Abstracts Language, Literature, and Linguistic

Towards a methodology to mitigate the operation of implicit gender bias in theatre production: Three contemporary stagings of Julius Caesar

by Isla Lindsay Hall

This thesis proposes a method for mitigating the operation of implicit gender bias in theatrical storytelling, but which can be applied to television and film productions as well. A modified version of the linguistic methodology, Feminist Post-Structural Discourse Analysis (FPDA), is initially used to analyse three case study productions of Julius Caesar in chapters one to three. Understanding the role of social narratives (stereotyping) which link gender with personality and behaviour, offers an insight into the subliminal adoption and transmission of these narratives from within production choices - even where choices might explicitly appear to challenge these narratives. The case studies examined demonstrate how casting, performance, and production choices can operate independent of a common text, meaning that the performance of the same character in the same scene can be influenced by and transmit vastly different gender biases. Chapter one interrogates the casting process, revealing that gender is divisible from character. In chapter two I demonstrate that an actor's nonverbal tactics are analogous with leadership styles and, using FPDA, argue for a more varied repertoire of nonverbal behaviours to mitigate the influence of gender bias in performance choices. Entry points for bias in the audience's journey are considered in chapter three, where a template of common pitfalls and creative solutions is offered. These findings are then developed into the interactive online toolkit, Conscious Creativity. This site offers active strategies for dismantling bias at each stage of the production process using research into the effectiveness of unconscious bias training. The development process is discussed in chapter four. Limitations are acknowledged alongside the steps taken during this study to mitigate the personal bias of the researcher. In line with FPDA this is a small scale study with a transformative agenda. The potential impact of Conscious Creativity is explored in the conclusion.