Jello (she/her):

Can a female playwright over 60 without an MFA or other connections hope to ever become successful in the industry?

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Dear Jello,

We exist in a culture which is inherently sexist and ageist, and the Arts, which ought to be leading the way, sadly all too often reflect these biases (see THE COUNT). We have much work to do in this regard. However, while the hill is steeper, I truly believe it is not impossible. Perhaps one way to approach this is not to accept how society defines our age and sex as “limitations” which we must somehow overcome, but instead embrace these fundamental aspects of our existence as unique and valuable. You can say “Yes, you’re right, I am a woman of a certain age; this is exactly who I am. And precisely because of that, because of my hard-earned lived experience, I have artistic work which powerfully speaks from a large (and growing!) segment of the population.” 

I want to believe that good work will always find a way, but let’s be honest, success doesn’t just happen by itself. You need to find colleagues and theater companies that believe in the value of your work because of who you are. They are out there. And if they are not near you, you need to create them. Don’t wait to be found. Make your own theater in any way you can. Finally, I would strongly encourage you to look into joining the Dramatists Guild. There is a wealth of information there, as well as a strong community, and the annual membership fee is very modest.

You can do this!

Fefu

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This Fefu is a professional playwright living in New York, who has worked On and Off-Broadway and at Regional Theaters across the country.