Holding people’s feet to the fire by just saying, ‘You know what, you may think that a lot of women are being hired.’ ‘I’ve done five shows last season, isn’t that enough to make women happy?’ ‘No! it’s the consistency of the pattern of hiring because we’ve been doing this now for fifteen years!’ ~Martha Steketee
Criticism and theater research are natural extensions of my past court research and current dramaturgical work — closely observing, offering reactions, and providing solid information to change the conversation from anecdotes to advocacy on behalf of female and non-binary playwrights, directors, and off-stage theater workers. ~Martha Wade Steketee
Martha Wade Steketee is a critic, researcher, and dramaturg. Michigander, who loved movies and theater, went off to study literature at Harvard and social science and social welfare at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan, spent 20 years as a court researcher and domestic policy analyst in university and nonprofit research offices in several cities, then landed in dramaturgy, criticism, and theater research.
She currently serves as Chair of New York’s Drama Desk Awards nominating committee, on several playwright prize committees, and as dramaturg to playwrights developing new works.
Her interest in theater design led her to co-found Chance Magazine (2012-2018) that “looks at the world through the lens of theater and design” and current service on the Henry Hewes Design Award committee. She is a past chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and continues active involvement in several ATCA prize and fellowship programs. An abiding interest in theater research and the role of women led her to analyze and write the Women Count report series, working with project founder Judith Binus, that has presented and analyzed Off-Broadway playwright, director, designer, stage management hiring trends since 2014.
Whose plays are being done, who is directing them, and who is being hired for theatrical off-stage roles in New York’s theaters beyond Broadway?
The Women Count report series has published analyses of production credits to assess questions of gender parity in theater hiring decisions since 2014. The project team decided to analyze hiring parity Off-Broadway after observing that similar efforts often focus on the easier-to-track (and smaller number of) Broadway productions each year. The project collects and reports on seasons produced by major Off-Broadway theater companies. Rentals in theater facilities are not included in these analyses, under the logic that the artistic leadership teams at any theater facility are not involved in hiring decisions of rental productions. Each Women Count report tracks 13 employment categories for each production studied: playwright, director, set designer, lighting designer. costume designer, sound designer, projection/video designer, choreographer, composer/original music, lyricist, conductor/music director, production stage manager, and stage manager/assistant stage manager.
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