{Welcome, HowlRound readers!}
In late April, I posted a report card on the Boston theatre scene and the available numbers on racial and gender diversity for the 2012-13 season. The problem with those numbers were that some theatres I wished to include in the counts had not yet announced their seasons.
In concert with Boston week on HowlRound.com, I wanted to revisit my accounting, and see if things have changed much in the last few months.
Please see the original post HERE, which lists the companies I counted, by name, and details my methodology I used then (and now).
Here’s what’s changed. Unlike in April, there are now other categories “of color” to count. Again, I’d like to reiterate how non-scientific this is. As I said in April:
“And a final caveat about the designation “of color“: […] It’s tricky, since I’m operating largely from names, bios, and photos for the artists I don’t know personally or professionally. This method obviously has its faults.”
That said, we now have several plays in Boston this year by Asian American writers, when we had none as of a few months ago. I’d call that an improvement, especially in light of the national attention drawn to underrepresentation of Asian American voices by AAPAC-NYC, the Asian American Performers Action Coalition.
I’ve been able to add the seasons of Company One and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre to the mix, as I’d wished to do in April, as well as additional information on shows from the ART, Lyric, Trinity Rep, Merrimack, Central Square, and Fresh Ink.
Total number of plays being produced: 64 → 74
Total number of world premieres: 10 → 13
Total number of plays by local playwrights: 9 → 13
Total number of male playwrights/lyricists/composers: 61 → 67
Total number of female playwrights/lyricists/composers: 15 → 19
Total number of playwrights/lyricists/composers of color: 6 → 12
Total number of male directors: 29 → 40
Total number of female directors: 15 → 29
Total number of directors of color: 2 → 5
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