Depending on your perspective, the play “Everything You Need To Know About Abortion In One Hour Or Less” may sound inflammatory or it may sound dull. It’s neither.
The 67-minute drama, being presented by San Diego’s TuYo Theatre in a touring production through Wednesday, aims to educate audience members on the 8,000-year-plus history of abortions, the U.S. laws that have restricted the procedure since the 1880s, and — in the 15 states where abortion is now banned — how women can obtain the resources they need to end an unwanted pregnancy.
Directed by TuYo co-artistic director Maria Patrice Amon, the fast-paced “Everything You Need” production has a fictional humor-infused plot with multidimensional characters to make the story more entertaining. The script was written by Wish Collective, a group of five women playwrights. Offered free to theaters nationwide, the play premiered after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The play’s central focus is to educate and support women seeking an abortion and to teach their friends, partners and allies how to have compassion for those seeking abortions and how to spread the word about available online resources.
“Everything You Need” takes place at a high school in Oklahoma, where abortion is banned. Health teacher Jeanie and gym teacher Fred have decided to risk their jobs by organizing a locked-down “teach-in” with a group of six students. Through handouts, overhead projections and role-playing exercises, they spend an hour explaining the history, laws and medical realities of at-home abortions before campus police can break down the door.
Jeanie, played with steadfast fortitude by Wendy Hovland, has been pushed to action by the near-death of Harper, one of her students who drank essential oils (an idea she got from the internet) to end a pregnancy. Coach Fred, played with gentleness and restraint by Matthew Martinez Hannon, is a widower whose wife died in childbirth, so he fears for the safety of students like Harper.
The students — played by Devon Guevara, Jazmine Watson, Mylah Anderson, Akhil Patel, Julietta Ceballos and Emily Campos — start out disinterested but gradually become engaged as they learn and act out scenarios as patients, boyfriends and friends.
The truth-telling play does not encourage or glamorize the at-home abortion experience. Instead it explains the process of obtaining counseling and pills, what the experience will feel like and when to seek medical aid in the rare event of a problem. It also teaches how to tell the difference between a real medical clinic offering abortion care versus “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are run by pro-life groups.
The play features fun, contemporary costumes by Charlie Amon, playful handmade scenery by Jesus Hurtado, tension-building sound design by Michael Moretta, lighting by Stephanie Ma’alona and videos by Mariana Morin.
TuYo Theatre presents ‘Everything You Need To Know About Abortion In One Hour Or Less’
When and where: Performances continue through Wednesday
2 p.m. Saturday at Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library, 3003 Coronado Ave., San Diego4 p.m. Sunday at First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, 298 W. Arbor Drive, San Diego5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Skyline Hills Branch Library, 7900 Paradise Valley Road, San Diego7:30 p.m. Wednesday at San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San DiegoTickets: $20-$30. Some performances will be presented for free
Online sales and reservations: tuyotheatre.org/everything-you