@dramatistsguild @BrentEnglar

Last year at this time I published the results of my first effort—inspired by the Guild’s national count as well as local counts such as Gwydion Suilebhan’s analysis of DC—to analyze the demographics of the Baltimore theatre scene. My plan is to update the study each fall by publishing data for the season just concluded, so that Baltimoreans can more systematically answer the question of who is being produced, and who is directing the productions, at our theatres. A reminder: I am counting only productions that meet these criteria:

• The production received at least five performances.
• The production opened in Baltimore city between September of one year and August of the next.

I am also counting the occasional productions by Baltimore-based theatres that, for idiosyncratic reasons, run in a neighboring county: for example, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s annual summer production in Ellicott City, and the two productions at Towson University by Center Stage during its recent renovation. These shows are part of the mainstage season for theatres that are otherwise based entirely in Baltimore, so they seem appropriate to include in the data. (Frankly, this approach also is easier!)

For the 2015–2016 season, I compiled lists of dramatists and directors—categorized by gender, race/ethnicity, and region—for 114 productions by 33 theatres and theatre companies. (I was unable to confirm data for several other companies on their websites or via email.) Of these 114 productions, five were generated by ensembles. Of the 109 productions that credited specific authors:

• Approximately 75.5% were written by men, up from 71% the previous season. Approximately 23% were written by women and 1.5% were written by dramatists whose gender is non-binary.
• Approximately 80.5% had white authors, down from 82% the previous season. Approximately 15% had African-American authors, 2% had Latin or Hispanic authors, and 2.5% had Asian-American authors.
• Approximately 24% were written by people in reside in Baltimore city or county, down from 25% the previous season.
• Approximately 35% were either world premieres or second or third productions, up from 33% the previous year.

Once again, the data for directors, in terms of gender and race/ethnicity, resembled the data for dramatists. (The unsurprising exception is that three-quarters of last season’s directors resided in Baltimore city or county.) A complete breakdown is available at www.brentenglar.com/demographics.

It is too soon in my study to draw conclusions about trends; furthermore, by the time I published the data most Baltimore theatres had already planned their upcoming seasons, so the numbers had no bearing on those decisions. Based on this past season’s data, however, we might reasonably infer that the relatively high percentage of non-male dramatists in 2014–2015 was an aberration. Meanwhile, this past season’s uptick in shows by African-American authors was due mainly to the expanding presence of On The Road Theater Company; remove OTR from my count, along with the Arena Players (whose mission includes “illuminating the African-American experience through the performing arts”), and the percentage of shows by white authors jumps to 88%.

I haven’t yet begun to analyze the 2016–2017 season. However, a quick glance at the slates planned for many Baltimore theatres—including some of the longest established and best known—suggests that our stages will continue overwhelmingly to feature the perspectives of white men. Being a white man myself, I am privileged to belong to a community that goes out of its way to make me feel welcome. It is long past time to extend that courtesy to everyone else.

benglar@dramatistsguild.com