AUDIT MKE: Playwrights Produced in Milwaukee Theatre 2000-2020

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1	AUDIT MKE: Playwrights Produced in Milwaukee Theatre							Author: MICHAEL COTEY
2	RACE & GENDER REPRESENTATION 2000-2020							LATEST UPDATE: 9/14/21 // Published: 9/5/20
3	The intent of this resource is to shed light on the representation of gender and race of playwright produced in Milwaukee's live theatre productions from 2000-2020. SAMPLE: This is a numerical analysis of 799 productions produced by Milwaukee's 6 Equity theatres (First Stage, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Next Act Theatre, Renaissance Theatreworks, & Skylight Music Theatre) from 2000 to 2020. Specifically, it compares the race and gender of playwrights in a number of permutations for each theatre: every five years, looking at the past 20 years, and comparing the 00/01 season to 19/20. To obtain the sample, I compiled the information directly from the production history pages on the websites of the representative theatres. In the case of some of the older seasons that might not be listed on a theatre's website (especially in the early 00s), information was culled from press releases and old season announcements online. PRODUCTION CREDITS: Each production is equal to 1 point. In a work written by one author, that author receive the full 1 point. When a work is written by more than one author, the credit is split evenly among the authors. For example, Milwaukee Rep's long-running A Christmas Carol was written by Edward Morgan and Joseph Hanreddy. Both Morgan and Hanreddy receives half the credit, or 0.5 for each. With work where there is more than 3 authors, the credit is split evenly so that it equals 1pt. ADAPTATIONS & TRANSLATIONS: Authorship credit is given to the adaptator or translator in most circumstances, rather than the author of the source text. For example, credit for A Christmas Carol goes to Joseph Hanreddy and Edward Morgan, instead of Charles Dickens. In the case of translations: credit will usually go to the translator of classic text (i.e. Greek works) when this translator was credited on the theatre's website, but to the original author in modern text (ex. Yasmina Reza's plays are originally in French, and though they are translated in English, she commonly receives sole credit for that work). WHAT'S INCLUDED (AND WHAT ISN'T): This study focuses on the main seasons of the theatres listed above, specifically things listed in a theatre's subscription series or listed as part of their production history. Exempted from this list are staged readings (ex. Montgomery Davis New Play Development; Br!nk), short play festivals (ex. Rep Lab; Young Playwrights Festival), and other special events. Planned 2020 productions that might have been cancelled due to COIVD-19 are included. DEFINITION OF BIPOC: BIPOC stands for "Black, Indigenous, People of Color"; included individuals from the following racial and ethnic groups: East Asian, Black, Latinx/Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Native American/Pacific Islander. Individuals of other races or mixed races were included as well. A NOTE ON RACE & GENDER: Designation of race and gender for any given playwright is based on publicly available sources on the internet, including the theatre's website, Wikipedia, production materials, etc. Also, a glaring limitation of this study is that gender is portrayed as a binary male/female category. Though the designations are based on publicly available sources, I acknowledge the limitations of this method, and some individuals may not be accurately identified. If this is the case for any entry in in this study, please email michael.cotey@gmail.com so a correction can be made. QUESTIONS OR TO REPORT AN ERROR/CORRECTION: Email michael.cotey@gmail.com
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7	SOME INITIAL FINDINGS The percentage of female playwrights rose 7.03% from the 2000-2005 seasons to the 2015-2020 seasons, but female playwrights account for little more than a fourth of the playwrights produced in 2015-2020. The number of BIPOC playwrights is five times larger in 2015-2020 than it was in 2000-2005 (2.95% to 16.58%), but the percentage of white playwrights over the 20 year period is nearly 10 times more than the percentage of BIPOC playwrights (90.22% vs. 9.78%). The percentage of white male playwrights from 2000-2020 is more than the combined percentage of white female playwrights, BIPOC male playwrights, and BIPOC female playwrights. The work of the top 10 most-produced BIPOC playwrights (male & female) accounts for 44% of the produced work in their category and 4% of all the produced work from 2000-2020. In a list of the top ten most produced playwrights in Milwaukee from 2000-2020, white male playwrights would dominate all 10 spots. The top two most produced BIPOC playwrights would tie with two white male playwrights in the final spot on this list, and they would both be male. None of the most produced female playwrights, white or BIPOC, would make this list.
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32	RACE & GENDER REPRESENTATION (# OF PRODUCTIONS)
33	Seasons	White	BIPOC	Male	Female	White Male	BIPOC Male	White Female	BIPOC Female	Total Productions
34	00-05	192.167	5.833	161.9	36.1	158.567	3.333	33.6	2.5	198
35	05-10	187.667	19.333	170.033	36.967	156.2	13.833	31.467	5.5	207
36	10-15	174.166	19.834	152.018	41.982	140.934	11.084	33.232	8.75	194
37	15-20	166.834	33.166	148.465	51.535	129.632	18.833	37.202	14.333	200
38	Total Plays	720.834	78.166	632.416	166.584	585.333	47.083	135.501	31.083	799
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40	RACE & GENDER REPRESENTATION (BY %)
41	Seasons	White	BIPOC	Male	Female	White Male	BIPOC Male	White Female	BIPOC Female	Total Productions
42	00-05	97.05%	2.95%	81.77%	18.23%	80.08%	1.68%	16.97%	1.26%	198
43	05-10	90.66%	9.34%	82.14%	17.86%	75.46%	6.68%	15.20%	2.66%	207
44	10-15	89.78%	10.22%	78.36%	21.64%	72.65%	5.71%	17.13%	4.51%	194
45	15-20	83.42%	16.58%	74.23%	25.77%	64.82%	9.42%	18.60%	7.17%	200
46	% for 20 yrs	90.22%	9.78%	79.15%	20.85%	73.26%	5.89%	16.96%	3.89%	799
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48	VVVVVVVVVVV EXPLORE TABS BELOW FOR INDEPTH BREAKDOWNS VVVVVVVVVVV
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51	UPDATES, EDITS, & FIXES
52	Changes to this document will be documented here as they are made.
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54	9/14/21 - adjusted title of study in preparation for submission to Counting Together
55	9/7/20 - adjusted some spelling errors for MCT listings, switched the authorship of 85 CHARING CROSS ROAD from the source author, Helene Hanff to its adaptor, James Roose-Evans (added a note about adaptations and translations) [Thank you Judy Martel!]
56	9/6/20 - added Dinorah Marquez (Mexican American female) to ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA (19/20, FS). Redesignated Deborah Wicks La Puma (Mexican American) for Elephant and Piggie 19/20, Ella Enchanted 15/16, Ferdinand the Bull 07/08 (FS) [Thank you Jeff Frank!]
57	9/5/20 - added "Antonio's Song" to Milwaukee Rep's 19/20 season. It was a COIVD cancellation.
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