The anvil or the chorus: An exploration into the role of gender in the development of the American nonprofit theatre, considering the contributions of Minnie Maddern Fiske, Alice and Irene Lewisohn, and Hallie Flanagan Davis

Women have played an increasingly prominent role in the growth of American Theatre. From the women's clubs that spawned community pageants in the Gilded Age to the little theatre movement that led to the regional theatre system, women have played key roles in the growth of the community based, nonprofit American theatre. Recent studies of nonprofit organizations have determined that organizations that demonstrate communication models employing non-hierarchical principles are more effective than their more corporate styled fellows. According to gendered perspective theories, the move away from hierarchical organization to participatory models would indicate a feminizing trend. Upon the rise of feminism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the popular media began to examine the management and leadership styles of women in organizations. In the following essay I will examine three distinct examples of women in theatrical management in America: Minnie Maddern Fiske, the Lewisohn sisters, Alice and Irene, who established the Neighborhood Playhouse and finally, Hallie Flanagan who led the Federal Theatre Project (FTP). These three examples provide a diverse sampling of artistic careers, management approaches and social backgrounds. It is my hope to show that the organizational innovations developed by these women were not solely produced by the fact of their gender, but also by the historical, political, and social forces that acted upon these individuals and their decision making. Employing current communication theory, and examining my historical examples within the social contexts in which they operated, I hope to illuminate the path which nonprofit theatre took from its beginnings to determine if women had a defining influence upon the organizational structure that resulted.