Female writers and directors in Adelaide, 2010
Many 2010 theatre seasons for Adelaide have now been announced, and after I noticed the lack of female writers and directors in shows I saw last year, I wondered if I was just choosing these shows or if it was actually representative of the state of the arts in Adelaide - as many bloggers and arts commentators have shown to be the state of things in Sydney and Melbourne. In 2009, just 17% of the plays/musicals I attended were written by females, and 23% were directed by females. Here, I've looked at the announced professional theatre seasons for Adelaide companies, to see what the distribution of males and females working professionally on Adelaide stages is like. Some shows are counted under multiple presenters (eg, State Theatre and the Festival of Arts, or Windmill and the Adelaide Festival Centre), but are only counted once in the total. Companies only presenting one work under the AFC have not been listed twice, and companies which have not yet released 2010 seasons (eg Vitalstatistix and Patch) have not been counted.
The Adelaide Festival of Arts - 9 productions
1.5 female directors - Valentina Carrasco for Le Grand Macabre (with Alex Olle) and Anne Thomson for The Life and Death of King John
.5 female writers - Rita Halabarex, Nicki Holland and Sarah Mainwaring for Food Court (with Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans and Scott Price.)
The Adelaide Festival Centre Trust - 10 productions
5 female directors - Olivia Jacobs for The Gruffalo, Jo-Anne Robinson for Cats, Jo Stone for Superheroes, Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving, and Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive
1 female writers - Julia Donaldson for The Gruffalo (with Axel Scheffler) and Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Grieving (with Wesley Enoch)
State Opera Company - 4 productions
1 original female director - Ann-Margret Pettersson for The Pearl Fishers
2 rehearsal directors - Luise Napier for The Pearl Fishers, and Julie Edwardson for Hansel and Gretel
.5 female writer - Sarah Schlesinger for Different Fields (with Mike Reid)
State Theatre Company of South Australia - 8 productions
2 female directors - Catherine Fitzgerald for The Give and Take and Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving
1.5 female writers - Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Greiving (with Wesley Enoch) and Yasmina Reza for God of Carnage
The oddest production on the State Theatre Company's list for 2010 is romeo&juliet, directed by Geordie Brookman, presented by Dramatic Women. Dramatic Women is a membership group of the State Theatre Company, with "a particular focus on the professional development of women in the Arts", and in 2009 they supported Shelagh Stephenson's The Memory of Water (one of the more boring production of the season, but that's besides the point), which had an all-female creative team and a largely female cast. romeo&juilet by contrast, has a female designer (Pip Richardson), with a male director, lighting designer (Geoff Cobham) and composer/sound designer (Andrew Howard). I assume females will be included in mentorship-type roles, but I still find it an odd choice for Dramatic Women.
Of the 8 productions, two are directed by Artistic Director Adam Cook, two are directed by Associate Director Geordie Brookman, and one is a buy-in from Company B and Black Swan State Theatre Company, directed by Tony Briggs.
Windmill - 3 productions
2 female directors - Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive, Shona Reppe and Gill Robertson for Cinderella
.5 female writer - Shona Reppe for Cinderella (with Ian Cameron)
five.point.one - 3 productions
1 female director - Delia Olam for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
1 female writer - Anna Barnes for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
Two productions by five.point.one are directed by artistic director Corey McMahon.
Brink productions - 2 productions (including one remount)
No female writers or directors
Brink was originally established as an artists collective of actors, and the actor's company would select and employ directors (and other creative staff) for each production. Since Chris Drummond was appointed inaugural artistic director of Brink he has directed all productions. While Drummond is a very good director, and Brink is a solid company, I nonetheless find it disappointing Adelaide's "alternative" company has been shut off to directors, effectively becoming a showcase for Drummond's work. Matthew Whittet's Harbinger (one of two world premieres of his work in Adelaide in 2010) is the twenty forth production of this fifteen-year-old company, which has produced only two works by female writers.
Flying Penguin Productions - 2 productions (including one remount)
No female writers or directors
Both of Flying Penguin's productions are directed by David Mealor. Unlike Brink, Mealor has always directed Flying Penguin's work.
Total - 37 productions
4.5 female writers on seven productions- Rita Halabarex, Nicki Holland and Sarah Mainwaring for Food Court (with Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans and Scott Price), Julia Donaldson for The Gruffalo (with Axel Scheffler), Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Grieving (with Wesley Enoch), Sarah Schlesinger for Different Fields (with Mike Reid), Yasmina Reza for God of Carnage, Shona Reppe for Cinderella (with Ian Cameron), Anna Barnes for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death - only two of these were written solely by a female writer
10.5 female directors - Valentina Carrasco for Le Grand McCabre (with Alex Olle), Anna Thomson for The Life and Death of King John, Olivia Jacobs for The Gruffalo, Jo-Anne Robinson for Cats, Jo Stone for Superheroes, Ann-Margret Pettersson for The Pearl Fishers, Catherine Fitzgerald for The Give and Take, Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving, Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive, Shona Reppe and Gill Robertson for Cinderella, Delia Olam for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
2 female rehearsal directors - Luise Napier for The Pearl Fishers, and Julie Edwardson for Hansel and Gretel
Unfortunately, my percentage of female writers for last year are actually higher than the total number for 2010: 12% productions are written by females. Female directors don't fare too much better than what I saw in 2009; 28% of 2010 productions are directed by females.
