Expand the Canon

Expand the Canon Expand the Canon is an advocacy movement rewriting theater history by restoring women and gender-expansive playwrights to their rightful place in the canon.

Expand the Canon is an advocacy movement rewriting theater history by restoring women and gender-expansive playwrights to their rightful place in the canon.
We connect theaters, educators, and artists to powerful, overlooked plays that redefine what it means to be a classic — and inspire new generations to embrace a more inclusive cultural legacy. We don’t just celebrate forgotten

classics — we demand their inclusion. Through curated resources, partnerships with theaters, schools and community programs, we revive the legacies erased by history and ensure these vital voices shape our future. Join the Movement. Expandthecanon.com

Happy Tonys Day!Tomorrow, we’re having our own celebration of theatre…specifically women in theatre…specifically women w...
06/07/2026

Happy Tonys Day!

Tomorrow, we’re having our own celebration of theatre…specifically women in theatre…specifically women who wrote plays throughout history…👀

Tomorrow is our Book Launch Party!

🏙 Backstage, W. 55th, NYC
🕰 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Celebrate the release of our FIRST BOOK with us!

This volume gathers 110 standout monologues by great playwrights that are classic, but less familiar. They span 350 years, 15 countries, and 8 languages of origin — works by 34 historic women and gender-expansive playwrights that are powerful, but under-represented. From Aphra Behn to Alice Childress, George Sand to Catherine the Great, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz to Zora Neale Hurston, these works are dynamic, well-crafted, and worthy of being performed time and time again.

RSVP at link below or in bio - see you there!

expandthecanon.com/events

Returning for the second year in a row… It’s Pick-A-‘Ship time! Are you a Hollanov obsessor? A CaitVi lover? A House MD ...
06/06/2026

Returning for the second year in a row…

It’s Pick-A-‘Ship time!

Are you a Hollanov obsessor? A CaitVi lover? A House MD Hilson truther? Maybe you’re sticking with the classics, like Willow and Tara of Buffy fame? Or going more immediate, with the Ineffable Husbands or Station 19’s Marina?

Regardless, they have some classic plays for you. And they’re all written by women. 😱

Access them all at expandthecanon.com, and follow us here, , to learn about these plays and playwrights all year round.

What does your ship tell you to read? Let us know below!

06/05/2026

A little repost from Pride Month 2025!

🎭 Q***r people have always been here. Q***r stories have always been told. And when they’re written by the LGBTQ+ community themselves, the plays are ever more beautiful. 

Join Rhiannon as she takes you through a rapid-fire timeline of q***r plays, from Ancient Greece to present day!

📖 Interested in reading a few (or all!) of these plays? Subscribe at expandthecanon.com to read our classic q***r playwrights, and follow us here to learn about them all month long!

Looking for some Pride Month reads?  We’ve gotchu. Dive into these incredible classic plays! Some are very q***r in and ...
06/03/2026

Looking for some Pride Month reads? 

We’ve gotchu.

Dive into these incredible classic plays! Some are very q***r in and of themselves; some were written by q***r folks; all were crafted by brilliant femmes throughout history. 

Find access to them at expandthecanon.com. When you read them, let us know what you think in the comments below!

Wanna perform monologues from these brilliant plays? Good news: we’re releasing our very own monologue book! And to celebrate, we’re hosting a launch party in New York THIS Monday at Backstage on 55th! Get your tickets at the link in bio or below:

expandthecanon.com/events/monologuebooklaunch

***rplaywrights

06/02/2026

HAPPY PRIDE!

We at ETC are composed of quite a few q***r folks, and we LOVE our q***r playwright ancestors. We’ll be featuring them all month, so stay tuned.

Today’s brilliant badass is Maria Irene Fornés! This proud Latinx le***an woman won 9 Obie Awards, was a Pulitzer finalist, led the Off-Off-Broadway movement, had productions across a dozen different nations, mentored countless leaders in Latinx playwriting, and was a partner to the likes of Susan Sontag (in romance and art) and Sam Shepard (in art)!

