tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.comments2011-08-01T12:39:21.540-04:00On My Way to the RevolutionIn Brief:http://www.blogger.com/profile/00125561697276633742noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-18946156718911861112011-05-07T16:56:07.164-04:002011-05-07T16:56:07.164-04:00Thank you so much for your post. My play Running: ...Thank you so much for your post. My play Running: AMOK actually addresses this very issue regarding professional creative women who are driven nuts (literally) in a society where having a baby and being a creative are not compatible for reasons totally unrelated to the baby and creative field itself. The ironic part is one reviewer of my play had the audacity to suggest that this is not an issue that would really affect a successful creative. Many folks who have not experienced this-- male and female-- are so out of touch.Khadijah Ali-Colemanhttp://www.amokrunning.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-7254447375918662352011-03-12T22:32:56.480-05:002011-03-12T22:32:56.480-05:00I have nothing to say except...see you in the weed...I have nothing to say except...see you in the weeds. You bring the whiskey and I'll bring the ice cream. Let's put it in our calendars...okay, never mind. Just know you're not alone.Gingerhttp://www.gingerlazarus.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-87034157112595689042011-03-05T07:02:59.298-05:002011-03-05T07:02:59.298-05:00I didn't know wheather to laugh or cry reading...I didn't know wheather to laugh or cry reading this post, but this is exactly my life.<br /><br />Oh, and I swear on all that is good and mighty that I raised my kids the same way and didn't let them watch any TV and was so careful about books they were read and things they were exposed to... and I ended up with Princess Ballet McMouthy, and Little Lord Boundless Energy McDeathtrap. He's 19 months younger than she is, and he's already taght her how to flush things down the toilet, climb up the bookshelf and jump on the couch, and open the back door and run outside. I'm even reading a book about how all these differences are socialization, an I want to throw it out the window.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-7556283719306385692011-03-01T23:04:41.619-05:002011-03-01T23:04:41.619-05:00we missed you at the meeting.. BUT - it was NOT NO...we missed you at the meeting.. BUT - it was NOT NOT NOT the end of the world. We know you have kids.. and it's ok. :) My work notebook has scribbles all over it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-60319802993011372982011-03-01T16:24:43.937-05:002011-03-01T16:24:43.937-05:00Brilliantly put. I've been there. It does ge...Brilliantly put. I've been there. It does get better. A lot better. And soon, because they really do get older and start school. (It stays hard, but not in the same beat-you-to-a-pulp hard.)<br /><br />Ice cream always helped me, too.<br /><br />(If it makes you feel better, you and your work were mentioned with great affection quite a few times during the Boston Theatre Conference on Sunday and Monday.)Patrick Gabridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11497038051641691987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-17726183369984256762011-02-28T21:46:37.072-05:002011-02-28T21:46:37.072-05:00Oh, Kirsten! You're not truly alone in the wee...Oh, Kirsten! You're not truly alone in the weeds. I promise. I'm there with you, although you can't see me. And, I know, so many others. I haven't taken a shower without an audience in five years. And I hate that my husband does not have this problem & can't understand why I want a lock on the bathroom door. My calendar on my computer has nine colors on it to track everything and everyone. Hell, the rainbow only has six! And yes, the parenting books suck because no one is YOU WITH YOUR KIDS! The dynamic is absolutely unique. My only consolation is that some of my childless friends who used to roll their eyes at me have just recently shed their childless selves & I can't wait to see them start pulling their hair out. A cruel pleasure perhaps but sweet nevertheless.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13752975844212942103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-43493113050302080882010-12-05T23:49:52.571-05:002010-12-05T23:49:52.571-05:00Jeannine,
I completely agree with your comment abo...Jeannine,<br />I completely agree with your comment about the seeming heightened expectation for people to develop into "successful (whatever that means) artists at a "young" (whatever that means) age. I'm 25 now, and I already feel pressure--especially being a woman--to figure out my artistic voice and say something before I miss the chance for people to listen. <br /><br />Thanks for this conversation. I'm inspired to continue figuring it out. I'll be checking out the work of those playwrights who were overlooked.Jillian Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14237436400555484062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-50378805381052166662010-11-19T12:09:26.478-05:002010-11-19T12:09:26.478-05:00Great post! As someone who found a way to really w...Great post! As someone who found a way to really write long after 32 (not because of childbearing; really, I can't fully know why), I appreciate your pov.