CHICAGO, December 12, 2016 -According to the Dramatist's Guild, only 14% of plays produced in regional theaters were by American white women in 2015. Only 3.4% were written by American women of color.
Disappointing stats like these and how the recent presidential election put misogyny and gender equity squarely in the media spotlight spurred 11 female identified performers and an all-female identified production and design team to devise Gender Breakdown.
A compilation of true, absurd, uncomfortable and gut-punching stories culled from more than 200 Chicago theater artists, Collaboraction Theatre Company's first world premiere of 2017 is a response to the lack of gender equity on and offstage.
Vivid tales of violence, miseducation, segregation, and the ongoing disrespect and marginalization of women - even in Chicago's acclaimed theater industry - pull back the curtain on real issues of misogyny, gender politics and racism within the theater industry and beyond.
Ultimately, via deeply personal stories from training, auditions, and the rehearsal room, Gender Breakdown theatricalizes the question "How is this possible, that in 2017, females are still marginalized in our community?"
Gender Breakdown is created by Dani Bryant and directed by Erica Vannon - the lead artists behind Spanx You Very Much, an exploration of female body empowerment through a 45-woman dance explosion, and the break-out hit from Collaboraction's 15th and Final SKETCHBOOK Festival in 2016.
Previews are Thursday through Saturday, February 16-18 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, February 19 at 3 p.m., and Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. Preview tickets are only $5.
Press opening is Wednesday, February 22 at 7 p.m.
Performances run through March 19: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Thursday, February 23. Industry Night performances are Monday, February 27 and March 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Gender Breakdown is presented in The Vault at Collaboraction Studios in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Single tickets to performances are $20-30; $10-$15 for students, educators and industry.
Tickets purchased before December 31 are 50% off with code EARLY50. Tickets purchased January 1-31 are 25% off with code EARLY25.
For tickets and information, visit collaboraction.org or call ( 312 ) 226-9633 .
More about Gender Breakdown
Gender Breakdown is a compilation of true, absurd, uncomfortable and gut-punching stories about gender inequity culled from more than 200 Chicago theater artists, many gathered at Off Menu potlock dinners at Collaboraction.
"Female identified artists continue to fight for equal representation, equal pay, three-dimensional characters and rehearsal environments that are free from micro-aggressions and commodification," said creator Dani Bryant. "Gender Breakdown harnesses the same artistic vision and raw electricity of Spanx You Very Much to explore how, even in an oftentimes liberal-leaning business, inequities based on gender pervade the theater."
Dani Bryant ( creator ) is a devised method playwright and process facilitator who specializes in using social practice as an artistic entry point - letting collaborative discussion shape each project. In addition to creating over 20 pieces of devised theater, she holds great passion for leading facilitated community conversations about gender parity, mental health, arts education and food and body politics. Originally from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, she attended The University of North Carolina School of the Arts and received her BFA from the Hartt School of Theater. She is currently pursuing her Master's and certification in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Drama Therapy. She is the founder of Knife & Fork, co-creator of For Fork's Sake Live and Cabaret Vagabond and is an Artistic Ensemble Member at Adventure Stage Chicago.
Erica Vannon ( director ) is a director, producer and collaborative artist. She is the founder of Lost Geneva Project, a project based theater company committed to telling women's stories, and a co-founder for Knife & Fork, a food and social practice theater company. For the past three years, Vannon has directed for Shimer College. She served as a co-artistic director for Blank Line Collective, a collaborative, movement-based theater company from 2007-2010. She has worked with Collaboraction, Promethean Theatre Ensemble, Chicago Fringe Festival, Rhino Fest, and 20% Theatre. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Directing from the University of North Texas and a Graduate Laban Certificate of Movement Analysis ( GL-CMA ) from Columbia College Chicago.
Gender Breakdown stars Brianna Buckley, Jazmin Corona, Kamille Dawkins, Mari DeOleo, Rula Gardenier, Kate Hawbaker-Krohn, Priya Mohanty, Siobhan Marguerite Reddy-Best, Carolyn Sinon, Aimy Tien and Mia Vivens.
The all-female design and production team includes Sarah JHP Watkins ( set designer ), Becca Venable ( lighting designer ), Katherine Pavlovna Goldberg ( costume designer ), Karli Blalock ( sound designer ), Sarah Moeller ( producer ),
Kelly Butler ( production manager ), Caitlin Body ( stage manager ), Brittany T. Jasper ( assistant stage manager ), Becca Venable ( technical director ) and Carley Walker ( master electrician ).
About Collaboraction
With Gender Breakdown, Collaboraction ( collaboraction.org ), Chicago's social contemporary theater, continues its tradition of provocative and powerful world premieres taking on Chicago's most pressing social issues.
Collaboraction collaborates with artists, community activists, and citizens from throughout the city to create original theatrical experiences that push artistic boundaries and explore critical social issues with a diverse community of Chicagoans. Collaboraction has worked with more than 3,000 artists to bring more than 60 productions and events to more than 100,000 audience members.
Collaboraction is the resident theater company in the Flat Iron Arts Building,
1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., at the epicenter of Chicago's Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods. The company's collective three-space venue, Collaboraction Studios, includes The Pentagon, The Vault and The Salon, encompasses 8,000 square feet on the third floor of the historic building, is home to Collaboraction's own productions, as well as a wide variety of visiting Chicago theater and dance companies and comedy groups.
Collaboraction Studios are also home base for Collaboraction For-Hire, which creates custom special event design for private, corporate and civic clients, including the Art Institute, the City of Chicago and more.
Production highlights include Collaboraction's PEACEBOOK Festival in association with the Chicago Park District this past summer, 15 years of theSKETCHBOOK Festival, the company's acclaimed series of Crime Sceneproductions responding to Chicago's crime epidemic, Sarah Moeller's Forgotten Future: The Education Project, the Chicago premiere of 1001 by Jason Grote, the world premiere of Jon by George Saunders and directed by Seth Bockley, andThe Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow: an instant message with excitable musicby Rolin Jones.
Collaboraction is led by Artistic Director Anthony Moseley and a dedicated staff and board of directors. Collaboraction is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation via the MacArthur Foundation, and the Wicker Park & Bucktown SSA #33 Chamber of Commerce. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
For tickets and information, visit collaboraction.org or call ( 312 ) 226-9633 .
