media, have operating double many years.
The job allows us to live our own lives in a SOlally. scAlalY. and liberated way than the large majority of our sisters; "wille actively propagating views which help to ensure that our sisters remain tied to the f'amily, economically dependent, inteilectuaily stifled, and firmiy in the usually romanticised role of second class citizen.
Since this article is mainly subjective - my concention of women in the media from an actress's view point — I have less authority to comment on the role of a woman writer or journalist, although having shared a flat with one of the latter, I can vouch for a similar duality of roles.
Financially, the working actress more or less has parity often — particularly if she is bracket - greater earnings than Counle Dalt.
However, when opportunity acting is a non-starter; not due to prejudice, but to lack of material. For centuries authors have been predominantly male with a 'male eye view' of the world. exceptions they see women in a subordinate role, and quite definitely as a minority in a. male-dominated world When I was at drama school 20 years ago there were seven male students for every three woren -ohr sevision drama sane ne renera or television drama. thought to be a reflection of the real world and its attitudes, that is a revealing statistic.
The other statistic that was bandied abour was that for each vacancy for a woman drama world. there were a hundred actresses: and for each man's job, 16 actors. What price equal pay when the vast majority of actresses are on the dole queue! issue of home and children versus work outside the home, in many ways advantages over woren structured jobs or professions. Because work is spasmodic and the hours irregular, an actress can often spend a lot more time with her children and enjoy both them and her job, but because lack of compromises have to be made You can't tour with small children unless you can afford to take à childminder with you, and you can't work a 12-hour day in a major theatre company or in repertory unless there are nursery facilities and a childminder at home. While there is union pressure to reduce these working hours, it's women with childcare and home responsibilities who suffer most, and it's -! women members of Equity who are fighting the hardest on such issues party on childcare, of which I'm a member.
Sadly, it is the political touring companies which are least able to employ woren with children, although Monstrous Regiment, feminist company, pays a touring childminder - a big step in the right direction. In the major companies, of course, there should be nursery TRIES Sp per word. Display f2 per col Inch.
Friday OUTHALL TODAY, Hackney Campaign ARIST on Mon, 23 July. Speakers from Southall Dai Library.
nis Organisation. «omloter 210g Hackney WORKERS Groun/Workers nt public meeting. Revolutionary perspectives i Britain and Ireland. Fri 27 July o way Hall, Red Lion olborn Tube).
siebam) requires a solicitor. 3 years pose HEATH following able: housing;
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enquiries.
79-1821. OMEN WORKING in the theatre, or indeed in almost any area of the been overtly standards for financially participate in in the her male COlC to equal women.
much a ratio that was supposed to reflect 'art" is generally Reid. in the you When it comes to the in more rigidly child-care facilities workplace.
Hays. . The union has a working tolueillllg JEWISH SOCIALIST$' publicaton.
LCWIS Racialism public LOmOTOW! the Jewish community; an autonomous Laston lane. group witni the ett.
Black Ase yolorak Power LunmLicc public meer working class Centre Hatal laws.
areas immigration; Whitechapel High Street.
Harmondsworth Saturday July.
Evening: we rapidly discovered the most Madras House' and 'Brand' at the made by the Women's Film Co-Op.
all-women cast and is directed by a woman.
ICL.
director Switches in there!' of his script.
That, redundant, . current play on the Vietnam war.
These the action which prospects.
entertainment industry have right-wing executive The monthly media are of Entertainment November who and second class most supremacy of a white, male, capitalist society. theatre's the London WC1 know.
School 28 Julv . 4 SOCiaISt Aternative' workshops films. EVENTS £15 under-16. Details. needed for this vital field o before publication.
Dooks lor boulhen Alica, Dox Mare . Street. E8 60p What a Derisory laughter. 'Nonsense,' we told him. 'That's a typically male attitude, possession of territory at all costs. That room couldn't have mattered less, but time to organise did, so we And organise we did. Even though some of the women were appearing in Macheth that afternoon, and often had to disappear to do a See stt director of Mackeh Decan.
Macbeth became somewhat frantic and was heard to say: 'But they'ie still all talking, and I've got three of my The result was a delay in starting rehearsals on Chorus Girls. Barry Keefe was so excited by the last afternoon's workshop and the women's detailed planning for the occupation of the theatre that he went away to do a major re-write unfortunately, continues In January, six months after our workshops were held, most of the women involved were made including me. The reason the National didn't renew our contracts? It was bęcause the theatre was producing several heavily male-cast plays, such as Dispatches, the Although the actresses' consciousness had moved by leaps and bounds when we were discussing ideas, it is quite another matter to persuade them to take a militant stand when it comes to detending jobs. In a situation of 80 per cent unemployment, there is - • ironicaily •perhaps — an extreme reluctance to take any might prejudice future job But the seeds of the women's movement at the National Theatre and elsewhere in the taken root Equity's women's sub-committee has battled on, researching both the amount and quality of work available to actresses; attempting to fight workplace nursery facilities; ‚opposing sexual stereotypes in the industry, and calling for free abortion on demand. And all this ir spite of growing opposition from the union's meetings of the Feminist Incauc wroup gain mercasing support, ant women from this group and elsewhere in the Women conference 1o be held in Women in the media need to be involved in the wornen's movement because as long as we continue to allow ourselves to portray women degenerated eithier sexually intellectually, or simply absent from a 'male world, we provide a justification for the large majority of women to accept themselves a citizens, never challenging the heterosexual, Feminist Theatre Group, c/o Julie Hollidge, 95 Barnsbury Street, London Ni. The Women in Entertainment conference is on 25 Noyember at Architects Association, Bedford Square, If you know someone — perhaps yourself — who you think might make a good subject for Socialist Challenge's At Work series, do let us advertised in this column. Deadline: 5pm Friday HACKNEY SC group meeting: 'Defend Charter , with speaker from Labour Focus on Eastern Thur 26 July, 7.30pm. Britannia pub, OLDHAM SC group meeting Thur 26 July al ne smete n textucs The Gardners Arms, Middleton koad, westwoou Socialist Challenge 19 July 1979 Page 11 "•
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were lechnically an exercise, and fantasies we shared.' male supremacy. W
mit io anete Da mily Rond
'Although the women's workshops at the National Theatre amazing togetherness and ability to organise. We explored female role playing, how we experience male role playing, our fears and joys at being a women, the myths Margaret Ford on how women in the theatre are combatting
She has performed in a wide range of plays, including 'The National, 'Oh, Lovely War!', and the film 'Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair' She is presently appearing in 'A Quieter Sex' at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. The play, by Sheila Yeger, has an
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