Doing super fun (sarcasm!) research for my play FUNNY, LIKE AN ABORTION and learned that if Roe v. Wade falls (I am trying to stay so hard to stay optimistic and stick with if and not when) access to safe and legal abortions will be banned in more than half of the states. Twenty eight out of fifty. You can see up for yourself here on this super handy and incredibly depressive interactive map from Planned Parenthood.
The states, many of which already have incredibly restrictive or nearly total bans, are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
I want to see my play done in all of these states. Or ABORTION ROAD TRIP by Rachel Lynett or DRY LAND by Ruby Rae Spiegel or any of these plays from playwright Rachel Carnes’ curated list on Reproductive Rights on the New Play Exchange. If not productions, readings. Even living room readings!
At the end of next month, May 28th and 29th to be exact, FUNNY, LIKE AN ABORTION will go up as a developmental production in San Francisco, CA. You can tune in live, or stream in through the end of June. You can book your in-person or digital ticket here. But there's nothing else on the horizon for this play after these performances.
Which brings me to my very big big ask…. You know any theater makers in one of the states listed above? Because I'm looking for theaters, festivals, and schools who'd like to get in touch to see if we can put something together. Roe v. Wade is in jeopardy. Safe and legal abortions are in jeopardy.
My email is Rnbublitz@gmail.com. You can get a .pdf from me by reaching out, or on my NPX page.
Unfortunately, this is not a drill.