5 thoughts on “high standards

  1. Here, here, Rick, and thank you Nancy! Steph, I think you’re right– you keep writing. That doesn’t mean you have to ignore the quantitative, but you don’t let it derail your immense talent and the remarkable things you have to say. . .

  2. Fascinating post, Sara. May I just say I love your right brain/left brain analysis.

    My response to studies like these is to generally ignore them. Only because I don’t want yet more evidence to be any more discouraged than I already am. Your goal for the FPI parallels my personal goal. I don’t look at myself as a ‘female playwright’ but a writer trying to be the best playwright I can be.

    That said, I do get excited when I see calls for plays that ask for works written specifically by women and I almost always submit my work to them. No harm in narrowing the field, right?

    When I receive a rejection letter I don’t ever think that my work was rejected because I’m a woman. Never. I think, “It’s not ready yet…needs more work” or “Not what they were looking for.” Mostly I strive NOT to make it personal.

    So, if the quantitative research on this subject is sound… then what? Am I totally naive to just ignore it? Am I insulating myself when something could actually be done? If so, what might that be? My instinct is to just write better.

    Perhaps the dialogue alone is a step in the right direction. Thanks for the post, Sara. And hooray for FPI.

  3. As a middle-class white hetero male, I hesitate to even speak on these topics sometimes. That said, I totally agree with your wish for the best work to be done, regardless of the source. It’s a slow process finding greater acceptance of new voices, and I hope the FPI can help coax that process along faster.

    I think your analysis that a minority community feels a need to be so careful about who they choose to be a leader is true. I heard Chris Rock recently say something along the lines of “We’ll know that black people have achieved true equality in America when there’s a black president who’s as stupid as George W. Bush.” True though that may be, I’d still prefer our presidents, and our theatre-makers, to be the best that they can be, and still be richly diverse.

  4. Loving your posts — have read the first two! So glad you’re adding your intelligence and clear-thinking to our site here!

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