Location: Chief Dan George Theatre
Abstract:
Session led by Rebecca Burton, Lisa Davenport, Barry Freeman, and Brenda Martinez Luna
Rina Fraticelli’s 1982 landmark report, “The Status of Women in the Canadian Theatre,” exposed widespread gender inequities, including the stark figure that plays by women comprised only 10% of the nation’s productions. In the ensuing decades, researchers tracked modest increases, expanding their methodologies to consider other underrepresented groups (Burton, MacArthur, Hanson and Elser). Inspired by this research, and dismayed by the slow pace of change, PLEDGE undertook PLEDGE@10, a SSHRC-funded survey of curricular theatre productions at Canada’s French- and English-language post-secondary training programs between 2018 and 2025 (pandemic years excepted). The study exposes inherited inequities and tracks shifts toward inclusion (see www.pledgeproject.ca).
Theatre schools act as laboratories for future leaders to rehearse transformation, yet they also mirror inherited systemic inequities. If the chosen stories do not embody equity, diversity, and inclusion, then what does that say about our training institutions and the future of theatre and performance in Canada?
Session structure:
Past: We will start by inviting participants to reflect on their own experiences in small groups, with a prompt such as: “How did the repertoire of your theatre school reflect student diversity
Or: What patterns did you notice in the plays chosen?” (10 minutes)
Present: The PLEDGE team will share results from the survey with key findings, one of which is that a commitment to producing new Canadian work often means a commitment to gender and racialized diversity (and vice versa). (40 minutes)
Future: We will then lead a structured discussion about implications for practice. What does this work surface about systemic change or the material conditions of producing theatre in programs? How might these findings be actionable? What can be done? (40 minutes).
Biographies:
Rebecca Burton is the Membership and Contracts Manager and the Women’s Caucus staff liaison at the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Rebecca authored the 2006 report, “Adding it Up: The Status of Women in Canadian Theatre,” edited Long Story Short: A (Mostly) Ten-Minute Play Anthology, and has published articles in the field.
Lisa Davenport is a drama educator and a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies.
Barry Freeman is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies. His current research is focused on developing new resources, partnerships, and visions for theatre education.
Brenda Martínez Luna is an Arts Management, Film and Literature, and Theatre and Performance undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She has been a Research Assistant for PLEDGE since 2023.