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-41487634881199228082010-11-17T20:42:12.070-05:002010-11-17T20:42:12.070-05:00Thank you for your beautiful, generous and honest ...Thank you for your beautiful, generous and honest soul, Kirsten. xo, allisonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-68284254260470566912010-11-16T17:55:37.916-05:002010-11-16T17:55:37.916-05:00Let me be clear. I am not not not suggesting awar...Let me be clear. I am not not not suggesting awarding mediocrity. At all. I am suggesting that if you can't find finalists good enough, keep looking. Wade past those who are not ready, and be prepared and generous enough to look for those who are.<br /><br />Saying that you can not find one unproduced playwright 32 or under who is good enough is like suggesting you can not find one doctor or lawyer under 32 who is not good enough to gain scholarship to medical school or residency. That is ridiculous. <br /><br />I've just learned that there is speculation that all this debacle could lead to the Wasserstein grant being discontinued. Mm. Would it deserve to BE continued if no award were given? As that could suggest the award is not needed in the first place.<br /><br />I suppose what was so distressing was the apparent dismissal of a large group of writers who happen to be female coupled with the knowledge that there are indeed many many talented writers out there. <br /><br />And what would be truly ironic is if, in the case funding for the award were discontinued, if those in charge of it gave up on giving it out. Which would prove that rejection, on any scale, can have drastic effects on those rejected. If funding is discontinued my message would still be the same as it was to the 19 playwrights: your work is good, keep going.In Brief:https://www.blogger.com/profile/00125561697276633742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-66567725236900070652010-11-16T17:18:14.230-05:002010-11-16T17:18:14.230-05:00For people who are not my facebook friends, here i...For people who are not my facebook friends, here is the list of women (aside from the glorious and already very vaunted -- deservedly -- Annie Baker) playwrights either over or under the arbitrary age of 32 that people mentioned on my page. Find them and produce them and give them money! Yours Truly, David Adjmi<br /><br /><br />Elizabeth Finch<br />Deb Stein<br />Kristen Palmer<br />Christina Ham<br />Kirsten Greenidge <br />Anna Ziegler<br />Lauren Gunderson<br />Eli Clark<br />Leah Winkler<br />Maya MacDonald<br />Jackie Sibblies Drury<br />Sheila Callaghan<br />Alice Tuan<br />Normandy Sherwood<br />Bekah Brunstetter<br />Jen Silverman<br />Tina Satter<br />Erin Marke<br />Jess Barbagallo.<br />Kim Rosenstock<br /> Jessie Bear<br />Kara Lee Corthron<br />Lucy Alibar<br />M Graham Smith <br />Tanya Saracho<br />Lauren Yee<br />Erin Bregman<br />martha kaufman<br /> Charlotte Miller <br /> Krista knight<br />fernanda coppel<br />mattie brickman<br />edith freni<br />emily schwend<br />nicole beckwith<br />jihan crowther<br /> Amber Reed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-66322289263085142142010-11-15T21:43:18.243-05:002010-11-15T21:43:18.243-05:00Thanks for this wonderful post, Kirsten. It hit ho...Thanks for this wonderful post, Kirsten. It hit home for me on many fronts. My daughter was three when I was finally able to get away to a two-week writing retreat/development gig. It was the first time I had that much uninterrupted time to write since she was born and I have to admit I was in heaven, until I got home and discovered two bald spots on the side of her head where she had twisted her hair to the point of disintegration in my absence. My husband travels all the time for his work, but she has never done that in his absence. I freely admit to my own form of arrested development, but 32 is more than arbitrary, it's baseless. It seems the more instantaneous we expect our communication, the faster we expect humans to do everything, including creating art or developing as an artist. Thanks again for your thoughts. Truly inspiring!<br />-JeannineAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13752975844212942103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-15098781078772111472010-11-15T12:50:12.679-05:002010-11-15T12:50:12.679-05:00Thank you for these words and for addressing this ...Thank you for these words and for addressing this outrageous news. As a performer, writer and teacher, I am astonished at the committees decision. I work with 20 year-old female playwrights every day who are ready to raise hell in the American Theatre. I wish for them resources and opportunities distributed with sounder mind than this year's Wasserstein.MSKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03031636832367192702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-18769312117521731142010-11-15T12:21:36.879-05:002010-11-15T12:21:36.879-05:00Thank you Kristen.
