The Turnaway Play, based on the 10-year Turnaway Study conducted by Diana Greene Foster, comes to Springfield for three staged readings Oct. 9-11 at First Presbyterian Church on 7th Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the readings beginning at 7 p.m. each night. The readings explore the experiences of women who were denied or received abortions, drawing directly from the research and interviews conducted as part of the study. Discussions with audience members will follow each performance, with a virtual Q&A with Dr. Diana Greene Foster planned for Saturday. For additional information or tickets, click here.
Melissa Snider:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Melissa Snider, in the studio with Pamela Selela, the producer of the Turnaway play, and Deborah Brothers, one of the two co-directors of the play. How are we doing today, ladies?
Pamela Salela:
Great. We're getting excited about this weekend.
Melissa Snider:
Awesome. Yes, I can't wait to talk about it. The Turnaway play will be in Springfield this weekend for three staged readings happening Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It's taking place at the First Presbyterian Church on 7th Street, is that right?
Pamela Salela:
That is correct, yes.
Melissa Snider:
7 p.m. each night?
Pamela Salela:
Yes, doors open at 6:30.
Melissa Snider:
Awesome. For someone who hasn't heard of the Turnaway play before, can you tell me what it's about and what the audience can expect from the readings?
Pamela Salela:
So the play is based on a 10-year study by Dr. Diana Green Foster, who is a PhD at University of California, San Francisco. And she conducted a 10-year study from 2008 to 2018 of 1,000 women, some of whom gave birth, some of whom were turned away from requesting an abortion.
Melissa Snider:
Were they across the United States?
Pamela Salela:
Yeah.
Melissa Snider:
Okay
Pamela Salela:
Yeah. And her full study is published in a book called The Turnaway Study. There are two scenarios in the play that we bounce back and forth between them. There's Dr. Foster, who is speaking in 2022, and she's at a lectern, speaking to the class. And then it switches over to these three women who work in the survey office who are actually conducting the survey for Dr. Foster's study. And that's their set specifically in 2014. And everything in there actually comes directly out of the study. And then there are cameo appearances of women from the study who are speaking of their own experience. All of it comes directly out of the study— slices from the study.
Melissa Snider:
So the study was done over a period of 10 years. How do things change or evolve? Do you see that in the play over those 10 years?
Pamela Salela:
Yes, we do, because we actually see during her lecture there's a change in the Supreme Court. So we get to see that in historical context. Because it is, we're later than the study.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah.
Pamela Salela:
Right? But we're not deviating from the study. It's still relevant.
Deborah Brothers:
The other thing is too, she did, her research team did follow-up interviews with people every six months. These women were followed every six months for years. We get to kind of do this. As Pamela said, we have these two different, actually we have three different stories going on. And there's the story of the researchers, then there's the story of Dr. Foster giving this lecture, and then there's the stories of the women who are part of the study.
Melissa Snider:
Very cool.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, it's pretty interesting.
Melissa Snider:
So I want to know how you two got involved with the Turnaway Play. Pamela, you are producing, and Deborah, you are co-directing with Mark Buckholz. So Pamela, let's start with you. How did you get involved with the Turnaway Play?
Pamela Salela:
I lived in Urbana for many, many, many years, and I'm still very connected there, and I received an e-mail message about the Turnaway play being produced at the Station Theater in Urbana a little over a year ago. And I thought, wow, this sounds really interesting. Maybe this is something we could bring to Springfield. So I contacted the Turnaway Project, which oversees the Turnaway play and works with Dr. Foster, who is the author of the study upon which the play is inspired by. And I was sent all the materials for the play I made contact with the director of the Turnaway Project, Annabelle Sheinberg, and we started conversation. So I had this idea, but I didn't have a team. I'm not a production company. And I started telling people about this idea. And then last December, I was at a party, and I met Jane Buckholz and told her about this idea and she said, oh, my husband is a theater director and he would love this idea. So she took me into the next room and I met Mark Buckholz and the three of us were off and running. So Jane and Mark and I were like, we're gonna do this. So then I thought of Deborah Brothers who is known for having produced the Vagina Monologues at Lincoln Land Community College, and I had seen it there a couple of times over the many years that she produced it. I reached out to her and she was immediately enthusiastic about this idea. Then I needed... a social media person and a graphics person. I reached out to Britton Bjornberg, who's the chair of the arts department here on UAS campus, and she led me to Lilith Nadine, a recent graduate, very talented young woman. And then Deborah reached out to a former student of hers, Regina Ivey, to help us with social media. So now we have our core team of six of us. and off and running.
Melissa Snider:
It's cool how all that came together, you know? Just one path kind of led you to another person.
Pamela Salela:
Very organic.
Melissa Snider:
And Deborah, you are co-directing. So you have experience in theater and in producing before?
