Photo Coverage: Dramatists Guild of America's National Conference Celebrates 'THE COUNT'

The Dramatists Guild of America held their Biennial National Conference, Writing the Changing World, this past weekend from July 16-19, 2015 in La Jolla, CA.

The conference included keynote speeches, legal and business seminars, workshops, panels, and conversations with theatre elite. Writing the Changing World focused on storytelling for the future and the intersection of theater with television and film.

Participating Council and visiting artists at the Dramatists Guild of America's National Conference included Lisa Kron, Stephen Schwartz, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lisa Lampanelli, Carol Hall, Winnie Holzman, Georgia Stitt, Bobby Lopez, Marsha Norman, John Weidman, Julia Jordan, Amanda Green, John Logan, and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason.

The Count, a national survey showing the gender disparity among playwrights whose plays are being produced, was unveiled for the first time on Friday, July 17, 2015 by Marsha Norman, Julia Jordan, Lisa Kron, and Rebecca Stump.

Six years ago, Marsha Norman and Julia Jordan conceived The Count, which has been backed by many supporters in the theater industry. In February 2014, the Lilly Awards and the Dramatists Guild of America committed to funding the collaborative project to see how many female playwrights are being produced on average in the U.S. In June 2014, Dramatists Guild regional representatives, ambassadors and staff recommended theaters to be included in The Count.

The national study focuses on thousands of productions from hundreds of theaters over three seasons: 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.The data, gathered from regional theaters across the country, reveal the startling low number of works by women:

The Count Stats:

• Nationally, 22.18% of productions over the past three seasons have been written by women.
• Nationally, women wrote 26% of plays and 12% of musicals over the past three seasons.
• Nationally, women wrote 13% of revivals and 29% of new work over the past three seasons.

The study was divided into different regions based on location and culture. The Pacific region had the highest percentage of productions by female writers, coming in at 39% but without a large sample size. New England had the smallest percentage of productions by female writers, coming in at 18% with a moderate sample size. Since the NYSCA study determined an average of 17% nationally, 18% shows improvement.

The study also examined cities across the United States. Chicago came in at 36% with a large sample size. Washington was close behind at 30% with a moderate sample size. Kansas City, Philadelphia and Berkeley all had 29-30% with smaller sample sizes. New York, which not-surprisingly had the largest sample size, came in at 25%.

The Count, entirely numbers and evidence based, shows a broader view of theater. The mission is to the close the gender gap in playwriting with this ongoing annual project. The goal is not to shame and blame, but to document change and assure the voices of women are heard in the theater. The Lilly Awards and the Dramatists Guild of America want to present these findings to theaters as useful information with the hope they look at the data gathered and try to reimagine what they are offering their audiences.

Check out the photos from the event below!

Photo Credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images