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Gwen Arner has accomplished what few women in her generation--or any generation, for that matter--have. At 59, she's had a successful directing career in both theater and television for more than 20 years.
She has directed works on the main stage and second stages of the Mark Taper Forum, as well as at well-regarded theaters in cities such as Chicago and Seattle. Her directing efforts also have been seen on all of the major television networks, including Fox and PBS, and have been exhibited at film festivals in the United States and Europe.
Yet for all her success, Arner is well aware that she's one of too few women who have been able to break into what's long been regarded as a boys' club biz.
"It's opened up a lot now, but it's still not as good as it should be," says Arner of the prospects for female directors in both film and theater. "It just doesn't make sense statistically.
"When you go into a university and {you see a} 50-50 {gender ratio} in all your creative classes and then you get out into the profession and the ratio drops dramatically, you know there's something wrong," she continues. "It doesn't have to do with a person's talent or abilities."
Arner's talent and abilities are about to go on display at the Taper, where she's directing Irish playwright Brian Friel's "Molly Sweeney," opening Thursday. The three-character play, which played off-Broadway last season, tells the story of a woman who has been blind since the age of 10 months, then suddenly regains her sight after an operation.
Although it has been 12 years since Arner staged a play in Los Angeles--"Passion Play," at the Taper in 1984--she is happy to be back with this project. Arner and her husband, actor Donald Moffat, seen here recently in "The Heiress" at the Ahmanson, are based in New York and have been splitting their time between coasts for the...