Reports From The SPRING TOUR!

EDNA LEWIS reports from the road - our tour to Denison University with "If You Can Stand the Heat: The History of Women and Food"
March 4th, 2010

March 3rd, 2010

Diary Dearest,

I’m not sure if I am glad or sad that I wasn’t forewarned about the size of our plane. I’ve been on bigger buses! Instead of fear, I will embrace my inner Beyonce and think of it as a private jet. We had a quick ride and a smooth landing - what more can a Diva ask for? We had an uneventful drive to Denison University. Granville, Ohio is dollhouse – aka adorable town. Remember that episode of “The Twilight Zone” where the couple wakes up in a town they can’t escape from, only to find out they are toys for a giant little girl? Well this town would fit that scenario perfectly. Our poster making workshop was fun, energetic, and informative. It mad me a little nostalgic for my college days.

Luv,
Edna Lewis

March 3rd, 2010

Diary Dearest,

Woke up at the crack of 10am feeling refreshed and ready to go. Added a shower, some food, some coffee and I am now hyped and ready to go! Practice, practice, practice, and raking the I-270 are the way to performing at Ace Morgan Theatre. Our run through and tech went swimmingly. Our volunteer “Tammy the Tummy” is prepped and ready to go.
The show was amazing. We had a fun, and a sometimes shy audience. But once they came out of their shells, it was on. I was a little nervous about my "Where'd your ass go?" line, but I was worried for nothing because it got a huge laugh. Sure, there were only two Sista's that I saw in the audience, but as far as I'm concerned we were out in full force.
There was fun, surprises, and whipped cream. What more can a Guerilla Girl On Tour ask for?

Luv,
Edna

March 4th, 2010

Diary Dearest,

Its been real Ohio. Thanks for the memories Denison University. Its time now for me to board my Bus/Jet and fly home!
Luv,
Edna

MORE REPORTS FROM MFK FISHER and JULIA CHILD coming soon!

TONY AWARD ROUND UP

15% of all 2010 TONY NOMS go to WOMEN

Number of women nominated in the following categories:

BEST PLAY 1
BEST MUSICAL 0
BEST BOOK 0
BEST SCORE 1
BEST REVIVAL PLAY 0
BEST REVIVAL MUSICAL 1
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY 1
DIRECTOR OF MUSICAL 1
CHOREOGRAPHER 2
ORCHSTRATIONS 0
SCENE DESIGN PLAY 0
SCENE DESIGN MUSICAL 2
COSTUME DESIGN PLAY 1
COSTUME DESIGN MUSICAL 1
LIGHTING DESIGN PLAY 0
LIGHTING DESIGN MUSICAL 0
SOUND DESIGN PLAY 0
SOUND DESIGN MUSCIAL 0

TOTAL NOMINATIONS 11 OUT OF 72 OR 15%

MORE BROADS ON BROADWAY PLEASE!

Going Bananas at Bluestockings

We held our annual GUERRILLA GALa last night at Bluestockings Book Store and Café on the lower east side. Bluestockings is owned by a five-person workers’ collective and is staffed by about 60 volunteers. (The staff was awesome to us all during our GALa).
The store hosts events almost every night and we were lucky to be the featured event last night.

Kudos to GGOT Anne Sexton who single handedly organized the event and arranged for a diverse bunch of about 50 of NYC’s theatre women to arrive at 7PM for the schmooze. We had young and old with both long and short resumes in attendance as well as representatives from organizations like the Women’s Project, Theatre for a New City, Dixon Place and the League of Professional Theatre Women.

I was so impressed and in awe of the women who showed up, who each gave a two minute speech about what they were currently working on and what they hoped to accomplish in the theatre in the next few years. It seemed there was much more hope at this event then there had been at past ones.

I wonder if it’s because of Emily Sands’ economic study on the state of women in theatre or perhaps the impact of the newly formed 50/50 in 20/20 group that hopes to have an equally number of plays by both women and men produced in the US by 2020? Are we theatre women more hopeful that our work will get some much needed attention in years to come?

If so, our 13 plus years of effort trying to shed light on discrimination in theater will have been worth it. But we can’t quite take our masks off yet.

Thanks to Carole Lombard, Edna Lewis, Josephine Baker and Anne Sexton for hosting and organizing the GALa. And please if you have never been you must immediately head downtown to Bluestockings - they also run a free-trade café that serves great soy lattes and organic, vegan treats!

