By Laura Rodriguez, news correspondent
The first in a series of panel events exploring trends in theatre and society took place Tuesday at Boston-based community theatre SpeakEasy Stage Company.
The Ruby’s Salon panel, named after actor and activist Ruby Dee, was made up of different actors from the most recent production of “Men on Boats.” Panelists spoke about gender-bending in modern theatre practice and were frank in discussing issues facing non-binary and queer-identifying actors.
“I don’t like to walk in a room and assume I know the gender identity of everyone in the room,” said Sloth Levine, assistant director of SpeakEasy Stage Company.
Speakers discussed that one way to advance the acceptance of gender fluidity and non-binary people in theatre is by addressing and constantly stressing the importance of pronouns. This can take the pressure off of non-binary and transgender people during introductory situations.
Panelist Alice Kabia said theatre groups need to make non-cisgendered individuals feel comfortable during the audition and rehearsal processes by using non-gendered pronouns.
“[It is] important to normalize this kind of behavior [because] it makes cisgendered people see other ways of living,” she said.
The lessons from the panel translated into current projects in the Northeastern University Theatre Department. Associate Professor Antonio Ocampo-Guzmán affirmed that professors working toward inclusion and understanding cannot be understated.
“In this day and age particularly, [students’] generation is much more open to conversation about gender identity and expression,” Ocampo-Guzmán said. “As theatre artists, we have to be more participant in this conversation.”
While acknowledging the advance of conversation in terms of theatre practice, Ocampo-Guzmán also addressed a big conundrum in the theatre community: theatre tends to attract more females, but western theatre is male dominated. As a result, there is less gender balance in the characters.
“In principle, theatre needs to address thematics important to our society, and the conversation about gender norms has become more prevalent,” Ocampo-Guzmán said.
Some students in the department have had their own experiences with gender bending roles. Fourth-year theatre major Barbara Edmonds played the role of Nick Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a role traditionally played by a man.
“Between cutting my hair short to the way the character moved and spoke, it was an exercise in balancing my own sense of femininity as a cisgendered female, and the masculinity of Bottom,” Edmonds said.
Valera Bamgbala, a third-year theatre and history double major, talked about getting the audience’s gears turning during a performance and sparking conversations much like the Ruby’s Salon discussion.
“The importance and significance [of gender binary in theatre] lies in equality and acceptance,” Bamgbala said. “Women being cast in roles for men that are designed to show dominance and strength prove the fact that women can be strong and women can be dominant, something which society is still apparently struggling with.”
The need to champion female playwrights and create more opportunities for women, non-binary, and transgender people in theatre has never been more imminent, Ocampo-Guzmán said.
“Theatre lies at the heart of so much social change, as it has done in the past and will hopefully continue to do in the future,” Bamgbala said.
