Final Explanatory Piece

Women in the Arts: Kalamazoo Students Forgetting Stereotypes and Working for Themselves

Antonio became Antonia. Gonzalo became Gonzalia. Adrian became Adrienne. Most importantly, Prospero became Prospera. Kalamazoo College put on the usually male-dominated production of The Tempest, but instead replaced the males with females.

“The Tempest is Shakespeare's most male-heavy play and there's only one woman, Miranda, and she's not one of Shakespeare's strongest female roles. This means that suddenly we've created a world in which women hold positions of great power, and the tyrannical Prospero is now a strong female matriarch,” said Laura Fox the senior dramaturge for the play. For Fox, this play was a way to change power dynamics between men and women. She doesn’t believe that the play is necessarily categorized as a feminist play, but it certainly works to gain new aspects of power and ways to view the female role in society.

On Kalamazoo College’s campus, women not only outnumber men in the general student population, but especially in the arts. This seems stereotypical for many campuses—females being part of the artistic, emotional departments. But the female students on this campus are part of the arts because it is what they are devoted to. “There are more women than man in the arts on our campus. And of course, a number of us want the arts to produce positive images for feminism. That’s important. But also, we love the theater and other arts on campus, and stereotypes aren’t going to stop us from participating,” said Fox.

In the theater department, women are not only participating but also working for positions of power. All but one director this year has been female: Rhinoceros (Liza Bielby), Suddenly Last Summer (Michelle Myers), Tragedy: A Tragedy (Emilia LaPenta), The Tempest (Karen Berthel) and Three Days of Rain (Anna Simmons and Georgia Knapp). Fox feels that this play is not necessarily about breaking stereotypes. “I don’t think women should fight these stereotypical roles because if that’s what a woman is then that’s what a women is. I think women should resist being put into stereotypes by other people but there’s nothing wrong with just being who you are,” said Fox.
Along with Fox and the theater department, other such contributors to the arts have made impacts for the women on our campus. Rachel Silander, a senior music major, focused her entire Senior Individualized Project (SIP) on music and sexual taboos, starting with the oppression of women in the 1920’s. “I don’t necessarily consider myself to be an extreme feminist. But I wanted to cover musical theater where women empowered themselves. I think it helps them to take a stand on certain issues that they might not be able to take by speaking out about it,” said Silander.

Silander believes that women in the music department are working to create a sense of unity. “Music gives a sense of power for women. They can gain a lot of respect from it. With two women's singing groups on campus I think it also creates a sense of solidarity among women,” she said.

Not only are they working together within departments but with other departments as well. Silander, not a theater major, still mentioned The Tempest when describing examples of how artists are positively portraying women at Kalamazoo College. This is what Fox wanted—to be heard and to make an impact on anyone and everyone. “I know that feminists on campus don't necessarily feel that their voices are being heard. So maybe they should give our theatre a try,” exclaimed Fox.

Like Fox, Laura Marshall, a senior art major, feels that the arts are a good way for women to express themselves, whether feminist or not. “I don’t think women should be worried about falling into stereotypes by participating in the arts. I don’t identify myself as a feminist but I still focused my art project on female body issues, and I think that’s important too—for women that aren’t feminists to also make a statement, ” she said. “For my project, I took a series of photos in the dance studio focusing on the image of the dancer looking in the mirror because that is where a lot of dancers’ insecurities come from. It seems lately that dance has become more about personal image and less about the movements created by the body. With this series I wanted to take the attention away from the dancer’s physical appearance and focus on the gesture.”

One of the most current events that each female mentioned, that seeks to unify the campus and the women involved in our arts is The Tempest. “It's pretty exciting to be in the audience as a woman, then, and see these incredibly powerful and three-dimensional women onstage,” said Fox. This has not been the only attempt at a female play; the theater department has also put on an all-female Hamlet. Karen Berthel directed both plays. “I think that she has done a wonderful job of breaking down stereotypes in theater through her innovative casting strategies and gender-bending productions,” said Gail Griffin, a women’s studies professor. But Griffin does not think that breaking stereotypes is the main point. “I don’t think women should work against stereotypes. I don’t think any stereotyped group should concentrate on breaking stereotypes. It draws energy from the main imperative, which is to work toward your own vision in your own way. If you’re constantly thinking about stereotypes, you’re constantly focused on what others think about you and your group,” she said.

Like Griffin urges, all of these female artists and their work have one thing in common: their passion. Whether feminist or not, Marshall, Fox, Silander, and the rest of the women in the arts departments all work for the arts because it is what they enjoy doing. Acapella, Photography, Theater, Dancing, Anything: The women of Kalamazoo College certainly are not worrying about stereotypes. They are just doing what they love to do.