Photo Flash: Monique Coleman, Ana Gasteyer, Kathy Najimy, Cynthia Nixon And More Star In A IS FOR Benefit Reading

A is For hosted a benefit reading of Paula Kamen's documentary play Jane: Abortion and the Underground at Rattlestick on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. Proceeds from the benefit will support A is For's newly announced Abortion Playwriting Contest.

Julie Kline directed a cast that included Amy Berryman, Jeff Biehl, Brooke Bloom, Monique Coleman, Ana Gasteyer, Charlotte Graham, Jenn Lyon, Kathy Najimy, Cynthia Nixon, Jackie Sanders, Chris Stack and Carmen Zilles.

Before abortion was legal in the United States, women in Chicago knew who to call for help. From 1969 until 1972, Jane, the legendary feminist abortion service, was the one safe alternative for 11,000 women from all backgrounds. The women who ran the service were mostly unassuming: college students, "hippie housewives," and antiwar activists. But they led extraordinary double lives, running the most active underground abortion service in modern history.

Jane: Abortion and the Underground is based on original interviews with the women who ran and used this service as well as the men who supported it.

The production team included Lacey Erb (projection design), Kia Rogers (lighting design), Alexandra Valley (sound design) and Kat Norton (stage manager).

The reading was followed by a panel discussion with Pascale Bernard (Vice President of Public Affairs Planned Parenthood of New York City), playwright and journalist Paula Kamen, and reproductive rights historian Felicia Kornbluh (Professor of History and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, University of Vermont) as well as women who had underground abortions referred by or related to Jane in the late 1960s: activist Sunny Chapman and Jackie.

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