Take Stage!
How to Direct and Produce a Lesbian Play

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  • Featured in Feminist Bookstore Network Catalogue.
  • Reviewed in Lesbian Review of Books, Hilo, HI.
  • Published by Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD.
“In Take Stage!, Carolyn Gage has given us an invaluable resource for producing lesbian theatre in our communities—brilliant in attention to the details of theatrical production, uncompromising in its treatment of the human and economic factors involved, firmly grounded in her experiences as a playwright, director, and producer, and throughout informed by a solid, lesbian-centered politic that prioritizes class, race, and accessibility in specific, practical ways. This book is so full of information about organizing, fund-raising, and the dynamics of lesbian groups that any lesbian engaged in grassroots politics should own at least one copy. WARNING! If you loan it out, Take Stage! is a book that probably won’t come back!” --Julia Penelope, co-editor of The Original Coming  Out Stories, For Lesbians Only, and Lesbian Culture: An Anthology.

“… chock full of new ideas and common sense about choosing, mounting, publicizing, and surviving the live theatre experience… cracks open the mysteries of the successful theatre venture… Most important, the book addresses the complex underpinnings of accountability, leadership, and collaboration in the differently structured world of women-run groups… a real resource guide… concise, readable, and inspiring.” --The Lesbian Review of Books, Hilo, HI.

“… a kick-ass primer on self-producing, with timelines, sample press releases, flyers, and every other kind of helpful thing. ... Her coverage on “victims and victimizers” and the effects of traumatized people who dissociate and create backstage “drama” is psychologically spot on. I wish I had read this years ago. It would have saved me many the headache and “blame game” in dealing with struggling small groups. It’s a unique book on producing plays… It just went onto my top shelf.” --Linda Eisenstein, author of Three the Hard Way and Marla’s Devotion.

The first comprehensive “how-to” book for lesbians wanting to produce or direct lesbian theatre. 300 pages of everything you would ever need to know, from script selection to striking the set, about putting on a lesbian play.

The author has been the founder and artistic director of three theatre companies, including a studio art theatre, a large community theatre, and a radical feminist theatre. She has worked with lesbian theatre collectives, toured and performed at women’s festivals and conferences for the last six years, and worked with lesbian producers all over the country.

Conversational and anecdotal,TAKE STAGE! is written for the lesbian who has no previous experience with theatre or lesbian organization. In addition to the chapters on auditioning, rehearsals, picking the script, booking the space, assembling a staff, etc., the book also includes special chapters on the unique challenges to lesbians creating theatre.

TAKE STAGE! includes information on how to challenge the “isms” - looksism, racism, ageism, ableism, fat phobia, and all the other prejudices that are entrenched in mainstream theatre. TAKE STAGE!also looks at co-dependence in women and the problems this can cause in an organization staffed by volunteers. The author takes on the class structure and hierarchy that can develop within a theatre, and she proposes concrete strategies for developing alternative systems.

The fifty-page appendix contains sample contracts, audition forms, light plots, budgets, and schedules. A gold mine of practical forms and charts!

TAKE STAGE! is filled with examples from real lesbian theatre groups, examples of situations which arose when the structure of the company was ambiguous, when the roles were poorly defined, or when the communication was not clear.