Feminist Theatre

Feminist Theatre. Because there have been women actors, managers, and playwrights since the colonial days, the goal of feminist theatre has not been about women in the theatre as much as the role of women in society. Female directors, scenic designers, and composers have not been common until the last decades of the 20th century, yet the voice of women has been heard on stage for over one hundred years. The concept of “plays by women and about women” is not new, but it remains central to the feminist movement. In the late 1960s the women's movement in America gained momentum. The establishment of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and its efforts in the 1970s to pass an Equal Rights Amendment solidified the movement. It was at this time that feminist theatre groups were born, such as It's Alright to Be a Woman Theatre, Omaha Magic Theatre, Women's Experimental Theatre, Spiderwoman Theatre, and At the Foot of the Mountain Theatre. But much of the movement to dramatize women's issues came from outspoken individuals such as Megan Terry, Maria Irene Fornes, Terry and Jo Ann Schmidman, and Sondra Segal. Some of their works utilized agitprop theatre techniques from the past to raise political and social consciousness, while others employed the avant‐garde style of the Open Theatre and the Living Theatre. Feminist theatre was often confused with lesbian theatre because many of the issues were the same, as seen in the potent productions by the Split Britches troupe. While the feminist movement in theatre continues, the most gifted women seem to have been assimilated into mainstream theatre. Playwrights such as Beth Henley, Marsha Norman, Paula Vogel, and Wendy Wasserstein may be labeled as feminist playwrights because they write about the roles of women in America but, more accurately, they are simply superior dramatists.