I didn't even start writi...Thank you Kristen. <br /><br />I didn't even start writing plays until I was over 35! My second play won the 2009 Helen Hayes Award and was published in American Theatre, but I can't be considered for this award or get into Juilliard or any number of things simply because I did other things before evolving into a writer. <br /><br />I am also a mother. I have twin toddlers, one of whom has a rare lung disease, which means he can't fly and I can't leave him without serious planning and juggling. Yet it was this illness and everything it changed in my life, that drove me back to writing and rediscovering what being an artist is all about. <br /><br />Thank you for your post<br /><br />Stefanie ZadravecUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11567884938346014549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-49898817517299941932010-11-15T09:08:20.171-05:002010-11-15T09:08:20.171-05:00I personally know a lot of women writers who didn&...I personally know a lot of women writers who didn't have the opportunity to focus on their work until their children were much older. Women, particularly, often don't come into their own until later. You are absolutely correct that these development programs are aimed at people who don't have to worry about childcare. That's mostly men.<br /><br />D.W. GregoryD.W. Gregoryhttp://www.dwgregory.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-83289533918768419252010-11-14T22:01:33.127-05:002010-11-14T22:01:33.127-05:00What a beautiful post, Kirsten. The intersection o...What a beautiful post, Kirsten. The intersection of prime baby-having years with prime professional-growth years is a huge and usually invisible problem for women in the theater. I know that I don't even mention my kids to anyone I deal with professionally until I know that they are safe - ie won't assume I can't do my work because I'm a mother. I hadn't thought about the Wasserstein age ceiling in terms of parenting until your post. Seems so arbitrary to assume that if you haven't made something great by the time you're 32 (and I'm not saying I agree that there wasn't anything great out there by a writer under 32), you've aged out of needing the encouragement and support to truly discover your voice.<br />Thanks for your thoughtful addition to the conversation.<br />JessicaJessica Baumannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-23563344944893888662010-11-14T12:02:14.248-05:002010-11-14T12:02:14.248-05:00Thank you, Kirsten, I believe in women playwright...Thank you, Kirsten, I believe in women playwrights from age ten to a hundred and ten! I would love to know who are those people who made up that committee? The audacity as a group to shoot down the dreams of these young playwrights should be punishable. They should all be replaced for that action. <br />Yvette Ganieryvette ganiernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-90893082032894343282010-11-14T11:36:52.280-05:002010-11-14T11:36:52.280-05:00I love that you mention the challenges of childcar...I love that you mention the challenges of childcare. I have a 6 week old and a show in preproduction for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. I am going to miss callbacks in New York partly because of childcare issues. I am struggling to find reliable childcare while I'm in rehearsals out of town and away from my support system. I have asked for a quiet place to nurse while we are in rehearsals. It's a whole new set of issues that I've never had to deal with and which adds to the challenge of being a female playwright. - Elyzabeth Gregory WilderElyzabeth Gregory Wildernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-41127553036086342802010-11-14T11:05:01.387-05:002010-11-14T11:05:01.387-05:00May I link to this on my own blog? I won -- not a...May I link to this on my own blog? I won -- not a Wasserstein, but a Helen Merrill -- award in 2000, and it changed my life utterly. These emerging playwright awards are so imporant, and unfortunately, we are still in the dark ages where we need special awards designated for women because otherwise, the women get overlooked. Wendy herself was a tireless advocate for young women's voices. She'd be outraged at this year's commotion.Brooke Bermanhttp://www.brookeberman.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-62367388505442220162010-11-14T10:12:34.132-05:002010-11-14T10:12:34.132-05:00Hi Kirsten -
I've been meaning to contact you...Hi Kirsten -<br /><br />I've been meaning to contact you (directly) to let you know about an initiative Epic is launching to support women playwrights with young children and specifically address the unique challenges for mother-playwrights and still will - but reading your wonderful post about the Wasserstein prize and a number of other posts on the subject throughout cyber land, I also wanted to "publicly" express my own, well, excitement actually at what feels to me a knocking down of the age-barriers and false thresholds prizes like these seems to establish even when they're awarded. <br /><br />I'm sure it's not the intention of TDF to further divide women by generations, and it's certainly vital for "non-established" "early-career" writers to have opportunities that help them feel part of the theatre community, and have the means to continue their work within our community. But given the long history of institutions separating women from women, I think it's important we take a careful look at anything that perpetuates this. <br /><br />Moreover, Wendy W's deep commitment for supporting future generations of women seemed to me to always included a direct, personal, vital, active engagement between these generations. Her plays, in fact, often showed what can happen when the bones and muscle between generations is not exercised sufficiently. So I can't imagine she'd want a Berlin Wall between those who are over 32 and those who are under 32, where all they can do is send smoke signals to each other.<br /><br />Ironically, I suppose, Epic's new enterprise does its own separation, focusing on women with children under 10. But we are a small company trying to make a few ripples in the ocean. And I do think parenthood is an experiential lens that is distinct and specific while chronological age, as history has proven, is not.<br /><br />Anyway... I babble. But thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!<br /><br />Best,<br />Zak<br /><br />Zak Berkman<br />Executive Director of Artistic Programming<br />Epic Theatre EnsembleZak Berkmanhttp://www.epictheatreensemble.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-54563326444375562752010-11-14T06:58:02.464-05:002010-11-14T06:58:02.464-05:00Well said, Kirsten. My advice to those 19 writers ...Well said, Kirsten. My advice to those 19 writers is to take that letter and burn it. That committee made a very bad decision and now they look foolish for it. <br /><br />PriscillaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-30180349362459318812010-11-11T21:53:09.822-05:002010-11-11T21:53:09.822-05:00Oh my goodness! There is a lot going on there at t...Oh my goodness! There is a lot going on there at the Madison Towers!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15099042645561233793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-66315684200883541922010-10-27T09:41:17.794-04:002010-10-27T09:41:17.794-04:00After so many years of not seeing each other on a ...After so many years of not seeing each other on a regular basis, I can still totally see you doing this!gigaramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446555769127441879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-48322210133370777092010-10-25T12:33:48.148-04:002010-10-25T12:33:48.148-04:00It isn't ridiculous! There are real ghosts!It isn't ridiculous! There are real ghosts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8756441810838167082.post-32911908021787610602010-10-25T08:27:31.815-04:002010-10-25T08:27:31.815-04:00I'm still waiting to see the video!!!;-)
Nice ...I'm still waiting to see the video!!!;-)<br />Nice Halloween-scented piece, K!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09154650344068895025noreply@blogger.com