Fornés did so many things with her beautiful life. We can’t cover them all in just one video. To continue learning about her, follows us here (), read her work at expandthecanon.com, visit fornesinstitute.com for a more complete bio, and watch Michelle Memran’s touching documentary of her, “The Rest I Make Up.” 

We love her so much. We know you will, too.

***anpride

06/01/2026

Happy birthday to the impeccable Abla Farhoud (1945-2021)!  Born this day in 1945, Farhoud—a Lebanese-Canadian immigrant herself—was best known for her writings of immigrants struggling to find voice and home in their new surroundings. She wrote a myriad of plays, published seven novels, and traveled the world, advocating for the overlooked migrant experience. A badass woman, who did incredible things.

🎉 Celebrate this birthday badass by visiting expandthecanon.com to access her work. And to learn about more incredible femme playwrights of history, follow us here, !

110 monologues, 1600-1990, representing 15 countries and 11 languages.  All written by incredible femme playwrights. 😍 W...
05/30/2026

110 monologues, 1600-1990, representing 15 countries and 11 languages. 

All written by incredible femme playwrights. 😍

We’re incredibly excited to have our monologue book—our FIRST publication!—out in the world, and to hear you all discuss, teach, deliver these brilliant words!

Wanna celebrate with us? Join us at our Book Launch Party on June 8th, 6:30pm-8:30pm, where you can get a signed copy of the book before anyone else. Link in bio and below.

https://bit.ly/4eXH4Pz

Not in NY? No worries: you can still buy the book at the presale link (in bio or below)!

https://bit.ly/4nXZWRb

Is still cool? ‘Cause for us, it always is. But, like, every day, not just Wednesdays. 😁 Today, we’re celebrating the ...
05/27/2026

Is still cool?

‘Cause for us, it always is.

But, like, every day, not just Wednesdays. 😁

Today, we’re celebrating the Lauren Yee!

· She’s a playwright and screenwriter, currently commissioned by Arena Stage, Geffen Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Second Stage, and South Coast Rep.

· She’s perhaps best known for her (stunning, brilliant, visionary) “Cambodian Rock Band,” which was named one of the top 50 most influential plays of the last 25 years by American Theatre!

· She’s been produced by South Coast Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, City Theatre, Signature Theatre, Denver Center, Seattle Rep, Atlantic Theatre, Steppenwolf, and so many more.

· She’s won the Doris Duke Artist Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Kesselring Prize, the ATCA/Steinberg Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Literature award, and the Francesca Primus Prize, among others.

· She’s a member of New Dramatists and the Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab.

· Her most recent production—“Mother Russia”—received a Best Play Lortel nomination this year!

And, in total, is just a genius writer and advocate. 

Visit laurenyee.com to learn more about her and her work! 

And follow us here, , to learn about other incredible femme playwrights throughout history. 

We love you, Lauren!

05/26/2026

🥳 IT’S TIME FOR A BOOK LAUNCH, Y’ALL! 🥳

Join us in NYC on June 8th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm, to celebrate the publication of our first monologue book! While there, you can even buy a signed copy of the book, getting it before anyone else. 😉 Link in bio or below!

https://bit.ly/4eXH4Pz

If you’re not in NYC, no worries! You can still get the book: presale at link in bio or below!

https://bit.ly/4nXZWRb

We cannot WAIT to have this labor of love out in the world, and to hear your talented voices deliver these brilliant lines!

Today, we honor those who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit and protection of freedom.  These four women—Josefi...
05/25/2026

Today, we honor those who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit and protection of freedom. 

These four women—Josefina Niggli, Wakako Yamauchi, Mahasweta Devi, and Maruxa Vilalta—are survivors of warfare, of unrest, and wrote of those who sacrificed. They gave lives back to those the world seemed to forget. And we love them for it.

Sit with the uncomfortable questions they ask. Laugh at the humor in the hardness. Learn a bit about them, their cultural histories, and their stories. 

Read them all at expandthecanon.com, and follow us here, , for more incredible classic women playwrights.

Thank you for all you were and all you are. 💜

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