SAY ABORTION, ON STAGE
A FUNDRAISING CO-PRODUCTION OF AN OTHER THEATER CO., Plan-B Theatre, PYGmalion Productions, and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah
Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 2pm
Jeanne Wagner Theatre
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
Read the digital playbill
Fourteen true abortion stories gathered by Planned Parenthood Association of Utah from Utahns of all ages who have had abortions in different decades and stages of their lives.
This event provides a safe space for these stories to be shared on stage.
Well-fitting KN95 or N95 masks required (available at no cost at the door).
Every artist working on this event in any capacity will be tested prior to the performance.
Plan-B Theatre fully supports the mission and vision of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU), one of a world where sexual and reproductive rights are basic human rights, where access to health care doesn't depend on who you are and where you live, and where every person has the opportunity to choose their own path to a healthy and meaningful life.
Plan-B Theatre fully supports the mission and vision of Utah Abortion Fund (UAF), which believes that everyone deserves to have access to the reproductive health care they need, free of judgment, stigma, and economic barriers.
Our hope is that attendees will make a donation to PPAU or UAF or both at this free event. If you are unable to attend but would still like to give, please click the ticket link above, where you will find donation portals for both organizations.
Thoughts from EAcH OF THE FIVE memberS of Plan-B's leadership team with a uterus (USE BUTTONS TO NAVIGATE)
Rebecca Chavez-Houck
Board of Directors
I believe art should reflect the humanity behind issues that have been unfairly politicized. It’s important for our community to hear the realities of others’ experiences and to do so without judgment.
We need to just listen to their stories.
I have lived during a relatively narrow gap of time in our country’s history where my ability to choose how and when I decided to be a parent was mostly unencumbered; it pains me greatly that my children and grandchild will not have the same freedoms.
I’m proud that we at Plan-B Theatre are making space for people who have had abortions to share their stories. And I’m proud that we support the organizations in our community that are making sure that people get the reproductive health care they need, when they need it.
#sayabortion
Cheryl Ann Cluff
Founder and Managing Director
When it comes to abortion care, we live in an increasingly hostile climate. Gathering together to listen to personal stories from those who choose to share them on their own terms, challenges the culture of shame placed on people who have abortions. By actively listening to these very real experiences we help foster empathy, justice, and support for access to abortion care regardless of the reason it is needed.
For me, hearing these stories reminds me in a very visceral way what is at stake for many: the capacity to have control over our own bodies, and the power to decide our own futures. And I think we need these reminders else we become complacent and settle into numb acceptance of the loss of bodily autonomy.
Melissa Salguero
Board of Directors
Today, we at Plan-B Theatre choose to say abortion.
By saying abortion, we speak into existence a reality in which an individuals access to healthcare, medical privacy, consent and bodily autonomy are a right. We name the injustices which have, for too long, found comfort and power in complicit silence.
We seek to strip away any shame or moral connotation given to this procedure and embrace the reality that this is a necessary procedure and should be available for any and all those who may one day need it.
As a Disabled woman of color, the restriction of access to this procedure not only puts my life at risk, but enforces a destructive narrative of who should live and die: which bodies are deemed worthy to join society, and which are not. I say abortion because my life, my body, my worth, is not for others to decide. I say abortion because neither it, or life, is a consequence.
By saying abortion, we hope to tell our community that we stand in solidarity with and for them.
“We too are afraid, but despite our fear, we will persist."
Kay Shean
Board of Directors
I come from a time when abortion in this country was illegal. The word was never said in public. It was whispered secretly between women trapped in untenable situations. The procedure was performed in back alleys or across the border by untrained people in unsanitary conditions. Girls were mutilated. Women died. Terror and panic at the thought of an unwanted pregnancy reigned.
I, and millions like me, demonstrated, marched, and voted for a woman’s right to choose because our lives literally depended on it.
Never, in my wildest nightmares, did I imagine fifty years later the battle for a woman’s power over her own body would need to be fought again. Say the word abortion. Shout it from the rooftops. Because once again, women’s lives depend on it.
Lily Hye Soo Dixon
Board of Directors
As a member of the performing arts community, I feel it is important that we represent every voice possible. Especially the voices that might speak something different than our own, the voices that challenge our perspective and cause us to grow. We shouldn't stop when it comes to abortion.
As a person who has given birth, I have crossed these difficult conversations with myself and with others in my life. It is not easy, it is complex and nuanced. No one can understand the difficulties unless you have lived it and the only way to support it is to listen. I believe the more we talk about it and give the people the power to share and empathize, then we can destigmatize the word abortion.
Everyone should be able to have a choice when it comes to their body, their mental health and their future.
Here at Plan-B we will continue to support the choice to tell these nuanced stories of true humanity.