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For immediate release: September 15th 2014  En Français

The 2014 International Centre for Women Playwrights 50/50 Applause Awards: Thunderous “Applause” to international theatre companies producing women playwrights!

The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) is thrilled to report the extraordinary level of international support that is represented by the recipients for this year’s 50/50 Applause Awards, which sets out to recognize theatres that produced 50% or more women playwrights in their season of shows.  In the spring, for the first time in the history of the awards, ICWP invited the public to nominate theatres that had produced the work of women playwrights throughout the world.

 

To our great delight, we are proud to announce 67 recipients from nine countries for the 2014 awards. The list includes theatres in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States. There are fourteen repeat recipients who have demonstrated gender parity in more than one season.  Meet some of the theaters in our multi-lingual video. http://www.womenplaywrights.org/award-video

 

Despite this encouraging news, ICWP recognizes there is a long way to go to 50/50 status. The Australian Council for Arts 2012 “Women in Theatre” report cites that 21% of the productions between 2001-2011 were written by women. Playwright Lynn Nottage wrote, “…not a single new Broadway play this season was written by a woman or person of color, and of the 47 bookwriters/composers and lyricists represented on Broadway, only six of them were women” (“Women Are Missing From TONY’s and Broadway”, New York Times, 6/6/14). Likewise, there were no new plays or musicals written by women produced on London’s West End in the 2013-2014 season. The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (LAFPI) reports that 16% of the 2013-2014 shows produced in Southern California were by women playwrights.

 

ICWP President Karen Jeynes of South Africa says “It is a sad truth that often women are not as easily able to access platforms as men are, and there are so many stories which go untold. This award is a fantastic way to acknowledge those who are producing women's work, and encourage those who aren't to think about whether there are more ways to include women writers in their line up.”

 

ICWP started in 1988 with a mission to support women playwrights worldwide and bring attention to their work. The 50/50 Applause Awards are now an annual event for ICWP, with nominations being stringently checked by a strong volunteer committee.  More information about the awards can be found at: http://www.womenplaywrights.org/award

 

Contacts: Elana Gartner and Kris Bauske, co-chairs ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards

Contact email address awards@womenplaywrights.org