Because by re-casting the past, we can re-shape the future.

So long as the only stories revered as classics are by men, we will continue to prioritize the male lens and point of view culturally. Women’s perspectives will always secondary. By insisting that excellent works by a diverse group of women playwrights be regarded as classics, we can redefine theatre’s values. And by staging these stories in our communities, we can shift culture.

The list is an annual guide that makes slotting classic plays by women and underrepresented genders into your season and syllabi easy. Both a celebration and a call to action, Expand the Canon demands space in the classical canon for more diverse women playwrights, many of whom were underproduced or utterly un-produced in their lifetimes. We call upon our national and international theater community to expand its definition of classical theater and include these brilliant writers and artists in their production seasons, publications, classrooms, and beyond.

We have an ever-growing list 5000+ plays by women. We and our reading committee of industry professionals read a few hundred per year, scoring plays based on quality of language, relevance, strength of plot and characters, producibility – and, frankly, if the readers would be excited to celebrate this play as a classic. Our research has us in conversation with academics, literary managers, dramaturgs, and translators. We are intentional about having our lists strive for 50% Global Majority female playwrights; we hope that in the future, more of these titles will be known, translated, and available.