For Immediate Release:
PENN’S MASK AND WIG CLUB TO BE INCLUSIVE OF ALL GENDERS
Storied musical comedy troupe will expand participation and membership to all genders for the first time in its 134-year history.
Philadelphia, September 30, 2021 – The Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania announced today that the traditionally all-male troupe will open its ranks to all genders in the 2022-2023 academic year.
The decision to eliminate gender as a qualification for participation and membership in the Club follows an extensive strategic review that studied a number of issues over the course of the last year. Undergraduate and alumni members of the 400-member Club participated in the review process.
“The question of gender inclusion received strong support from undergraduate and alumni members spanning eight decades of Mask and Wig membership, and it is the right step for our future,” said Club President David Simon SEAS’86. “The Board of Governors is grateful to the strategic review teams that made these recommendations based on hundreds of hours of evaluation and discussion with input from undergraduates, alumni, and other members of the Penn community.
“The Mask and Wig Club has great respect for the art form that it has presented to audiences for more than one hundred thirty years. With this change, we are excited to continue the tradition of delivering clever, satirical, original musical comedy with representation from the entire Penn undergraduate community as we move forward.”
“The undergraduates overwhelmingly support this change, and we look forward to being part of a fully gender-inclusive organization,” said Undergraduate Chairman Dean Jones W‘22. “At its core, Mask and Wig is about comedy. With this step, we are eager to broaden the opportunity for all Penn undergraduates to write, produce, and perform original musical comedy. We see this as the best way to position the club for a successful long-term future on campus, and could not be more excited.”
The historic vote for gender inclusion was completed earlier this week and announced to the entire Club membership earlier today. The Club intends to spend the balance of the 2021-2022 academic year preparing for the change. The process will include internal planning as well as listening sessions and discussions with the entire Club membership, the Penn Performing Arts Community, Penn Administrators, and other stakeholders in the University community.
About The Mask and Wig Club
Founded in 1889, The Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy troupe in the United States. Founded as an alternative to the existing theatrical and dramatic outlets at the University of Pennsylvania, Mask and Wig has presented original comedy, music, and dancing to audiences at the University of Pennsylvania, in the greater Philadelphia area, and across the globe. The Club stages two all-original shows each year. The Club’s primary purpose has always been and continues to be: Justice to the stage; credit to the University.
For further information, please contact:
Kevin Feeley
Bellevue Communications
kfeeley@bellevuepr.com
(215) 870-7478
SOURCE: The Mask and Wig Club
For Immediate Release:
PENN’S MASK AND WIG CLUB TO BE INCLUSIVE OF ALL GENDERS
Storied musical comedy troupe will expand participation and membership to all genders for the first time in its 134-year history.
Philadelphia, September 30, 2021 – The Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania announced today that the traditionally all-male troupe will open its ranks to all genders in the 2022-2023 academic year.
The decision to eliminate gender as a qualification for participation and membership in the Club follows an extensive strategic review that studied a number of issues over the course of the last year. Undergraduate and alumni members of the 400-member Club participated in the review process.
“The question of gender inclusion received strong support from undergraduate and alumni members spanning eight decades of Mask and Wig membership, and it is the right step for our future,” said Club President David Simon SEAS’86. “The Board of Governors is grateful to the strategic review teams that made these recommendations based on hundreds of hours of evaluation and discussion with input from undergraduates, alumni, and other members of the Penn community.
“The Mask and Wig Club has great respect for the art form that it has presented to audiences for more than one hundred thirty years. With this change, we are excited to continue the tradition of delivering clever, satirical, original musical comedy with representation from the entire Penn undergraduate community as we move forward.”
“The undergraduates overwhelmingly support this change, and we look forward to being part of a fully gender-inclusive organization,” said Undergraduate Chairman Dean Jones W‘22. “At its core, Mask and Wig is about comedy. With this step, we are eager to broaden the opportunity for all Penn undergraduates to write, produce, and perform original musical comedy. We see this as the best way to position the club for a successful long-term future on campus, and could not be more excited.”
The historic vote for gender inclusion was completed earlier this week and announced to the entire Club membership earlier today. The Club intends to spend the balance of the 2021-2022 academic year preparing for the change. The process will include internal planning as well as listening sessions and discussions with the entire Club membership, the Penn Performing Arts Community, Penn Administrators, and other stakeholders in the University community.
About The Mask and Wig Club
Founded in 1889, The Mask and Wig Club of the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy troupe in the United States. Founded as an alternative to the existing theatrical and dramatic outlets at the University of Pennsylvania, Mask and Wig has presented original comedy, music, and dancing to audiences at the University of Pennsylvania, in the greater Philadelphia area, and across the globe. The Club stages two all-original shows each year. The Club’s primary purpose has always been and continues to be: Justice to the stage; credit to the University.
For further information, please contact:
Kevin Feeley
Bellevue Communications
kfeeley@bellevuepr.com
(215) 870-7478
SOURCE: The Mask and Wig Club