Killing Dead White Men
Dr. Mark Eckersley
(Part of a Workshop and Paper delivered at 2019 Drama Victoria State Conference
‘Unity: Exploring diversity and inclusion in drama education’
Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, December 2019)
Tanderrum - Acknowledgement of Country
I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people and the peoples of the Kulin Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of this Land. I would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present of the Kulin Nation and extend that respect to other Indigenous Australians peoples present.
In the spirit of diversity and unity under which this conference is titled, I would like to acknowledge the individual groups who are and were caretakers to this land on which we stand. When Europeans first colonised this land we stand on, it was occupied and cared for by five language groups often known as the Kulin (Koolin) nation of peoples these are:
· Woiwurrung (Woy-wur-rung) - The Wurundjeri People
· Boonerwrung (Bun-er-rong) - The Boonerwrung People
· Wathaurong (Wath-er-rong) - The Wathaurong People
· Taungerong (Tung-ger-rong) - The Taungerong People
· Dja Dja Wrung (Jar-Jar wrung) - The Jaara People
In the spirit of the 'Uluru Statement of the Heart', I hope I can in this workshop give ‘Voice’ to those who have been silenced, reveal ‘Truth’ where it has been concealed and endorse ‘Treaty’ as we move forward to understanding and justice.
What is wrong with the picture?
Women make up approximately 49.6% of the world’s population (Ritchie & Roser 2019). 5% of the world’s population is Indigenous (World Bank 2019)
What's the picture and the truth in Theatre and Drama
Worldwide – Female Directors 17%, Female Playwrights 21%, Actresses 40%, Female Managers/Producers/Artistic Director 5%, Female Audience 56% estimated Indigenous Combined 1% (European Theatre Convention 2015 & Lock 2018)
England – Female Artistic Directors 13% (2018), Playwrights 35%, Actresses 38%, Female Audiences 68%, Indigenous figures not available (Pascal 2018 & Freestone 2012)
Australia
2012 – Female Directors 16%, Female Playwrights 14% (Lally 2012)
A program was undertaken by state governments and federal government bodies in Australia to address this inequality in Australia. By 2019, the picture had changed significantly.
A program was undertaken by state governments and federal government bodies in Australia to address this inequality in Australia. By 2019, the picture had changed significantly.
2019 – Female Directors 58%, Female Playwrights 47%, Female Actors 52%, Female Managers/Producers 12%, Female Audiences - 52% Victoria – Overall Cultural market & Indigenous Australian Combined 5% (Howard 2019 & Arts Victoria 2014)
Within education, we think of ourselves as progressive but often we reinforce gender inequality and stereotypes. Here are some Australian statistics from Victoria on examination level programs.
Within education, we think of ourselves as progressive but often we reinforce gender inequality and stereotypes. Here are some Australian statistics from Victoria on examination level programs.
VCE Theatre Studies & Drama Lists and productions -2001-2019 (VCAA 2019)
184 plays and productions – Female Directors, 29%, Female Playwrights 30% av., Indigenous 4%
Conclusion - Women and Indigenous people are disproportionately underrepresented and culturally underrepresented in theatre and educational theatre endeavours both in Australia and overseas. One way to address this is for us as educators to monitor and use self-imposed quotas to consciously address these gender and cultural inequities.
Voice & Treaty
u Dramaturgy seemed motherless for quite some time: born into a family, the theatre, in which women initially had no role except as narrowly drawn characters performed by men, for men, in plays written by men, expressing male values before an audience that was not exclusively male. Yet drama has always has a mother, it just has chosen to forget its family and its mother.
u Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara peoples use Awelye – body painting of symbols in preparation for storytelling, ritual and performance. Below is the symbol for ‘Women’:
u Create a circle. Sand and stones are used to create the space for exploration & performance
Know my Name, Say my Name
As an exercise 10 pictures or photographs of male and female playwrights and performance makers were shown to the participants made up of drama teachers and lecturers in drama. Of the five males shown a recognition rate of 85% was evident. Of the females shown, the recognition rate was 5%. The issue of how to value and recognize females in theatre was discussed.
Creating a New Dreamtime – recognizing the people in our lives
Activity - The New Dreamtime – Giving Voice
u Look at all the people in the circle slowly. Think that they have stories and backgrounds which are rich and you don't know about. Now turn your attention inward.
u Think of a woman who was important to making who your are.
u Give a special label to mythologize them. Mythologize this woman.
u Now think of a way you could tell the story of this woman to the group.
u Example: "Mother, the Spirit Weaver. She was a magician. She gathered a group of young people and gathered their energy and spirits and had them dance and move and tell their stories and then she threw their dreams into a space and the images, stories and dreams would come to life. My Mother, the Spirit Weaver."
Jane Harrison (Australian Indigenous) b. 1960 – Realism & Documentary Drama
ACTIVITY- Abuse in Foster Homes Read the following text on Page 8. Have the group read the Children as a group character. Have one student play Ruby.
