WHAT IS THE NEW ENGLAND THEATRE CENSUS?

In 2015, the StageSource Gender Parity Task Force created the benchmark of "50/50 by 2020"—achieving a 50% representation of women in the New England theatre employment by the year 2020. Over the last five years, we have conducted surveys to see how far we’ve come in achieving this goal. In the process, we broadened the scope of the initiative beyond binary gender, to include representation of transgender and non-binary artists.

This year we expand even further to create the 2019 New England Theatre Census—surveying gender, age, race, sexuality, disability, education, union status, and more. In doing so, we seek to better understand the community we serve and get a broad picture of hiring practices and wage gaps in the New England theatre ecosystem. By pivoting from external research to a self-identified census, this survey will be more accurate and thorough than ever before.

Make your voice count, fill out the census at: surveymonkey.com/r/ZSNCTHQ

THE DEADLINE TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS IS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15th

If you have any questions about the New England Theatre Census, reach out to us at info@stagesource.org.

FAQs

WHY IS THIS CENSUS IMPORTANT?
Every voice counts. Getting accurate data is crucial for comparing how producers are measuring up against the demographics of the region they serve. This information can affect hiring practices, season and program planning, grant applications, funding, and more. Showing where we are, helps us map where we need to go and what we need to do to get there.

SHOULD I FILL OUT THIS CENSUS
Probably! If you worked any theatrical role in New England in the year 2019, this census is for you. Whether it was onstage (actors, designers, directors), backstage (stage managers, technicians, front of house), or in the offices (admin, marketing, development, board, teachers) we want to hear from you. This includes full-time, part-time, contract, overhire, interns, volunteers, and beyond.

FOR PRODUCTION/FREELANCE ROLES (actor, technician, designer, etc.) : Include any roles where the production's opening performance was between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. The performance venue must be in New England (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut), or for touring productions, the employer must be based in New England.
FOR STAFF ROLES (box office, admin, board, etc.): Include any roles you held for any portion of 2019. The employer or main work location must be based in New England (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut)

HOW DOES THIS CENSUS WORK?

The Census consists of two parts. To submit your responses, head to the Census login page to enter your name and email.

If you’re a first time user, select “submit my demographic information.” After agreeing to our privacy policy, enter as much demographic information as you feel comfortable sharing.

Once you’ve shared your demographic information, it will take you to the Job Submission form. Here, you can submit information on all the theatrical roles you held in New England in 2019. Submit your jobs in whatever order you choose.

Once you’ve submitted your first role, the site will take you back to the login page. From there you can add your info again, select “Submit more Job information” and keep submitting roles you held in 2019 until you run out. If you need to take a break, you can always leave and come back when you’re ready to add some more jobs.

I SUBMITTED THE CENSUS ONCE, AM I DONE?
Not yet! Once you reach the end of the survey, we will have collected your responses, but now it’s time to submit the rest of your jobs. The survey will take you back to the login page, from there, select “submit more JOB INFORMATION” and submit the rest of your theatrical jobs from 2019. Luckily, you only have to fill out the demographic information once.

I SUBMITTED ALL OF MY JOBS, NOW AM I DONE?
Yes! Once you’ve submitted all your theatrical jobs from 2019, you’re finished. Take a break, relax, and pat yourself on the back for helping out your local theatre community.

DO I REALLY NEED TO FILL THIS OUT FOR EVERY JOB I HAD IN 2019?
Yes, and no. While you don’t have to submit every single theatrical job you held in 2019, it sure would be helpful! The more thorough the data you provide, the more accurate picture of our industry we get.

Let’s say most of the male performers in New England only filled out for one of the roles they held in 2019, while most of the female performers submitted all of their roles in 2019. This might give back an inaccurate depiction that women were being hired at a larger rate than men.

If you’re lucky enough to have held quite a few jobs in 2019, you don’t need to worry about submitting every job entry at once. You can always take a break and head back to the census login page when you’re ready to get back into it.

WHY DO YOU NEED MY AGE, RACE, PAYMENT, AND OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION?
This census collects your personal demographics and professional history to get a broader sense of who makes up the New England theatrical community and who is actually getting hired. The more information you provide, the better picture we get of this ecosystem.

Payment transparency is a tool for spotlighting structural inequities and preventing discrimination. Providing your payment history is crucial to show who’s getting paid more, who’s getting paid less, and creating a foundation for discussions of payment norms in our industry.

Your personal information will not be shared outside of StageSource and future consultants. All reports of data will be published in summary, nobody outside of this group will be able to see your name connected to any individual responses. You can view our full privacy policy at StageSource.org/Census-Privacy.

That being said, please do not share any information you do not feel comfortable disclosing.

WHY AM I FILLING THIS OUT NOW?
Even though many theatres are on hiatus or operating remotely for the time being, filling this census out now gives an accurate picture of what the industry looked like before COVID-19. In doing so, we can use this information to figure out which populations have been impacted the most, who’s returning to work the quickest, and who’s being left behind.

WHY ISN’T THIS CENSUS BASED ON SEASON?
Every theatre has a different season. While many theatres operate with something near a September to August season, this breakdown can awkwardly cut summerstock theatre seasons. There are also theatres that don’t use a season-based model or work on a project-to-project basis. Focusing on an individual calendar year gives a more universal dividing line outside of season breakdowns.

For that purpose, we are looking for production jobs that had opening performances between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, or non production-based jobs that were held for any portion of 2019.

WHERE CAN I FIND PAST REPORTS?
Click here for the 2013 Parity Report.
Click here for the 2018 Parity Report [link coming soon]
To learn more about the Gender Parity Initiative, visit StageSource.org/GenderParity