The conception of our weird little play...

As we move into our venue today and begin our tech rehearsals, I wanted to share with you how this play came to be.

It all began with a tiny article I read in newspaper about the sterilization of women Uzbekistan as a form of population control. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I began researching the history of sterilizations around the world, and was shocked to find that Canada was still sterilizing adults with Down syndrome and developmental delays until quite recently in our history.

I mentioned this to my mother, and discovered that one of her early jobs as a social worker actually involved representing her clients' (adults with intellectual disabilities) concerns about sterilization. She spoke on their behalf in meetings with lawyers and even on television. All her clients wanted was autonomy over their bodies.

I asked Michelle Alexander to come on board as dramaturge, and the play was further shaped by events in her family history - Michelle shared that when her mother was pregnant with her, she was told, as the central character, Elizabeth, is in our play, that there was a 50% chance there was something wrong with the baby, and a 50% chance that the test was merely contaminated, in which case everything would be fine with the pregnancy.

I am personally interested in the difficult decision the character Elizabeth is forced to face, and I ask myself what I would do and how I would feel if I received those test results? I don't believe there is a "right" answer, but I am certainly interested in the discussion surrounding it.

What started as enraging news from Uzbekistan hit a lot closer to home as I ever would have thought. I'm extremely proud to be premiering Well Born February 25th to March 6th at the Artscape Youngplace (180 Shaw St.) and I can't wait to share with you what we've been working on.