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, but not like extensively or anything. That wasn't my area, you know, like my academic area or anything. Yeah, got involved many years ago with my club that I was the advisor to at Lincoln Land. Feminist Activist Coalition. Yeah, we started doing vagina monologues. We did it well over a decade, and then I started doing some other shows too. I did another Eve Ensler show, which is called The Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer. And then I did two original community storytelling shows that we produced.
Melissa Snider:
Very nice. I love that.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, it was a lot of fun. But I taught out at Lincoln Land for many, many, many years in the English department.
Melissa Snider:
Okay. The Springfield Area Arts Council is a sponsor. Can you tell me how that all came together?
Pamela Salela:
Because we were a loose conglomerate of people with no affiliation to anything whatsoever. We needed a fiscal agent at minimum, because if we wanted to charge for tickets or anything. I did manage to work out with Springfield Area Arts Council. They came on several weeks ago as our official sponsor for the play. Bella Szabo was unable to be here, but I want to quote Bella from the press release, because I think she put this really beautifully. She says, "Research can tell us what happens when someone is denied an abortion. Theater asks us to spend time with the people behind those findings, to hear their words, recognize their humor, and consider the choices they faced. That is a particular power of the arts. They make room for us to engage with difficult realities together. We hope these readings and the panel discussion give Springfield audiences a chance to listen, reflect, and talk." So that's Bella.
Melissa Snider:
So Leslie Lisa Green, she wrote this play, is that correct?
Pamela Salela:
Mhm.
Melissa Snider:
Do you know what her story is and maybe the inspiration behind it?
Pamela Salela:
She is the sister of Dr. Diana Green Foster, the woman who conducted the study, and Leslie Lisa Green is a professional playwright. You'd wonder, how do you take a 10-year demographic study and turn it into a play? Well, she did.
Melissa Snider:
That's impressive.
Deborah Brothers:
It's funny that you asked that though. Of course her personal connection might or might not be the same as her sisters, but Dr. Foster talks about the reasons why she did this in the play itself. There is a part in the play where she says, "why am I so personally invested in this or interested in this?" And then she tells us why.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah.
Deborah Brothers:
So I would imagine that also impacted the playwright too.
Melissa Snider:
Awesome. So we're going to have to watch it to find out.
Deborah Brothers:
No spoilers here.
Melissa Snider:
No spoilers. That's fair. Hey, we appreciate it. This play is done by a local independent theater group. Can you tell me about that theater group? Is this play done in other states?
Pamela Salela:
It's part of the Turnaway Project and it is done all over the country. That's their vision is to have it performed all over the country and it's voluntary, whoever picks it up. And then we picked it up and I've been working with the Turnaway Project director, Annabelle Sheinberg, for almost a year now. We've been in conversation. So she's provided a lot of moral and technical support to make this happen. She actually frequently flies to locations where the play is being performed.
Melissa Snider:
Okay, very nice.
Pamela Salela:
That unfortunately won't happen this time. However, we have a surprise for Saturday night. Should we reveal that?
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, sure. So Saturday night, after the performance, Dr. Foster has agreed to do a Zoom interview with us.
Melissa Snider:
Nice. So is the audience involved with that?
Deborah Brothers:
Yes.
Melissa Snider:
So they can ask her whatever questions they have.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, what I'm planning on doing is handing out some cards like prior to the show, you know, if they have a question to write it down. And since we only gonna get her for 15 or 20 minutes, that's probably more efficient. plus she wouldn't be able to see anybody anyway.
Melissa Snider:
Is there anything people need to know before that or just kind of stay after the performance?
Deborah Brothers:
Right.
Melissa Snider:
Okay.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, I mean, and we plan to have discussions, with audience members if they want to have that after each performance. We also have a psychologist who's going to be on hand in case somebody feels upset, triggered, you know, something like that. I mean, we did that a lot with the Vagina Monologues and found it really useful.
Melissa Snider:
A good resource there.
Deborah Brothers:
It usually isn't needed, but that person usually isn't needed, but we wanted to have somebody there in case.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. So this play is done in different states. It's done nationally. How would reactions vary from state to state?
Pamela Salela:
That's a very good question, and that's probably a better question for Annabelle Sheinberg. And I'm sure it's received very differently in different locations. We're very ad hoc in our organizational structure. But in other locations, I'm sure that happens as well. But there are also theater troupes who do it. Various not-for-profit organizations might do it. It's done at different levels. It can be done in a living room, could just be a group of friends who invite a bunch of people, or it can be done a full staging, or what we're doing, which is well-rehearsed reading— staged reading. Staged reading. So it's done in accordance with the resources they have available to them. The national project is very generous. Because they provide everything we need. All the scripts, there's slides in the show, we have all the slides, we have sound files, they help with marketing materials for us, skeletal press release. So they don't tell you what to do with the national project. They give you the materials and that's kind of an honor system that you will honor those materials and you're not allowed to change anything in the script.
