International Women Stage Directors

Introduction

Introduction Anne Fliotsos Although directors are the undisputed leaders of theatrical production, and women have been a part of that leadership, there is very little research and publication devoted to women as stage directors. After writing American Women Stage Directors of the Twentieth Century, we wondered how the stories and careers of American directors compared with those of other women directors around the globe. We were fascinated also to know how political and social contexts in various parts of the world have shaped the directing careers of those women. The result of our quest is International Women Stage Directors, a reference book targeted to students, researchers, and theatre practitioners as well as general readers. The twenty-four countries in this book represent a variety of continents, economies, religions, political systems, and cultures. We do not claim to include a scientific sample representative of the entire globe and were often restricted by finding contributing authors who met our qualifications: scholars and practitioners with publications in performance, directing, and/or women in theatre. Some of our contributors are working directors and run their own theatre companies. It was important to us that the authors came from a point of authenticity rather than simply researching a foreign country; therefore, each of these authors has lived and/or worked in the country he or she has addressed. The book is arranged alphabetically by country for ease of access, and chapters follow a parallel structure, allowing the reader to gain a sense of context before reading about individual directors and their contributions. Sections include Women’s Rights: Historical Context, Early Women Directors, Working Climate in the Twenty-First Century, and Profiles of Contemporary Directors. When available, production photographs or headshots of the directors are included, though with so many women represented, it was not feasible to include a wide spectrum of photographs. In terms of coverage, authors were forced to make difficult decisions to determine which directors to include. In some countries, such as the United States, there are hundreds of women directing professionally. Clearly, there was some subjectivity when selecting “representative” directors; considerations included geographical area, aesthetic or methodological style, impact on the profession, awards, and national/ international fame, among others. In short, authors selected directors who could not be ignored for their contributions. In a few cases our contributors have included endnotes about other directors of significance. Several other difficulties challenged our contributors, particularly since they represent a wide diversity of cultures and histories, yet they had to use the standard format we provided. In some cases they argued that women’s rights—our first section in each chapter—had little or nothing to do with women stage directors, many of whom were not feminists, nor were they directing feminist productions. We recognize that not all women identify as feminists, and many do not wish to be labeled as “women directors,” yet the historical context of women’s rights is of special significance when examining the careers of women in any profession. We also noticed that in many countries very few, if any, women directors were working professionally before the women’s movement. As would be expected, the numbers and opportunities increase with further gains in women’s rights. We have cut most theoretical and critical discussion of feminism to keep these chapters as concrete as possible, though further reading is advised. Another difficulty arose in addressing complex political and cultural histories in such a concise way. Clearly, we can only give an indication of the major factors shaping a country and its theatre; readers are encouraged to consult additional sources about the historical, cultural, and political aspects of each of these countries. Our goal here is to provide a brief framework to contextualize the contributions of these notable stage directors. Our focus on stage direction has also meant deleting details about the various “hats” that directors wear, for most of them are also gifted artistic directors, writers, performers , choreographers, and/or designers. Our contributors were asked to separate these overlapping areas, which are often considered holistically. Where possible we have added dates and places for the productions referenced, though this information was not always available. We also tried to include production reviews. However, in many cases women directing in small venues receive no press coverage; all the more reason to record their work in this volume. Finally, the issue of translation of titles and proper names has challenged us. We are adhering to the guidelines of the University of Illinois Press by...