Photo Flash: 1 in 3 Campaign Launches National Tour of Abortion Play

The 1 in 3 Campaign just launched a national tour of a groundbreaking new documentary play on abortion in the face of political attacks on access to safe, affordable abortion care. The play moves past the noise of the current political climate and features first-hand accounts from the people who receive and provide abortion care, even as access to abortion care comes under increasing threat. Scroll down for a first look at the company onstage!

The tour of "Remarkably Normal by Jessi Blue Gormezano, Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign" directed by Marie Byrd Sproul includes performances in eight cities, including some of the states with the most restrictive laws or active fights to place greater restrictions on access to abortion care, including Texas, where a law that's forced many of the clinics to close is under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. The play is a clever, thoughtful and creative way to bring the reality of people's abortion experiences into the heightened and tense conversation around abortion.

"We all know someone who has had an abortion yet for too long the rhetoric of abortion opponents has created a dense atmosphere of stigma and shame that has silenced our stories," said Deb Hauser, president of Advocates for Youth, the organization that runs the 1 in 3 Campaign. "Abortion care is remarkably normal despite what you might hear from the toxic political debate; it has been and always will be a part of people's lives. We shatter the silence around abortion every time we speak our stories, and now hopefully every time we share this play."

The 1 in 3 Campaign's previous play "Out of Silence" (directed by Marie Byrd Sproul) debuted in New York and Washington D.C. in 2015 to rave reviews and continues to be performed on college campuses around the country. The new play is soulful, funny, at times challenging and geared to cause even more ripples in the conversation around abortion access.

"Remarkably Normal by Jessi Blue Gormezano, Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign" is based on real interviews and stories submitted to the 1 in 3 Campaign. By using first-person intimate accounts, the complex issues around abortion are brought to life by the nuanced narratives of a long-time abortion care provider, a young anti-abortion protestor who finds herself with an unintended pregnancy, a compassionate member of the clergy, a mother of four children, a victim of sexual assault, and many others.

"Remarkably Normal by Jessi Blue Gormezano, Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign" is directed by Marie Byrd Sproul and began touring last night, May 12, and will travel to the following major U.S. cities:

• Atlanta, GA: May 12 - 7 Stages Theater

• Miami, FL: May 19 - Koubek Center at Miami Dade College

• Austin, TX: May 26 - Stateside Theatre at The Paramount

• Denver, CO: June 2-3 - Su Teatro

• Los Angeles, CA: June 8 - Barnsdall Theater

• Oakland, CA: June 16-17 - The Flight Deck

• Chicago, IL: June 22-23 - Theater Wit

• Cleveland, OH: June 30-July 1 - Dobama Theatre

Get tickets online at www.1in3campaign.org/remarkablynormal.

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