Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Arts Administration’s production of “Roe,” directed by Scott Knowles, will open on Wednesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. with following shows on April 12, 13 and 18 and a final matinee on April 20 at 2 p.m. Each performance will be held in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theater.
“Roe” follows the stories of Norma McCorvey, known by the pseudonym Jane Roe in the historic 1973 legal case Roe v. Wade, and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who represented her.
Not long after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, TDAA began selecting plays for this current season.
“We were looking for a fifth show for the season, and I stumbled across [Roe], read it, loved it and said, ‘Hey, we should do this. We should talk about abortion rights,’” said Knowles.
The team behind “Roe” hopes that their performance will cultivate nuanced conversations around campus about abortion rights.
“The play really doesn’t try to tell you what to think about abortion,” Knowles mentioned. He believes that it was written in a manner that sheds light on both sides of this historic issue.
Though McCorvey became the face for pro-choice activism after this case, her position fluctuated from pro-life to pro-choice over the years. During the timeframe of “Roe,” she was largely pro-life.
“Very few people know that Jane Roe never had an abortion. She was the reason abortion was legalized in a sense, but [she] never had one herself,” said Nash Kenning-Ballesteros, who plays McCorvey.
Weddington, on the other hand, was firmly pro-choice.
“The play follows these two stories, and we get a really interesting look at how that history unfurled as well as different perspectives on pro-life and pro-choice,” Knowles said.
On Wednesday, April 10, at noon, “Roe” partnered with the Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service for the week’s Pizza and Politics, a weekly, moderated event where students debate a variety of topics.
“There’s a general bias within theatre that leans a little bit more towards left as far as content goes,” Knowles admitted, “so reaching out to Pizza and Politics is in part an a
ttempt to say ‘Hey, this play is for everyone.’”
Additionally, Helen Boswell-Taylor, a biology professor at Southern Utah University, will hold a lecture on discussing abortion in a civil matter before the showing of “Roe” on Saturday, April 20.
Talk-backs will also be held after the April 13 and 18 shows, providing a platform for open conversation. At the discussions, the team will also share resources from the Health and Wellness Center for students who find themselves in similar situations to the one in “Roe.”
Although it is a controversial subject, the team is excited to share the work they have done.
“I feel like we’ve been in our own bubble of being in rehearsal and tech and everything,” said Emma Cox, who plays Sarah Weddington. “I really just want to put this in front of people and then hear what people have to say afterward.”
Tickets to the show can be purchased over the phone or in person half an hour before each show begins at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Box Office. Students can attend free of charge.
Author: Heather Turner
Photographer: Astrid Bjerg
Editor: Tessa Cheshire
arts@suunews.net