Deborah Brothers:
And the cast can be four people to 10 people. We happen to have 10 in ours, so we're happy with that. We had more than enough people come out and audition.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah, it's a great thing to be a part of. I can see why a lot of people would want to be a part of it.
Deborah Brothers:
Mhm.
Melissa Snider:
So there's different elements here. There's drama, humor, and audience participation, right?
Deborah Brothers:
The scenario is that she's giving a lecture to a class— that she's been invited to come in and give this lecture to the class. And so as any professor with experience would do, you want to engage your audience. So there are points in the play where she will ask questions. They're not rhetorical questions. They're actually there for audience members to chime in what they think. Yeah, and so then what the actor who's portraying Dr. Foster has to do is, of course, she has to improvise just a little bit, depending on what the audience says. So she'll be able to take questions and take commentary and stuff like that, like when it's asked for. Let me kind of give you a little what I see like as a distinction between like a full theatrical performance and a staged reading so that people won't be confused. We don't have an elevated stage or anything like that, and we don't have fancy lights or anything like that. It's a great space, but you will notice when you come, actors aren't going to speak totally from memory. They're going to have cards. And sometimes they'll refer to those cards, maybe sometimes they won't, you know, but a lot of the times they will. One way to think about this isn't to think about it as, oh, they're not rehearsed. It's not that at all. the cards in a way are kind of that documentation. These are real women and I'm representing this person to you. I really like the fact that we use cards for that reason. This play is very much the words of real women. It's the words of the author of the study. It's the words of the women themselves who participated in the study, right? And also I think just because it helps make it accessible, like to participate in this for anybody. You don't necessarily have to have a lot of stage experience, right? And you don't have to feel like, oh, I have to be an actor, like with a capital A to participate in this. That being the case, though, we did have a lot of people come out and audition who have a lot of theater experience, but we also have a couple of people in the cast who didn't. And it's been an amazing experience, I think, for all of them, you know what I mean? I mean, I think they've really bonded in a lot of ways and they've made friends with each other, and that's been really great— and it's been really great for me too, because when I did vagina monologues, I mean, I had student assistants, and a couple of times I had students co-direct, with me. But I'm used to doing everything myself, or I was used to doing everything myself like that. And so for me to work with somebody like Mark Buckholz, who's got like an MFA in theater from Yale, I think. Yeah, I mean, this is somebody who's got chopped, got lots of years of acting experience, lots of years of directing experience.
Pamela Salela:
We're very blessed.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, since he's been here for, you know, the last five years when he retired, they moved here from New Mexico and they started doing plays here. And so it's been really interesting for us to work together and for, I feel like there are certainly things that, where he's taken the lead on some things and where I'm able to sit back and kind of watch and learn, you know? Which has been really, really cool.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely.
Deborah Brothers:
And I'd like to think that's reciprocal and it might be in some ways, but more importantly, I think is just, it's felt like a real collaboration, you know?
Melissa Snider:
Kind of balance each other out, work together.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, absolutely. And that's been really nice. But I mean, just this experience of working together, not only has the cast bonded, have we bonded with the cast, but it's also to be able to work with somebody who's a professional. That's been kind of illuminating
Melissa Snider:
Very cool.
Deborah Brothers:
Yeah, really nice.
Melissa Snider:
So we have the Turnaway Play coming to Springfield, the First Presbyterian Church this weekend. Do you want to confirm the dates and times with us one more time and where people can get tickets at?
Pamela Salela:
Sure. Dates and times is October 9th, 10th, and 11th. That's Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, this coming weekend. The play starts at 7. Doors open at 630. It's not in the sanctuary. It's in the commons, which is in the foundation portion of the church.
Deborah Brothers:
Costs $5 at the door, or you can get tickets online. If you go to Springfield Area Arts Council, they have a link for the Turnaway Play.
Melissa Snider:
Awesome. Five dollars.
Deborah Brothers:
Five dollars.
Pamela Salela:
Five dollars.
Melissa Snider:
Can't beat that.
Pamela Salela:
Nope.
Melissa Snider:
Once again, I'm your co-host Melissa Snider in the studio with Pamela Selela, the producer of the Turnaway Play, and Deborah Brothers, the co-director of the play.
Pamela Salela:
Thank you so much, Melissa.
Melissa Snider:
Of course, thank you ladies so much for coming in today.
Deborah Brothers:
Thank you.
Melissa Snider:
Community Voices is a production of NPR Illinois.
Dialogue transcribed by Microsoft Speech Service, an AI feature of Microsoft Word. Reviewed by humans for readability and accuracy.
