Friday, March 29

‘We can be powerful’: Bimbos Theatre Co. creates female-led space in theater


The Bimbos Theatre Co. board smiles together. Co-founder Kaity Cairo said the group strives to give a voice to women who are often undermined in theater. (Courtesy of Kaity Cairo and Trystan Forson)


The Bimbos are bringing women to the forefront of theater.

Second-year theater students Kaity Cairo and Trystan Forson are the co-founders of Bimbos Theatre Co., which aims to provide a community for women to create their productions without any barriers. The company is a female-led operation, from the board of directors to the writers and actors, Cairo said. Performing with the company is a very special experience, she said, because she considers acting alongside women empowering.

“We can be bimbos and we can be girly,” Forson said. We can also be incredibly smart and we can be powerful.

[Related: Student play ‘The C Word’ explores femininity through visual art, surreal humor]

The name Bimbos was chosen as a reclamation of the word, Forson said, as she feels Cairo’s and her femininity has caused them to experience disrespect in a male-dominated field. Forson said the group originated from her frustration toward men dictating what productions could or could not be held. Developing a space where women are valued and can tell their own stories is important, Cairo said – it is the reason Bimbos Theatre Co. was created.

Additionally, Cairo said the organization takes inspiration from directors such as Greta Gerwig and Sofia Coppola, whom she views as constantly pushing the boundaries of what women can do in the arts industry. The goal is to present women in positions that are not normally seen in theater, she added. Female-led theater companies are not common, and it is therefore important to have more female representation in theater, said first-year theater student and social media manager of Bimbos, Brooke McCree.

“Pushing boundaries is the goal because the industry has been established since the beginning of civilization, and it’s always been from a male-led perspective,” McCree said. “Just transforming what theater can be is really beautiful.”

McCree said everything she has done so far with the company has been an effort to create a safe environment and an open dialogue about topics relating to women’s issues. Cairo, Forson and McCree are all from Southern states where legislation against women has been on the rise, Forson said. It is important for the company to support initiatives that enable them to uplift female voices, she said. For instance, Carson said the group recently hosted a cabaret benefit for Planned Parenthood that also featured a space for female singers.

[Related: ‘Sister from Another Planet’ shines spotlight on self-discovery journey]

Furthermore, McCree said her first time working on an all-female production was a beautiful experience because working in a space of all women allows them to explore themes and subjects that they cannot in other theaters. For example, Cairo said she had been explicitly told that she was not necessary as an actor when working on other productions. She said there are fewer male actors in theater, so they get to take up more space and are given more power, which is why she believes an all-women theater is incredibly important to allow women to tell their stories.

“It’s very rare to find something (like Bimbos) that wants to empower women in theater,” McCree said.

Bimbos Theatre Co. is the only theater group at UCLA registered as a limited liability company, which means they are legally recognized by the state of California, Cairo said. She has big goals for the company, she said, and eventually wants to expand beyond campus when she graduates with the hope of turning it into an educational theater company and networking with other theaters around Los Angeles. Another objective is to be able to provide female theater producers and performers with jobs right out of college, Cairo said. Later in the future, Forson said Bimbos Theatre Co. aims to set up a theater school for younger kids to grow and learn from diverse teachers so they feel safe in a theater space.

“We are going to create a space where women are necessary, where women are valued and women’s voices are heard,” Cairo said.


Comments are supposed to create a forum for thoughtful, respectful community discussion. Please be nice. View our full comments policy here.

×

Comments are closed.