CHILDREN: What did he give to ya?
RUBY: Gave me a doll.
CHILDREN: (They clap) He gave her a doll. What else did ya do? (They stop clapping).
RUBY: I promised not to tell. JIMMY: Oh, Ruby!
- Write a passage on the internal conflict going on within Ruby in this scene.
- Write and share how you would stage this section of the play to highlight Ruby’s tumultuous inner life.
- Write a page discussing the importance of this play to a contemporary audience in light of increasing awareness of prejudice against First nations and black people throughout the world.
Conclusion
u The first step to privileging Feminist and Indigenous drama is to know and use female and Indigenous writers, directors, theorists, theatre companies and the Indigenous writers, directors, theorists, theatre companies
u One way for teachers to address the gender and cultural imbalance is to educate themselves on the diversity out there
u Another way is for teachers to self-impose quotas – i.e. 50% of the plays I read, do and see with students should be by females, 10% of the plays I read, do and see with students should be by Indigenous writers and groups
u Teachers should educate themselves on the theories, practitioners and styles developed by female and indigenous individuals and groups (I have included some texts and websites in the bibliography to start with.
In a very interesting interview on the Australia's ABC Radio program The Stage Show (ABC, June 30, 2020), Ilbijerri Theatre Company's Artistic Director Rachael Maza talked to Michael Cathcart about the ground that Blak Theatre stands on and her personal history of Indigenous Australian drama as an Indigenous woman. This interview draws on experience and talks about the way Indigenous Australian theatre and drama voices and expresses itself as celebration, expression and a witnessing of Indigenous Australian histories, stories and cultures.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-stage-show/rachael-maza-ilbijerri-august-wilson-penumbra-theatre-minnesota/12402398
Bibliography
ABC. June 30, 2020. 'The Ground on Which Black Companies Stand'. The Stage Show. ABC Radio: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-stage-show/rachael-maza-ilbijerri-august-wilson-penumbra-theatre-minnesota/12402398
Arts Victoria. April 2014. Audience Atlas Victoria. Arts Victoria, State Government of Victoria: Melbourne. Retrieved from
European Theatre Convention. 2015. Audiences for European Theatre. Imprint Publications: London. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/europeantheatreconvention/docs/etc_study_european_theatre_audience
Eckersley, M. 2019. Killing Dead White Men – The History of female Theatre and Theatre Makers. [Blog] Retrieved from https://markeckersleywomenstheatre.blogspot.com/2019/09/killing-dead-white-men-female.html
Eckersley, M. 2014. Australian Indigenous Drama. [Book & Blog] Retrieved from https://australianindigenousdrama.blogspot.com/2014/03/australian-indigenous-drama-introduction.html
Freestone, E. Dec. 10 2012. ‘Women in Theatre’. The Guardian. The Guardian: London. Retrieved from
Howard, J. April 13, 2019. How Australian Theatre Fixed its Gender Imbalance in a Decade. Retrieved from
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-13/australian-theatre-fixed-its-gender-imbalance-in-a-decade/10942452
Keyssar, H. 1990. Feminist Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan: London.
Lally, E. 2012. Women in Theatre – A Research Report and Action Plan for the Australia Council for the Arts. Australia Council: Surry Hills, NSW. April 2012. Retrieved from https://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/workspace/uploads/files/research/women-in-theatre-april-2012-54325827577ea.pdf
Lionheart Theatre. January 28, 2016. Five Female Playwrights to Remember. Retrieved from https://lionhearttheatre.org/5-female-playwrights-to-remember__trashed/
Lock, S. August 27, 2015. Theater and Broadway in the U.S. – Statistics and Facts. Statista: New York. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/1299/theatre-and-broadway/
Lock, S. August 27, 2015. Theater and Broadway in the U.S. – Statistics and Facts. Statista: New York. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/topics/1299/theatre-and-broadway/
Nolan, Y. 2015. Medicine Shows – Indigenous Performance Culture. Playwrights Canada Press: Toronto.
Pascal, J. April 24, 2018. ‘Woman are being excluded from the Stage: Its Time for Quotas’. The Guardian. The Guardian: London. Retrieved from
Ritchie, H. & Roser, M. 2019. Gender Ratio. Our World in Data: Oxford, UK. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/gender-ratio
VCAA. 2019. VCE Drama Examination Past Papers. VCAA: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Drama.aspx
VCAA. 2019. VCE Theatre Studies Past Papers. VCAA: Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce-assessment/past-examinations/Pages/Theatre-Studies.aspx
World Bank. 2019. Indigenous Peoples. World Bank. Retrieved from
Women’s Museum of California. (2017). Get Thee to a Stage – A Brief History of Women in the Theater. Women’s Museum of California: San Diego, CA. Retrieved from
