The League of Professional Theatre Women is pleased to announce “Women On Stage and In the Streets”

Initiated in 2011, the triennial Gilde/Coigney International Theatre Award Program has grown exponentially to embrace ongoing communication and collaboration with our international theatre colleagues. Following the 2020 Program, Melody Brooks folded “Theatre From the Streets” into her non-profit, New Perspectives Theatre Company, where it continues to flourish and has inspired the theme for the 2023 GCITA Program.

“In the spirit of Gilder and Coigney: “International cultural exchange/connection is the pathway to recognizing our shared humanity, and critical to cultivating understanding and social progress around the world.” – Melody Brooks, Artistic Director, New Perspectives Theatre Company.

“Women On Stage and In the Streets” panels will take place at the La MaMa Community Arts Space at 74A E. 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue) from October 9th to October 13th from 3:00pm – 4:30pm. The schedule is as follows:

Monday, October 9th
Theatre From the Streets | Moderated by Melody Brooks

Wednesday, October 11th
Activating Change Through Theatre | Moderated by Maya Zbib

Thursday, October 12th
Theatre Education: Reaching Beyond the Stage | Moderated by Lupe Gehrenbeck

Friday, October 13th
Social and/or Artistic Resistance | Moderated by Catherine Filloux

Program directors Linda Chapman and Joan D. Firestone are delighted to announce a deeply meaningful collaboration with the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman College at 250 Bedford Park Blvd W, Bronx, NY (José Higuera-López, PhD, Director), where the GCITA Ceremony will take place on October 10th, 2023. The Ceremony honors the current Awardee, Petrona de la Cruz, and celebrates the artistic excellence of her 17 colleagues from across the globe, giving special recognition to two-time finalist Maya Zbib from Lebanon.

We are also pleased to renew our partnership with the esteemed La Mama ETC (Mia Yoo, Artistic Director), which will host four panel discussions among GCITA nominees, other international artists, and local theatre women. Panels will be in the afternoons throughout the week, in a hybrid format, with in-person and virtual attendance. The Mexican Consulate will be hosting a special event with Petrona de la Cruz on Friday, October 13th; the details will be forthcoming. She enjoys a vital, ongoing relationship with the Hemispheric Institute, which will contribute to the week-long program of activities as well.

The LPTW Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award was established in 2011 in honor of Rosamond Gilder and Martha Coigney, two legendary theatre women whose work on the international stage proved that theatre knows no international boundaries. Presented every three years, this Award contributes to the exceptional work of theatre women around the world and aims to make a difference in the life and career of an international woman theatre artist as she has made in the lives of her audiences and her culture. LPTW has been leading the gender parity conversation in professional theatre for 40 years. To promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in our industry, we offer public programming, conduct advocacy projects, generate research reports and other publications, celebrate industry luminaries, highlight the legacy of historic visionaries, and serve as a professional development organization for our members.

The League of Professional Theatre Women is a tax-deductible 501(c)3 non-profit organization and contributions are welcome to offset the costs of technical production and travel to LPTW, 22 East 30th Street Suite 307, New York, NY 10016.

For more information about the GCITA Program, visit our website: https://www.theatrewomen.org/2023-gcita-award

SOURCE League of Professional Theatre Women