New Professional Theatre Company helps Ottawa Theatre pass the Bechdel Test

Three Sisters mandate is to produce shows that not only have strong female roles, but offer opportunities for the considerable female talent in the Ottawa theatre community to collaborate with one another: the perfect formula for passing the Bechdel Test. What is now known as the Bechdel test was introduced in a comic strip by Alison Bechdel. To pass the test, the story must meet three requirements: 1. there must be least two women in it; 2. who talk to each other; 3. about something other than a man.

Three Sisters, the brainchild of local actor Robin Guy, sprang from the observation that the male performers in town were working considerably more often, and had higher quality roles, than their female counterparts.

“All the brilliant women actors in this town, and last year for example we saw Glengarry Glenross, Ethan Claymore, and an all-male cast of Taming of the Shrew.  All fabulous plays, with very strong, all-male or nearly all-male casts,” says Guy.  “Even when there are female roles, there tend to be one or maybe two in the play, and they aren’t good, meaty, parts like the male parts but tend to be objectified or shallow.  I realized that the reason for this is because the production companies are mostly led by the guys, so of course they pick shows that have good male parts. So if the women want to work, and to have parts that are more interesting than the sweet little ingénue or the love interest of the male lead, then we’re going to have to produce those shows.”

Three Sisters’ first production is _ Marion Bridge _ by award-winning Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor.  Tickets are now on sale at The Gladstone Theatre for the production opening February 11 and running until February 21, 2015.

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** Contact:  Robin Guy **

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Phone:  613.489.1185 – Email:  robin@robinguy.ca

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