I'll just end this with a few of thoughts: if you exclude shows with multiple writers, you are left with 27 productions. Two of these are written by women, two are written by Matthew Whittet (Fugitive for Windmill and Harbringer for Brink), and four are written by Shakespeare (Vs Macbeth and The Life and Times of King John for the Adelaide Festival, Hamlet for the AFC's OzAsia festival, and romeo&juilet for the State Theatre Company). Six males are directing two productions each (Adam Cook, Geordie Brookman, David Mealor, Chirs Drummond, Corey McMahon and Sam Haren) while no female directs more than one show. And finally, even including co-writers, it is just as easy to be produced in Adelaide if you are Shakespeare as it is for the entire female population throughout history combined.
The Adelaide Festival of Arts - 9 productions
1.5 female directors - Valentina Carrasco for Le Grand Macabre (with Alex Olle) and Anne Thomson for The Life and Death of King John
.5 female writers - Rita Halabarex, Nicki Holland and Sarah Mainwaring for Food Court (with Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans and Scott Price.)
The Adelaide Festival Centre Trust - 10 productions
5 female directors - Olivia Jacobs for The Gruffalo, Jo-Anne Robinson for Cats, Jo Stone for Superheroes, Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving, and Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive
1 female writers - Julia Donaldson for The Gruffalo (with Axel Scheffler) and Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Grieving (with Wesley Enoch)
State Opera Company - 4 productions
1 original female director - Ann-Margret Pettersson for The Pearl Fishers
2 rehearsal directors - Luise Napier for The Pearl Fishers, and Julie Edwardson for Hansel and Gretel
.5 female writer - Sarah Schlesinger for Different Fields (with Mike Reid)
State Theatre Company of South Australia - 8 productions
2 female directors - Catherine Fitzgerald for The Give and Take and Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving
1.5 female writers - Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Greiving (with Wesley Enoch) and Yasmina Reza for God of Carnage
The oddest production on the State Theatre Company's list for 2010 is romeo&juliet, directed by Geordie Brookman, presented by Dramatic Women. Dramatic Women is a membership group of the State Theatre Company, with "a particular focus on the professional development of women in the Arts", and in 2009 they supported Shelagh Stephenson's The Memory of Water (one of the more boring production of the season, but that's besides the point), which had an all-female creative team and a largely female cast. romeo&juilet by contrast, has a female designer (Pip Richardson), with a male director, lighting designer (Geoff Cobham) and composer/sound designer (Andrew Howard). I assume females will be included in mentorship-type roles, but I still find it an odd choice for Dramatic Women.
Of the 8 productions, two are directed by Artistic Director Adam Cook, two are directed by Associate Director Geordie Brookman, and one is a buy-in from Company B and Black Swan State Theatre Company, directed by Tony Briggs.
Windmill - 3 productions
2 female directors - Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive, Shona Reppe and Gill Robertson for Cinderella
.5 female writer - Shona Reppe for Cinderella (with Ian Cameron)
five.point.one - 3 productions
1 female director - Delia Olam for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
1 female writer - Anna Barnes for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
Two productions by five.point.one are directed by artistic director Corey McMahon.
Brink productions - 2 productions (including one remount)
No female writers or directors
Brink was originally established as an artists collective of actors, and the actor's company would select and employ directors (and other creative staff) for each production. Since Chris Drummond was appointed inaugural artistic director of Brink he has directed all productions. While Drummond is a very good director, and Brink is a solid company, I nonetheless find it disappointing Adelaide's "alternative" company has been shut off to directors, effectively becoming a showcase for Drummond's work. Matthew Whittet's Harbinger (one of two world premieres of his work in Adelaide in 2010) is the twenty forth production of this fifteen-year-old company, which has produced only two works by female writers.
Flying Penguin Productions - 2 productions (including one remount)
No female writers or directors
Both of Flying Penguin's productions are directed by David Mealor. Unlike Brink, Mealor has always directed Flying Penguin's work.
Total - 37 productions
4.5 female writers on seven productions- Rita Halabarex, Nicki Holland and Sarah Mainwaring for Food Court (with Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans and Scott Price), Julia Donaldson for The Gruffalo (with Axel Scheffler), Deborah Mailman for The 7 Stages of Grieving (with Wesley Enoch), Sarah Schlesinger for Different Fields (with Mike Reid), Yasmina Reza for God of Carnage, Shona Reppe for Cinderella (with Ian Cameron), Anna Barnes for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death - only two of these were written solely by a female writer
10.5 female directors - Valentina Carrasco for Le Grand McCabre (with Alex Olle), Anna Thomson for The Life and Death of King John, Olivia Jacobs for The Gruffalo, Jo-Anne Robinson for Cats, Jo Stone for Superheroes, Ann-Margret Pettersson for The Pearl Fishers, Catherine Fitzgerald for The Give and Take, Rosalba Clemente for The 7 Stages of Grieving, Rosemary Myers for The Fugitive, Shona Reppe and Gill Robertson for Cinderella, Delia Olam for In Remembrance (of) a Small Death
2 female rehearsal directors - Luise Napier for The Pearl Fishers, and Julie Edwardson for Hansel and Gretel
Unfortunately, my percentage of female writers for last year are actually higher than the total number for 2010: 12% productions are written by females. Female directors don't fare too much better than what I saw in 2009; 28% of 2010 productions are directed by females.
I'll just end this with a few of thoughts: if you exclude shows with multiple writers, you are left with 27 productions. Two of these are written by women, two are written by Matthew Whittet (Fugitive for Windmill and Harbringer for Brink), and four are written by Shakespeare (Vs Macbeth and The Life and Times of King John for the Adelaide Festival, Hamlet for the AFC's OzAsia festival, and romeo&juilet for the State Theatre Company). Six males are directing two productions each (Adam Cook, Geordie Brookman, David Mealor, Chirs Drummond, Corey McMahon and Sam Haren) while no female directs more than one show. And finally, even including co-writers, it is just as easy to be produced in Adelaide if you are Shakespeare as it is for the entire female population throughout history combined.