The Stage

Constable sets up support network for women working in lighting

Published Tuesday 7 July 2009 at 16:30 by Matthew Hemley

Olivier Award-winning lighting designer Paule Constable is to spearhead an industry-wide support network for women employed in technical roles in the theatre.

Constable, whose credits include the current West End production of Oliver! and the National Theatre’s War Horse, told The Stage that the organisation was being set up to promote women working in lighting and provide them with a forum to network and share their experiences. Called Women in Lighting, Constable said the organisation was being designed to battle the sense of “isolation” she claims women feel in what is still a “male-dominated” industry.

“A lot of women feel very on their own when they do get into the industry because it is rare they are working with other women around them. When they do spend time with other women, it allows them to voice their way of doing the job and solving problems, which are not necessarily better, but are different,” she said.

The lighting designer also said she wanted the organisation to promote women working in the industry, who she said still face prejudice.

“You have days where you feel it is changing and moments where you feel nothing has changed at all. But I do think the really inherent assumptions about how I behave because I am a woman have changed very little, sadly,” she added.

The organisation will be fronted by a website, which will be launched within a few months, where women will be able discuss issues and share ideas.

In particular, Constable, who has won three Oliver Awards and who has been working as a lighting designer for the last 18 years, said Women in Lighting would aim to empower younger technicians - who she said often suffered from a lack of confidence in their own abilities - by putting them in contact with other, more experienced females working in the field.

She said the network would also attempt to address the shortage of females who decide on a career in lighting.

“The idea that it is physically difficult is less and less of an issue now. We all need to ask ourselves why fewer women are making it a career choice,” Constable said.

In addition, she explained she wanted Women in Lighting to promote the Gender Equality Duty, which was introduced in 2007 and which requires public bodies to promote equal opportunities between men and women. She said the site would act as a “point of contact about the legislation”, by informing women what it means for them in their working lives and helping companies to understand what it means for them in terms of employment.

Although initially specifically for people working in lighting, Constable, who is setting up the site with former lighting designer Sarah Rushton-Read, said the organisation could grow to incorporate women in other areas such as sound and set design. Constable is currently funding the network herself, but is looking to find support from sponsors to help grow the organisation.

Constable is one of the leading industry figures interviewed in The Stage’s Backstage Guides - see www.thestage.co.uk/ebooks for details