Bluestockings – 172 Allen Street (btw. Stanton & Irvington) – 212-777-6028

From a Baboon Boy

Dear Guerrilla Girls On Tour,
When I was a Sophomore in college I had the honor of seeing your performance of "Feminists of Funny". From that point on my life was changed, so much so in fact that I added a gender/women's studies major to my degree. I recently came across a situation that required all my Guerrilla Girl power! I was commissioned to write a one act-for an evening of plays all based on the same original story. Well, I come to find out that ALL the playwrights are WHITE MEN (myself being the only gay one), and NO women were involved at all. As soon as I found out I called the producer and told him I couldn't be a part of the project unless I was able to write from a female characters point of view, as well as have a full cast of Latina women, and to top it all off, my piece would have to be directed by a female. The amazing thing is, the producers totally understood, and were even supportive of my choices once they saw their mistake. This has shown me a few things, 1) Sometimes people need to be made aware of their sexism if they ever want to change it, 2) white, gay, "males", can be feminist super-heroes sometimes, and finally 3) The Guerrilla Girls On Tour change lives wherever they go!!

Your Baboon Boy,

Jean Genet

Our Youtube Channel is Yourtube Channel

Awesomeness Alert: Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

Check out what feministing.com has to say about Guerrilla Girls On Tour!
http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/18952
http://www.feministing.com/archives/020700.html

If you are not familiar with the Guerrilla Girls on tour, get familiar, there work is amazing, you know, if you are into that radical art, street theatre, anti-sexism thing! Check them out in action:

SIZE 2 PANTS LYRICS

For those of you who requested the lyrics to our parody here they are. Feel free to sing them loudly all day long. L ro R Edna Lewis, Julia Child and MFK Fisher

“SIZE 2 PANTS” sung to the tune of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance” by Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

I want some junk food
A Big Mac with cheese
I want to slip into
My Levis with ease
Fits like a glove
Glove, glove, glove
Fits like a glove

I go to Denny’s
To eat a Grand Slam
I need a waistband
That is gonna expand
Fits like a glove
Glove, glove, glove
Fits like a glove

My pants aren’t too tight
They all fit me just right
And that’s because they’re not size 2 pants

Some women starve and some women will purge
And they still can’t wear a size 2 pants
Adore the size of the body you’re in
You don’t need to wear a size 2 pants.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear a size 2 pants
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear a size 2 pants

Fits like a glove
I don’t want to pretend
Fits like a glove
I don’t have a rear-end?
Je veux Size Deux
Et je veux ta pretend
Je veux ton amour
I don’t have a rear-end?
Yes I have a rear-end!
Yes I have a rear-end!
Can’t wear size two pants!
Can’t wear size two pants!
Some women starve and some women will purge
And they still can’t wear a size 2 pants
J’adore the size of the body you’re in
You don’t need to wear a size 2 pants.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear size 2 pants!
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Can’t wear size 2 pants!

Ra ra-ah-ah-ah
Roma roma-ma
GaGa Oh la-la
Can’t wear size 2 pants!

Our parody of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" is turned into "Size Two Pants" by Guerrilla Girls On Tour in our show about women and food. Here's a clip from a recent performance at Denison University in Ohio.

American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grants maintain status quo of sexism on Broadway

What’s wrong with this picture? The American Theatre Wing announced that its 2010 Jonathan Larson grants had been awarded to 4 men. That’s right, not one woman this year or last year received a JL grant. Since 1997 the Jonathan Larson Foundation has given out 104 grants. Only 16 of those have gone to women or to theatres producing a musical by a woman. The grant is described by ATW as “for individual creative theatre artists to turn to for financial support and encouragement. The Jonathan Larson Grants honor the talented creator of Rent and ensure that his spirit continues to inspire the future of American musical theatre.” I guess they believe that the future of musical theatre is reflected in what’s currently playing on Broadway. There are 26 musicals on Broadway – 23 by men and 3 by women. That’s 12% representation by female musical theatre writers. Just 15% of all Jonathan Larson grants have gone to women. I know there are just as many women writing musical as men so why do these grants help to maintain the status quo instead of encouraging more women’s voices? What’s currently playing on Broadway? Discrimination. Note to American Theatre Wing – we need more Broads on Broadway. In 2011 give only women awards. Feel free to steal that idea.

-Aphra Behn
© 2010

Photos from Yoko Ono Courage for the Arts Awards dinner

L to R Julia Child, Aphra Behn of GGOT with Josephine Baker of GGBB and Yoko Ono seated.


Julia and her big hair.


Julia Child and Aphra Behn with Martha Wilson of Franklin Furnace


Courageous artist, Yoko Ono.