Part II of my conversation with Dena Tauriello and Rosa Avila. We explore more reasons why they were the only two women drummers working on Broadway and off-broadway prior to the shutdown of all shows in 2020.
Some of the topics we discuss include:
Should broadway have half of the drum chairs be filled by women? If so, why?
Is total equality the goal?
Are they just not interested, or are there more nefarious reasons for the lack of women playing drums?
Is the lack of women drummers working professionally primarily because of sexism and discrimination, or are there other factors?
Finding women subs—what problems have they had with recruitment and/or finding qualified candidates?
Are women reaching out to them for advice on how to do what they do?
What can we do to bring more women into the collective of drummers?
Dena Tauriello began playing drums at the age of eight. For 20 years, she worked with NYC rockers Antigone Rising who toured relentlessly, made numerous TV appearances, and served as cultural ambassadors to Israel, Palestine, and Vietnam. She’s worked with Rob Thomas (from Matchbox 20) as a member of his “RT Quartet.”
She has been featured in Modern Drummer, Drum! and Sticks ‘n’ Skins, a photography book about the drumming community.
Just over two years ago, Dena made the switch to Broadway after landing the chair for Head Over Heels featuring the music of the Go-Gos. Since then, she has also held the chair for Kristin Chenoweth’s For the Girls, Magic Mike and Galileo (reading) and was a sub at The Cher Show.
Before the shutdown, she held the chair for the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors and was set to sub at Six on Broadway.
Rosa Avila was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Mexico and Austria. She began playing drums at age 16 and completed her education at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California.
When she graduated in 1991, Rosa was presented with the Outstanding Student of the Year award and received the Human Relations Award.
Rosa performed with legends like Ann Margret, Debby Boone, The Lennon Sisters, Shari Lewis, Elkie Brooks, Glen Campbell, and Petula Clark. In 1992, she began her association with Andy Williams, with whom she performed until 2009.
In 2018, Rosa had the pleasure of holding the drum chair at Summer-The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway, and in 2019 she played on four shows: Chick Flick, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Love in Hate Nation, and For Colored Girls at the public theater.
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Clayton Craddock is an independent thinker, father of two beautiful children in New York City. He is the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain't Too Proud. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University's School of Business and is a 28 year veteran of the fast-paced New York City music scene. He has played drums in several hit broadway and off-broadway musicals, including "Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, and Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill. Also, Clayton has worked on: Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Spongebob Squarepants, The Musical, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.
PODCAST: Sexism On Broadway - Part II