POWERSTORIES POWERUPS: STAGED READING
January 6, 2025
Jane: Abortion and the Underground
Jane: Abortion and the Underground
Written by Paula Kamen, Jane: Abortion and the Underground is a timely and provocative part-documentary drama about “the best-kept secret” in Chicago, “Jane,” an underground abortion service that operated from 1969 to 1973. The script is based on Kamen’s original interviews, including very rare interviews with women not in Jane who used the illegal service. This network, run by a feminist collective of mostly middle-class housewives and students, was the safe alternative for an estimated 8,000- 11,000 Chicago women of all backgrounds (as reported by Jane members). In all those years, “Jane,” which boasted no fatalities and operated in private apartments throughout the city, was well trusted by and commonly received referrals from police, university administrators, social workers, clergy, and hospital staff. It gives an inspiring and unapologetic story — too relevant today — of feminist resistance and organizing to meet women’s most immediate and critical needs. The play also reveals how even under the best of circumstances, illegal abortion can be harrowing.
HCC Ybor Main Stage, 1411 E 11th Ave, Tampa
Heather
Fran is the Founder of Powerstories Theatre and is immensely proud to be reading the part of Heather. Since 2000, Fran has led the production of over 100 plays featuring women through The Season of Shows, Voices of Women Festivals and Girlstories. She is forever grateful for her husband Dick, family, friends…and this work.
Naomi/Judith
Janice is thrilled to be back performing with Powerstories having appeared in Bernadette’s Bravo and SheVolution, directing SheVolution II and teaching in Girlstories Theatre. Her solo show, My Year of Saying No, most recently produced at the 2024 LA Women’s Theatre Festival, debuted at Powerstories’ inaugural Voices of Women Theatre Festival. Janicecreneti.com.
Millie/Young Woman 1
Jenna Jane is an actor, voiceover professional and internationally-produced playwright. Local acting credits include Beggar Woman in “Sweeney Todd,” Inez in “No Exit,” and Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” https://jennajanewrites.wordpress.com
Nancy/Young Woman 2
Suzy DeVore is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Hillsborough Community College. She holds an MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School, NYC. She is very proud to be a part of Jane and to support this very important cause, and thanks Powerstories for giving these issues the attention they deserve.
Jody
Alice
Janice Nepon-Sixt was inspired at an early age by her mother Ruthe to work for the rights of women and girls. Janice has been delighted to be part of Powerstories Theatre since 2003, wearing myriad hats. She began singing and performing on stage at the age of eight, and has done so in a wide variety of venues. Janice is supported in all things by her husband of 40 years, Jerry. She dedicates her participation in JANE to her blood, and other mother sisters.
Ruth
An award-winning educator turned playwright, composer, activist, and entertainer. She founded The Broad’s Way, LLC, to facilitate interactive theater experiences that celebrate womanhood. Her experience developing and teaching courses on Diversity has led her to write about race and privilege. Janet continues to write and perform locally to support theater, explore new work, and enjoy the stage. She is honored to be part of this show.
Micki
Sunny / Young Woman 3
Lori / Young Woman 4
Ivy Sunflower is an award-winning actress, director, teaching artist, and improviser. She has performed in numerous stage and screen productions, bringing passion and authenticity to each role. Ivy is thrilled to portray Lory in “Jane: Abortion in the Underground” and to contribute to this vital story of courage and resilience.
Dr. C / Nick
Reverend Parsons
Director
Stage Manager
Marketing
AD / Projections
Paula Kamen, an author and playwright, is based in Evanston, IL. Her part-documentary play Jane: Abortion and the Underground, had a Jeff-nominated production (for Best Ensemble) last fall with Idle Muse in Chicago. It had an off-Broadway celebrity reading in 2019 at Rattlestick in NYC to benefit A is For, starring Cynthia Nixon, Kathy Najimy, and many others. So far it has had seven full productions and dozens of readings across the U.S. and Canada.
Her two most recent plays are dramedies exploring life on the fringe in and around Chicago in the 1990s. That includes Dionne’s House: Agony and Primal Ecstacy (Mostly) on the Michigan Riviera, a 2022 O’Neill finalist. Her newest play, The Pardoned: A Punk-Rock Evolution, will be the October 2024 selection in the Readings at Red Theater series in Chicago. She developed both of these plays in the ongoing Scene Shop Class with author Will Dunne at Chicago Dramatists.
