This analysis of the 2017-18 DC theater season covers playwright and director demographics and the production status of the plays that have been programmed. Completed in collaboration with DC-based theater artist Olivia Haller, the analysis covers plays that opened between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. The results below represent the final calculation for the 2017-18 season. The data set includes 209 productions at 53 theaters, all of which are listed below.
Note: this year’s analysis has been supported by theatreWashington.
Playwright Demographics: Gender
Of the plays slated to be produced in DC during the 2017-18 season, 63.61% were written by men, 35.43% by women, and .96% by authors who do not use binary gender identities. This represents an increase in gender parity from the previous season, one that can likely be attributed in large part to the second Women’s Voices Theater Festival, which begins later this year. That increase is not as great as the city experienced during the first festival, however, which took place during the 2015-16 season.
For the sake of comparison, here are the current season’s numbers alongside those from the previous five seasons:
- 2017-18: 63.61% men, 35.43% women, .96% writers with non-binary gender identities
- 2016-17: 67.52% men, 31.95% women, .53% writers with non-binary gender identities
- 2015-16: 61.46% men, 38.54% women
- 2014-15: 71.29% men, 28.71% women
- 2013-14: 74.07% men, 25.93% women
- 2012-13:Â 79% men, 21% women
Of further interest is the fact that gender parity is moderately greater among non-Equity theaters than among Equity theaters:
- Equity: 65.76% men, 32.30% women, 1.94% writers with non-binary gender identities
- Non-Equity: 61.53% men, 38.47% women, 0% writers with non-binary gender identities
Playwright Demographics: Diversity
The breakdown of the playwrights whose plays are slated to be produced in DC during the 2017-18 season is as follows: 78.60% are white, 6.73% are African American, 6.97% are Latinx, 3.37% are Asian American, 1.92% are Arab American, 0.48% are Native American, and 1.92% have multiple racial identities. Overall, this represents an increase in diversity from the previous five seasons:
- 2017-18: 21.40% playwrights of color
- 2016-17: 14.96% playwrights of color
- 2015-16: 19.42% playwrights of color
- 2014-15: 18.25% playwrights of color
- 2013-14: 15.73% playwrights of color
- 2012-13:Â 14% playwrights of color
Of further interest is the fact that diversity is significantly greater among Equity theaters than among non-Equity theaters:
- Equity: 26.71% playwrights of color
- Non-Equity: 16.20% playwrights of color
Playwright Demographics: Geography
Finally, of the playwrights whose plays are being produced in DC in the 2017-18 season, 18.28% are residents of the DC metropolitan area. In 2016-17, the number was only 8.70%; in 2015-16, the number was 17%; in 2014-15, the number was 16%; in 2013-14, the number was 13%; and in 2012-13, the number was 16%. Local culture has seen an increase above previous highs in the current season.
Director Demographics: Gender
Of the plays being produced in DC during the 2017-18 season, 59.13% are being directed by men, 40.63% by women, and .24% by artists who do not use binary gender identities. These numbers represent a noticeable increase in gender parity over the previous season:
- 2017-18: 59.13% men, 40.63% women, .24% artists with non-binary gender identities
- 2016-17: 62.57% men, 37.43% women, 0% artists with non-binary gender identities
- 2015-16:Â 66.13% men, 33.33% women, .54% artists with non-binary gender identities
- 2014-15: 66.12% men, 33.88% women, 0% artists with non-binary gender identities
- 2013-14: 66.97% men, 33.03% women, 0% artists with non-binary gender identities
Of further interest is the fact that gender parity is significantly greater among non-Equity theaters than among Equity theaters:
- Equity: 65.53% men, 33.98% women, 0.49% artists with non-binary gender identities
- Non-Equity: 52.86% men, 47.14% women, 0% artists with non-binary gender identities
To emphasize this finding even further: among non-Equity theaters, director assignments are approaching gender parity.
Director Demographics: Diversity
The breakdown of the directors in the 2017-18 season is as follows: 81.64% are white; 8.70% are African American; 5.31% are Latinx; 2.42% are Asian American; .48% are Arab American; .0% are Native American; and 1.45% have multiple racial identities. These numbers represent an increase in diversity among directors:
- 2017-18: 18.36% directors of color
- 2016-17: 12.15% directors of color
- 2015-16:Â 15% directors of color
- 2014-15:Â 13% directors of color
- 2013-14:Â 13% directors of color
There was no significant difference between Equity and non-Equity theaters with regard to diversity.
Director Demographics: Geography
Finally, of the directors included in the 2017-18 season, 75.24% are residents of the DC metropolitan area. In the 2016-17 season, that number was 69.89%; in the 2015-16 season, the number was 66.58%; in the 2014-15 season, the number was 71.98%; and in the 2013-14 season, the number was 75.04%. These numbers suggest only modest fluctuation across the previous five years. Also worth noting: Equity theaters hire significantly fewer local directors (54.37%) than non-Equity theaters (95.71%).
Production Data
Of the plays being produced in DC in the 2017-18 season: 24.64% will be having their world premieres; 8.70% will be having their second or third productions; and of the remaining plays, 45.98% were written by living playwrights and 20.69% by dead playwrights.
Another way to consider the same data points: in the 2017-18 season, 33.34% of the plays appearing on DC stages are new, if we define “new” plays as those receiving their first, second, or third productions. (This is, very roughly speaking, the widely-accepted definition used by the National New Play Network.) In the 2016-17 season, that number was 27.47%; in the 2015-16 season, that number was 42.85%; in the 2014-15 season, that number was 32.56%; and in the 2013-14 season, that number was 30.20%.
At the same time, a full 79.31% of the plays being produced in the 2017-18 season were written by living playwrights. In the 2016-17 season, that number was 82.91%; in the 2015-16 season, that number was 86.24%; in the 2014-15 season, that number was 77.87%; and in the 2013-14 season, that number was 77.48%.
Of further interest: non-Equity theaters (31.73%) are significantly more likely to produce world premieres than Equity theaters (17.48%). Similarly, Equity theaters are significantly less likely to produce work by living playwrights (73.63%) than non-Equity theaters (84.94%).
* The theaters in this analysis include: 1st Stage, Adventure, Ally, Aprilis, Arena, Arts on the Horizon, Brave Spirits, Constellation, Convergence, Creative Cauldron, Faction of Fools, Flying V, Folger, Ford’s, Forum, Gala Hispanic, Hub, Imagination Stage, Interact, Keegan, Kennedy Center, Longacre Lea, Metro Stage, Monumental, Mosaic, Next Stop, Nu Sass, Olney, Pallas, Pinky Swear, Pointless, Quotidian, Rep Stage, Restoration, Rorschach, Round House, Scena, Shakespeare, Signature, Solas Nua, Spooky Action, Studio, Taffety Punk, TBD Immersive, Theater Alliance, Theater J, Theatre Prometheus, Toby’s, Venus, Washington Stage Guild, Welders, Woolly Mammoth, and WSC Avant Bard.