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Identifying A Feminist Play

According to the article Creating a Feminist Theatre Environment: The Feminist Theory Play by Gayle Austin there are four primary ways to identify a Feminist Theory Play. The First being the set up of a show. In a feminist play the audience is not an audience, but a part of the production, the final character in the play in a way. This character is sometimes just observing and interacting silently, but in others there may be sections where the audience is asked questions or asked to physically participate in other ways. The next identifier is show isn't supposed to be seen as a play, it should be seen as a piece of real life being recreated. The third way to know a Feminist play from others is the audience's enjoyment. The enjoyment from a feminist play does not come from the story itself, but rather what is taken away and what is learned through the story. The goal is less about entertainment and more about provoking thought. The final and possibly the most important identifier is, while these plays maybe works of fiction, they are based in the actual experiences of women.

Short list of prominent plays that fit into the genre:
 * 1) The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
 * 2) Sweat by Lynn Nottage
 * 3) Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage
 * 4) Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
 * 5) Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill
 * 6) A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
 * 7) Trifles by Susan Glaspell
 * 8) Inheritors by Susan Glaspell
 * 9) Miss Lulu Bette by Zona Gale
 * 10) The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
 * 11) Real Women Have Curves by Josefina Lopez
 * 12) Strangers on Paradox by Kate Bornstein
 * 13) Hidden: A Gender by Kate Bornstein
 * 14) The Opposite Sex Is Neither by Kate Bornstein
 * 15) Virtually Yours By Kate Bornstein

Important Groups and Individuals

Monstrous Regiment was founded in 1975 by Chris Bowler, Linda Broughton, Helen Glavin, Gillian Hanna, and Mary McCusker. The group was founded to change the way the theatre worked in regards to women. More specifically they wanted to remake how woman were treated and portrayed on and off stage. The group’s mission statement is “Our principal reason for coming together is a dissatisfaction with the opportunities offered women working in theatre; and to perform material specifically geared to a company that will never contain more men than women. Policy making and practical tasks are shared by all.’

The Woman’s Theatre Group is another important group in the world of Feminist Theatre. The group was founded in 1974 by 7 ladies who took part in the Almost Free Theatre Season the year before, a season which was made up of plays by women. Three of the larger names of the founders were Anne Engel, Mica Nava, and Jean Hart. They formed because there were no groups yet that were focusing specifically on feminist theatre. The group was renamed The Sphinx Theatre Company in 1990. Their mission is "To devise and commission plays which explore social, cultural, and political issues from a women’s point of view. To help develop a culture which is not based on sex, class, race, or stereotypes. To reach theatre and non-theatre going audiences. To work collectively and determine our own work."

Methuen Drama is a publisher of books and plays that has been open since the late 1800’s. Their contribution to Feminist Theatre took place in 1982 when they launched a Play’s By Women Series.

Lynn Nottage is an African American playwright born on November 2, 1964. She is also a professor at both Columbia and Yale School of Drama. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama once in 2009 for her play Ruined, and again in 2017 for Sweat.

Susan Glaspell was an American author born on July 1, 1876. She has over 30 novels and plays to her credit. One of those plays being Trifles, which is considered a classic among many.

Caryl Churchill is a well know playwright, who is famous for her critiques of society and her feminist themes. She won the Obi Award for Playwriting three different times. Once in 1982 for Cloud 9, in 1983 for Top Girls, and in 2005 for A Number. Three years before she was praised for A Number she also receive an Obi Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Kate Bornstein was born March 15, 1948. Kate is an author, playwright, and a gender theorist. They have written many books as well as seven feminist plays/performance art pieces.