Harvard theatre troupe allows women to join
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding theatre troupe, the U.S.’s oldest collegiate theatrical organization, is to allow women to join its cast, starting next year.
Amira Weeks, the group’s student president, made the announcement on Thursday at the start of a comedic roast celebrating actor Mila Kunis, who was named the organization’s Woman of the Year.
The 223-year-old group is known for comedic revues that feature men in drag playing female characters.
“The Hasty Pudding welcomes women to audition and to give equal opportunity to play those roles based on the quality of their individual talents,” Weeks said, reading from a letter issued by the organization’s governing board. “While we have great respect for the art form as it’s been presented by the Pudding for over 170 years, the world is in a very different place. We are very proud to take this organization forward as a leader in women’s rights and gender equality.”
Students and alumni have been calling on the troupe to change its casting policy in recent years. Female students have auditioned for roles as a protest over the years, but none was cast. Some had called on Kunis to reconsider accepting the award over the exclusion.
Kunis, 34, who has spoken out against sexism in the entertainment industry, said she was “honoured” to be part of the program during its “year of change.”