After the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, Victoria was trying to decide what to do to help those young women who will now be subject to all the harassment and pain which we had to go through 55 years ago.  She woke up the next morning knowing that, as a life-long theater artist, the thing to do was to create a play. So she contacted her old theater friend, Martha (living in the same senior community), and signed her up. We were, and continue to be, delighted to be working together.

The first thing we did was solicit stories from Rossmoor residents about abortions that they had had pre-Roe v. Wade. We got over 20 responses which we then set about weaving into a play. We held auditions and got an exciting cast of actors, musicians, and a production crew on board and began rehearsals. The work was intense and sometimes difficult but we all remained enthusiastic throughout the process. This extraordinary group of people have all worked pro bono throughout the whole journey and proceeds have all gone to Planned Parenthood.

The stories, so bravely told, many for the first time, moved us deeply and became the spine of the play, with short scenes interwoven to bring the stories to theatrical life. In the play, the readings at the Lectern are all presentations of the actual stories that were sent to us. The SCOTUS scene is created from actual quotes of the members of the Supreme Court. And now the play has been transformed into a very beautiful movie and accompanied by a short documentary about the story tellers themselves, both available for you to enjoy. And again, both films have been created by an extraordinary group of people who all worked pro bono to create them.

 The Dobbs Decision by our Supreme Court has put so many women and pregnant people and their doctors into painful and dangerous situations. We hope the play and films will encourage you to do the best you can to offer support to all of them. 

The film Voices from the Silenced, was actually inspired by a request from AMWA (American Medical Women’s Association). AMWA is distributing the film nationwide to educate and help groups that support women and pregnant people as they make their own decisions about their own bodies. AMWA is also acting as our fiscal sponsor.

-- Victoria and Martha