local practitioners, who played to packed houses. If you have not yet read CTR 165 (Winter 2016), be sure to purchase a copy online or from your local bookstore. You can view photos from the Tornto launch here: /media/canadian-theatre-review-equity-theatre-issue-launch-party-toronto]

Also in February, EIT was asked to present a workshop about women in the arts for the annual meeting of the National Arts Service Organizations (NASOs). This event provided a great opportunity to expand beyond our usual theatre network and make connections with other arts disciplines, and it brought the issue of gender equality to the heart of the nation.

The following month, EIT held hackathons for International Women’s Day to help increase the visibility of women theatre artists online. The majority of participants posted profiles on PerformanceWiki, a nation-wide project dedicated to creating the first community-maintained Canadian online compendium of the performing arts. It doesn’t have to be IWD to do this kind of work though; you can post anytime. Visit the PerformanceWiki website, and create a wikipage for yourself and/or other people, companies, productions, etc. that you think should be there.

EIT also made an appearance at Paprika Festival’s second annual Intersection Conference, a day of education, professional networking, and debate aimed at serving artists under thirty. Rebecca Burton and Sedina Fiati presented their workshop, “#ShareTheStage: Mapping Equity Initiatives in Canadian Theatre, Film, and TV,” to a full-house of engaged up-and-comers.

Equity in Theatre also picked up a new partner: the Deaf, Disabled, and Mad Arts Alliance of Canada (DDMAAC), with its Executive Director, Michele Decottignie (also AD of Stage Left Theatre), sitting on the EIT Steering Committee. A huge and warm welcome to Michele and the DDMAAC!

Finally, if you haven’t done so, please visit the EIT website. If you are a theatre practitioner and you identify as a woman, you can add yourself to the database directory. There’s also an Events calendar, Social Action suggestions, and a plethora of other resource materials.