Misconceptions is a new play opening this May in NY, presented by physical theatre company Blessed Unrest, written by the Emmy-nominated playwright Steve Wangh, and directed by Jessica Burr. Described as “A very serious – and very funny – play about abortion”, the production discusses the social and political landscape in the USA about women’s […]
The release of the first annual Fix The Mix report has found that women and non-binary producers and engineers are lost in the mix across the music industry. The studies were undertaken in a collaborative effort between We Are Moving the Needle, Jaxsta, Middle Tennessee State University and Howard University, with the findings presented by […]
Pop legends ABBA have revealed their decades-long support of Unicef. The Swedish group spoke to the BBC, who reported that the song Chiquitita was given to the charity in 1979, with the copyright earning considerable royalties in the decades since. About Chiquitita As told by the BBC, the song was in face penned for ‘Unicef’s […]
An inquiry into misogyny in music has been undertaken by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. Following the increase of more conversations around the issue, the inquiry aims to examine what misogynistic attitudes exist in the industry and why. It aims to uncover, in more detail, how these attitudes can filter through to […]
UK rapper and singer Stormzy has shared his thoughts on diversity in his acceptance speech at the 2022 AIM Awards. Sending his thanks in a remote video message, the musician expressed how much it meant for him to accept the Diversity Champion Award, and hoping that more would embrace diversity in a real and practical […]
The Golden Globes will return in 2023 following a year of controversy and action taken against injustice around the awards and those involved. The 2022 ceremony was dropped by the broadcaster NBC as a result of the wide-ranging issues and problems spanning racism, sexism, favouritism, and questions of interests which led to the boycott. Changes […]
Angelica Ross makes Broadway history as the first trans woman to play a lead role in Chicago, as Roxie Hart. Ross joins a small group who have performed major roles on Broadway as trans actors. Best known for her commercial music releases, and for previous roles in Pose and American Horror Story, 41-year old Angelica […]
Women in dance music still face barriers to the industry, as shown in a new report by The Jaguar Foundation, which has researched the current situation in the UK. Outlining that women only make less than 1% of radio play, the data looks at a timeline between 2020 – 2021 and looked at both ‘live’ […]
Trinity College London is launching the first fully inclusive Awards and Certificates in Musical Development in the UK and Ireland from September 2022. The global exam board is opening up the pioneering fully inclusive qualifications delivering the Sounds of Intent music learning programme, designed for those with learning difficulties across the whole spectrum of abilities […]
Just recently, a good old friend and work colleague posted a photo on Facebook showing a gender-neutral toilet seen backstage at Cirque du Soleil’s Ka in Las Vegas. As happy as I was about seeing this lovely sight, it also reminded me of how disappointed I continuously am regarding the – in my opinion – very poor efforts made by the entertainment industry towards diversity and inclusion.
Beginning of June this year, at the NAMM Show in California, Roadies of Color United (ROCU) hosted the Promoting Diversity Within the Industry panel. ROCU have been active in the music industry since 2009. Founded by Lance “K.C.” Jackson and William “Bill” Reeves, this organization continuously promotes diversity and equality for music industry professionals working backstage.
The Musicians’ Union has expressed disappointment that the statistics for the 2022 festival season are still not balanced in terms of gender representation of female headliners. Following new BBC research, only 13% of artists headlining this summer are women. The findings Out of 200 headline acts looked at, the BBC study found: 26 (13%) were […]
Legendary UK comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry has highlighted the lack of diversity at Glastonbury Festival. Speaking with BBC presenter and journalist Clive Myrie in an interview for the Radio Times, Henry notes it was “interesting” to see the demographic of the UK’s most well-known festival, and is equally “surprised” by other UK festivals […]
A call for more women over 45 years old has been issued via a campaign by British actors. An open letter with over 100 actors and public figures has gained traction and support for the campaign, which outlines the problems the industry is still facing with representation. The open letter The Acting Your Age Campaign […]
Here For The Music is a sexual violence prevention pledge by Calling All Crows. The campaign is supported by the creation of practical implementation of new policies, codes of conduct, and language to share in solidarity, as well as training resources. Here For The Music Pledge In the USA April is #SexualAssaultAwarenessMonth. Calling All Crows […]
Zurich has a very interesting history regarding the slow integration of the LGBTQ+ community. In many ways, the picturesque Swiss metropolis was way ahead of its time and opened their minds and doors earlier than most places for “fringe” groups. In other ways, they are still way behind today and have, for example, only just last year finally voted “yes” for gay marriage. Here is a little history of what happened in Zurich since the 1940ies. And how the LGBTQ+ community helped shape Zurich’s diverse and vivid night life.
