The Kilroys Feature Female Writers of Color on The List 2017
(© Tristan Fuge)
The Kilroys, an independent, Los Angeles-based group of female playwrights and producers, have launched their 4th annual edition of The List, a vetted roster of industry-recommended new plays.
The List 2017 features the most recommended un- and underproduced plays written by female and trans writers of color, following a survey of hundreds of professional artistic directors, literary managers, professors, producers, directors, and dramaturgs. The List is organized by the Kilroys, a collective dedicated to taking action in the face of gender disparity in American theater.
In 2014, the Kilroys created The List survey in response to systemic gender bias in theater programming. The vetted collection of industry-recommended works was designed to bring worthy plays by female and trans playwrights to the forefront of the American theater conversation. In its first three years of existence, The List has featured 131 plays, and over 1,000 plays have been nominated by hundreds of industry professionals. Since then, more than 100 productions of plays on The List have been have been mounted or announced.
According to The Count, an ongoing study funded by The Lilly Awards and the Dramatists Guild released in 2015, just 22% of productions in regional theaters over the previous three years were written by women. However, only 3.4% of the overall plays produced reported by The Count were written by women of color. This year’s List addresses this concern in the hopes of inclusive parity.
Members of the Kilroys include Zakiyyah Alexander, Bekah Brunstetter, Sheila Callaghan, Carla Ching, Annah Feinberg, Sarah Gubbins, Laura Jacqmin, Joy Meads, Kelly Miller, Meg Miroshnik, Daria Polatin, Tanya Saracho, and Marisa Wegrzyn.
