You Do Deserve to Have It All
I originally pitched this piece for Sappho Small Talk as an examination of intersectionality and why women are still denied the chance to “have it all”. Which is a conversation that, as an industry, we very much need to be having. Especially now. However, in brainstorming, one of the things that I discovered was that you can’t talk about intersectionality without talking about gatekeeping. In some ways, they’re two sides of the same coin.
First, though, what are we talking about when we talk about intersectionality? I tend to use as a reference what I’ve dubbed “the four pillars of diversity” – marginalized gender (women, TGNC) , marginalized race (POC), marginalized sexual orientation (LGBTQIA+), and marginalized ability (disability). Three out of four of those categories receive legal employment protections at the federal level (all except LGBTQIA+). Two of those four allow for the filing of educational complaints at the university level. Many of these measures were meant to increase the amount of representation of these groups in those who pursue higher education, as well as in the workforce. It didn’t exactly work.
Take a gander what the percentage of female writers on Broadway was for the last full season (2018-2019) that took place. 40%? 30? 25?
Just 13% of all writing on Broadway was done by women in the 2018-2019 season. Additionally, TGNC playwright Taylor Mac (judy) brings that total to 15[GB3] %. (For reference, 13% of directors were female. Choreography is the ‘big winner’ in gender parity, with a whopping 24% of main stem productions being led by women on the dance front).
Why are these numbers so low? It isn’t because we aren’t there. Women are roughly half the population. More to our point, men and women generally enter and graduate from MFA programs, a common point of entry to the field, in about equal numbers. And then we have a dropoff. We educate these women, and then we send them away.
When I bring this up to people outside the industry, they don’t believe me. They tell me that it seems like every show they’ve seen centered a woman. (Not true – only 37% of principal roles on Broadway went to women last season!) They tell me maybe these women left the field to raise children. (Less than 20% of women reported this. Also, why are we telling women to be stay-at-home-moms and raise children but not men to be stay-at-home-dads?!) They tell me, that’s impossible, every woman I know goes to the theatre. True! Three fourths of all theatre tickets are bought by women, with actual attendees putting it closer to two thirds. Either way, the facts are clear: women buy the majority of tickets to a majority of shows that don’t represent them.
So. In this context, now let’s look at intersectionality. Let’s look at who’s in that 15%. They are primarily white. They are primarily straight. They are primarily cis. They are primarily neurotypical/able-bodied. Hell, they’re primarily (and unhealthily) stick thin. These are the women who are allowed to exist in major commercial productions of the American theatre. We are presented with a certain kind of image of acceptable gender performance in our industry - and you fit it, or the gatekeepers (usually men) won’t cast, produce, etc. you. That sense of not fitting in, not being enough, not being able to undo a sort of almost original sin. A black woman will never not be black. Which compounds on the gender thing. And I’m making this edit on trans day of visibility.
Every time we fail to set a boundary with misogynists, we say to ourselves, “My needs are less valid than theirs.” We cannot accept this. Why do we accept this? The theatre must change, or the theatre will die. How are we changing to get to gender parity in the theatre when we reopen? Not will we, how will we.
And on a personal note, I feel like every day I woke up pre-pandemic, I had to swallow my pride and pretend this industry cared about me, that it genuinely did want to nurture me as an emerging artist, as someone whose voice was worthy of being heard. And there are a lot of women and TGNC artists who feel the same way.
Pretend you care about me. Look me in the eye and tell me I deserve to have a show on Broadway. Tell me that my voice deserves to be heard.
And then show me that you mean it.
GABRIELLA ROSE BALSAM (she/her) is a playwright, bookwriter, and lyricist, with additional experience in writing fiction and theatre criticism/journalism. In the theatre, she has worked with WP Theater, Eisenberg/Beans Casting, Theatre Exile, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. Her theatrical journalism/criticism/curation has been published by NPX and 10glo. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising-copywriting concentration with a certificate (minor) in Writing from Temple University and a Masters in Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Musical Theatre Writing (Wordsperson). Additionally, her theatrical work has been presented at Dixon Place and Musical Theatre Factory. She is a proud member of the StateraArts New York community, Maestra, and the Dramatists’ Guild. Excerpts of her plays are available online on the New Play Exchange (NPX). Her plays include Free, You Never Said Anything, and What Am I, (Or, The Lost Souls Of Philip Island). Her musicals include La Voisin: A Feminist AF Musical (with music by Brandy Hoang Collier & Deniz Demirkurt) and The Lily House (with music by Simon Lee).