Usually, the Paralympic games were presented by regular presenters. This year, Channel 4 has taken an important step towards inclusion and has instead assembled an entire all-star disabled presenting team for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. This is not just a first for Channel 4 itself, but a global first for a broadcaster at a world-class sporting event in general.
The list of nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards has been released, and included the unexpected news that Louis C.K, Dr. Luke and Marilyn Manson are up for awards. The decision has been a surprise to music fans, particularly as this year has seen well-publicised efforts to shake up the nominating and decision process following […]
In the beginning of 2021s Pride Month, major corporations in Switzerland signed what they call the LGBTIQ Agreement. In this beautiful one-pager they basically state that everyone is the sum of their experiences and that they will not ever judge anyone on anything other than their competence, experience, work ethic, and capacity to grow and learn.
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. He has always been engaged in creative pursuits. Ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories, books, and articles, to working as a show diver, performer trainer, and stage manager for large scale aquatic shows and stunt shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, Paralian – Not Just Transgender, where he gives us an authentic view into his incredibly turbulent life journey, which so far has presented him with an abundance of challenges and adversity. This also included aligning his soul with his body when he understood that he was transgender.
On June 8, 2020, broadwayworld.com published Twi McCallum’s Open Letter to the Theatre Community on Hiring Black Designers and Creatives. I came across this letter the following day, and I have to admit that I was quite struck by the letter’s tone. You really must read the entire letter for yourself, but I can tell you this: Twi gets right to the business of letting the entertainment industry know that hiring a Black cast does not mean your EDI box is checked. She writes that she’s, “tired of “inclusion” being exclusive to the actors, writers, producers, musicians, and dancers,” and that’s exactly the tone I’m talking about. She’s tired of it, and who wouldn’t be? The play does not stop at the stage. As everyone knows, that’s only the beginning, so why isn’t this inclusivity reaching backstage, to the shops, the design studios, etc.
Theatre has always been a huge part of my life. When I was a child, a family function wasn’t complete without a performance, carefully planned and directed by me, starring all of my siblings and cousins. My grandfather built scenery out of particle board and 2x4s that I used in my basement playhouse, complete with a clothesline […]
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has spent time learning during the pandemic. Even if you didn’t attempt to fit all of humankind’s knowledge into your brain just because you had a few months of downtime, you’ve probably attended at least a couple of the seemingly never-ending webinars that audio manufacturers and groups have kindly made available to us. I chose to learn how to code and found there are so many parallels with audio, both in the nature of the subject and how it’s taught. It keeps reminding me of the tiresome debates about why our workplace isn’t more diverse: for whatever underrepresented group is being discussed, it gets suggested that they just aren’t interested, they aren’t cut out for it, or the people who do well in the industry are there because they’re naturally suited to the role. The solution, if it’s seen as a problem at all, is to encourage more of that underrepresented group to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects at school. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief that it’s the next generation’s problem and they’ve narrowly avoided having to examine or change their own behaviour or the processes they participate in, and they go back to the status quo.
I don’t think anyone will look back and forget the year of 2020. For Roadies Of Color United or R. O. C. U. Pronounced “Rock-U” Twenty Twenty started out with so much energy and optimism. We began the year finalizing our plans for the 10th anniversary celebration of Our Social Network and Our first Annual Conference. This event will stand out to be one of the most positive memories for many who attended when looking back at 2020.
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you for your interest in the TheatreArtLife Archives, this area is for members only.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.