Though each year we see incremental progress in the quest for equal representation in theatre—onstage, backstage, on the creative team—the industry has a mountain to climb until all things are equal.

According to the first-ever diversity study from Actors Equity Association, which examined the casts of new productions which opened between 2013 and 2015, women and members of color are underrepresented throughout. Of the union’s highest-paying contracts (the Production Contract for Broadway and select national tours), women account for only 35 percent of principal roles in a play, 42 percent of principal roles in musicals, 44 percent of ensemble jobs, and 37 percent of stage manager contracts. Off-Broadway, women fair better, but pay is less, accounting for 40 percent of principal roles in plays, 47 percent of principal roles in musicals, 54 percent of ensemble roles, and 65 percent of stage manager jobs.

Research from the Lilly Awards and Dramatists Guild showed only 22 percent of theatre produced in American was written by women. A study out of the U.K. determined women accounted for 39 percent of actors, 36 percent of directors, and 28 percent of playwrights in British plays from 2012 to 2015.

Ensuring the future of female voices in the theatre begins with knowing who those voices are. The Women’s Theater Festival in Washington, D.C., presents new work by women playwrights to cast a national spotlight from the nation’s capitol on gender parity in American theatre and the valuable works of female artists. From January 15–February 15, a conglomerate of 24 D.C. theatres each present a work by women playwrights, including Danai Gurira (AMC’s Walking Dead and Marvel's Black Panther), Theresa Rebeck (creator of NBC’s Smash), and Pulitzer nominee Sarah DeLappe (The Wolves). Emmy and Golden Globe winner and Tony nominee Allison Janney serves as the Festival’s honorary chair.

In anticipation of the month-long celebration, we asked some of the playwrights to share whose work they’re watching and why.

Theresa Rebeck

Known for: NBC’s Smash, Omnium Gatherum (Pulitzer Prize finalist), and Broadway’s Mauritius, Seminar, and Dead Accounts
Playing in the Festival: The Way of the World (regional premiere at Folger Theatre)
What her play is about: Mae is a sweet-natured woman with just a little baggage—a $600 million inheritance. When her womanizing boyfriend Henry dallies with her aunt, the world seems too much for her. Both women become the object of ridicule and scandal—but Henry has a plan to win the heiress back. In the Hampton’s 1 percent, where money and status determine everything, can love conquer all? Freely adapted from William Congreve’s classic play, The Way of the World is a sparklingly witty physical comedy illuminating the foibles of the upper-class.
Who she’s watching: “I love director Adrienne Campbell-Holt’s work. She is sort of sublime and everything is so clearly etched and subtle at the same time. Kristine Nielsen, who I’m privileged to be working with, is I think one of our greatest actresses. People tend to see her as merely comedic but that’s ridiculous; she’s never merely anything. She is always magnificent.”

Dominique Morrisseau

Known for: NAACP Image Award, The Detroit Projects including Detroit ’67 (Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama), Paradise Blue (L. Arnold Weissberger Award and Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), Skeleton Crew (OBIE Award), Off-Broadway’s Pipeline
Playing in the Festival: Skeleton Crew (Maryland premiere at Baltimore Center Stage)
What her play is about: Skeleton Crew, the third play in Dominique Morisseau’s acclaimed Detroit trilogy, tells the story of four workers at the last exporting auto plant in Detroit struggling to survive as their way of life disappears. Set around 2008, this play vividly portrays the modern struggle in a changing America and reveals the real people on the factory line. This skeleton crew—the bare minimum number of staff needed to function—is made up of people who keep the vital operations of the plant running in the face of obstacles, rumors, and, eventually, the confirmation of their worst fears. Loyalties are tested and boundaries are crossed as this vibrant team of loyal and proud workers navigate an uncertain future.
Who she’s watching: “Michelle Wilson. Because of her gentle leadership and generosity as an actress. A story ambassador. She genuinely blows me away.”

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