You Don't Need Four Women to Play Shakespeare: Bias in Contemporary American Theater

Based on 50 structured interviews (with actors, actresses, directors, and stage managers) and a random survey of 244 performers who worked in Washington, D.C., from May 1986 to May 1987, this study looks at gender and other bias in the American theater. The interviewees, ranging in age from 19 to 78, reflect on bias against women in the theater; lack of parts, age and race stereotypes, unequal pay, workplace harassment, and so on.