Moxie Theatre is unleashing the powerful influence of The Bechdel Brigade, a task force of lesbian community leaders supporting women’s voices and support for female playwrights and directors.
This new group of lesbian community leaders are uniting to increase awareness and support for female playwrights and directors. The Bechdel Brigade will act as advocates for Moxie’s mission to create more diverse and honest images of women, and bring lesbian women together to fight for equal representation for female artists in American theatre.
The Brigade is named after Alison Bechdel, the American Cartoonist and creator of Dykes to Watch Out For which coined the Bechdel-Wallace Test, which evaluates whether works of fiction give fair representation to women. Bechdel’s graphic memoir, Fun Home, was recently turned into a Tony Award-winning musical on Broadway. Now the Brigade borrows her name as a rallying cry to support women’s voices in theatre and in turn, to inspire women to use their voices in their community. Support for the Brigade is made possible through the Dea and Osborn Hurston Audience Engagement Program at Moxie Theatre.
“I’ve been a fan of Moxie Theatre since four amazing women founded it in 2005 and have admired their efforts to present honest and diverse women’s voices on stage,” said Bechdel Brigade chair, Toni Robin. “This is a great opportunity for me to give back for all the great theatre I’ve enjoyed. There’s something special about seeing ourselves represented on stage, behind the scenes or in the audience. Our goal with this effort is to expand all three. And who better to honor with this initiative than Alison Bechdel? She’d be a great Moxie girl!”
The Bechdel Brigade are planning their first community event Feb. 3, surrounding Moxie’s production of Blue Door by Tanya Barfield, award-winning playwright and winner of the 2016 LAMBDA Literary Award for her play Bright Half Life.
