Buffalo, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- Theatre industry, media and academic research in the last decade have uncovered and reported on the sometimes shocking levels of bias against female playwrights. Many professional theatres have committed to take action and demonstrate gender equity in their programming.
The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) is proud to sponsor the sixth annual 50/50 Applause Award, celebrating theatres which achieved gender parity among their produced playwrights within the past theatre season. The nomination window for the 2016-2017 theatrical season is open!
Co-chair of the 50/50 Applause Awards committee, Patricia L. Morin, said " We want to applaud theatres that are showing works by women at least half the time. Theatres like the HERE Art Centre New York, the Factory Space in Sydney, Australia and the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Manitoba, Canada have met our 50/50 criteria three years in a row. We want to see more theatres following their example."
This year's nomination form will go live June 5th, 2017 on the ICWP website, http://womenplaywrights.org/ where you will also find links to videos, press releases, and news. Anyone may nominate eligible theatres.
The eligibility criteria have changed from previous years. Here are highlights of the new qualifying criteria:
- Have at least three productions in their season
- Have plays by both female and male dramatists in their season
- At least 50% of the plays produced between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 are the work of female playwrights
- At least 50% of the total number of performances during that window are the work of female playwrights
- Theatres may not have the development of works by women as their main mission statement
The guidelines are available at http://womenplaywrights.org/award
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Along with artistic directors and theatre employees, the public is encouraged to nominate any theatre which meets the criteria for the award. Please share this information with your theatre friends around the world! Recipients of the 2016/17 award will be announced in September 2017.
For more about the awards history and previous recipients, go to http://womenplaywrights.org/50-50-Awards-History/
About ICWP
Established in 1989, The International Centre for Women Playwrights promotes and supports women playwrights. We aim to help achieve a fair representation of the female imagination on the world's stages. ICWP provides a place for peer support, knowledge-sharing, and play publication. It is our goal to see more gender equity in professional theatres and for women playwrights to sustain careers as dramatists. When female dramatists are no longer discriminated against, we will no longer need to exist. We work for that day! http://womenplaywrights.org/
Contact:
Patricia L. Morin, Margaret McSeveney
Company: The International Centre for Women Playwrights
Phone: 01-415-328-1050
Email: awards@womenplaywrights.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/icwp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenPlaywrights/
Website: http://www.womenplaywrghts.org/