Heather Booth is one of the country’s leading strategists about progressive issue campaigns and driving issues in elections. She started organizing in the civil rights and women’s movements of the 1960s. She started JANE, an underground abortion service in 1965, before Roe. There is an Emmy Award winning documentary about this called The JANES.
She was the founding Director and is now President of the Midwest Academy, training social change leaders and organizers. She has been involved in and managed political campaigns and was the Training Director of the Democratic National Committee. In 2000, she was the Director of the NAACP National Voter Fund, which helped to increase African American election turnout. She was the Coordinator of AMOS, that worked to instill social justice in the heart of the Jewish Community. She was the lead consultant, directing the founding of the Campaign for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2005.
In 2008, she was the director of the Health Care Campaign for the AFL-CIO. In 2009, she directed the campaign passing President Obama’s first budget. In 2010 she was the founding director of Americans for Financial Reform, fighting to regulate the financial industry. She was the national coordinator for the coalition around marriage equality and the 2013 Supreme Court decision. She was strategic advisor to the Alliance for Citizenship (the largest coalition of the immigration reform campaign). She was the field director for the 2017 campaign to stop the tax giveaways to millionaires and billionaires She directed Progressive and Seniors Outreach for the Harris campaign. She has been a consultant on many other issues and with many other organizations. She is a member of the consulting firm Democracy Partners.
There is a film about her life in organizing, “Heather Booth: Changing the World.” It has been shown on PBS/World Channel stations around the country.
Eileen Smith joined the Abortion Counseling Service in 1971 after having an illegal abortion with them. After the group ended in 1973, she went to nursing school and worked in Chicago as a home health nurse. She now speaks at reproductive rights events.
Diane was born in Chicago and briefly attended the University of Chicago. She joined the Abortion Counseling Service after having a ‘therapeutic’ abortion in California and, as was seen in the movie, was one of the seven who were arrested. Following the Roe v Wade decision, all the charges were dismissed, and Diane went on to have a family and a career in health care as a nurse practitioner. Her work in reproductive rights has resumed in Charlotte, NC, where she volunteers as a clinic escort.
Powerstories Theatre is proud to be sponsored by Abortion Conversation Projects. Abortion Conversation Projects is committed to eliminating the stigma of abortion by supporting individuals and small groups engaged in innovative community-based projects that create new ways and opportunities to talk about abortion honestly and publicly. ACP designs, contributes, participates in, and collaborates on stigma-busting projects and forms Grant Partnerships to reduce the stigma surrounding abortion. Their work includes community-based seed grant funding and partnerships with allies and grant partners.
They envision a world in which abortion is affirmed as a moral decision without stigma. They believe that open and honest conversations, in a safe environment, about the experience of abortion will begin to create this world.
Abortion Conversation Projects is committed to eliminating the stigma of abortion by creating and supporting new ways and opportunities to talk about abortion honestly and publicly. The real-life experiences of people who choose abortion, those who support them, and abortion care providers will enable all people to better understand and appreciate the complex moral decision-making surrounding a pregnancy decision.
They pledge open conversations that do not demonize those with differing views or convince anyone that they are “right.” They recognize the transformative power of pregnancy and all its possibilities. They realize that decisions about pregnancy bring up issues of life, death, sex, parenthood, and so much more. They want to create safe spaces for everyone to consider what is best for their lives.
Powerstories Theatre is thrilled to announce an impactful collaboration with the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund. This organization is dedicated to eliminating financial and logistical barriers to abortion access, specifically aiding individuals with low incomes who seek abortion services at clinics across several counties around Tampa Bay.
In 2017, three individuals came together, deeply concerned about the stagnant state of abortion access despite years of advocacy and activism. Recognizing the need for more direct intervention, they founded the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund (TBAF) as a nonprofit in 2018. Since then, TBAF has assisted hundreds of people in Florida in accessing crucial abortion care. Their network includes strong ties with local clinics, other abortion funds, and a dedicated team of volunteers who offer various services, including transportation, childcare, case management, judicial bypass support, and emergency contraception. Currently, TBAF supports appointments at seven clinics in the Tampa Bay area, making a significant difference in their community.
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