Plays In Performance - My Body, My Health, My Choice!

This play contains depictions of an abortion and domestic abuse. Please watch with caution, and step out of the theatre at any point, if needed.

Playwright’s Note

Thank you to my family and friends for continuously supporting my craziest ideas. Thank you to my collaborators and cast members for helping me create this show and bringing my dream to life. Thank you to my mentors for giving me a chance and always supporting my work. Working on My Body, My Health, My Choice! has been an absolute dream.

Emma Baker (she/her) is a Theater and Performance/ Arts Management double major from Dansville, NY. Purchase credits include, A Robot Wrote This (Run-Crew), A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile (Wardrobe Crew), and Marisol (Stage Manager). She would like to thank everyone who has been a part of My Body, My Health, My Choice!

Michael Friary is a Junior THP major with a concentration in acting. In Fall 2021, he was in the mainstage production of A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile (#3/Teacher), he was a member of the run crew for For Colored Women, and earlier this semester he was Assistant Stage Manager for The Christians. He will be Assistant Front-of-House Manager at the Glimmerglass Festival this Summer and would like to thank his friends and family (Laureen & Terry Friary and Herbie Schaus) for the continuous support.

Raven is a theater and performance major focusing on acting, as a senior this is her first production since high school. Raven feels that working on this show has opened more of her creative side by being able to help out Frankie with costumes and lighting.

Briana (she/her) is a freshman at Purchase College and is double majoring in theater/performance and anthropology. She is extremely excited to be participating in her first show in college! Previous credits include Chicago (Matron Mama Morton), Hair (Featured Ensemble), The Addams Family (Grandmother), and most recently, The Road to Soc Con: An Original Musical (Millie). She is extremely grateful for the support she has received from her mom and close friends and is looking forward to participating in future shows at Purchase!

Cayd Barrera (They/Them) is a transfer sophomore majoring in Theatre and Performance. At Purchase College, they have worked on productions including Frame(D) and No Longer Human in technical aspects. They have performed in shows throughout high school and their previous college freshman year, however, this show is their first working in a performance aspect at Purchase. Cayd has had an amazing time working with this amazing group of people. They want to thank Frankie for creating this wonderful production and for giving Cayd the opportunity to be a part of it.

Alice is a junior with a double major of theatre and performance and literature. She has performed three times in the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast on campus. She has also fun costume crew for Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile. She is currently performing with the campus show choir, Crescendo. She is excited to work on a show that puts forward such a strong message of feminism and female rights and hopes you enjoy the show.

Edie Gregg (she/they) is a Directing student in the THP major, but they are delighted to be able to lend her acting abilities to this project. Past Purchase credits include acting in Shrew (2020) and Props Charge for FrameD (2021). Edie is very proud of her mom, aunts, and grandmothers for being brilliant, inspiring, and wonderful women in her life.

Skylar Hertz is a junior THP major, and an aspiring TV and Film actress from Long Island, NY. Purchase film credits include Break up co. and Can of Worms. She is thrilled to be a part of a live, in-person performance for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Frankie is a Senior Theatre and Performance, and Arts Management double major, with a minor in Playwriting. Her past credits include Taming of the Shrew (Costume Designer), No Child (Stage Manager), The Concept of Gender (Playwright and Director), Queer Talk (Playwright), Sixteen Bars to Love (Makeup Artist), The Legend of Glynn Thurman (Makeup Artist), and The Honkey Tonk Angels (Assistant Stage Manager). She would like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her, as well as the cast for bringing her vision to life.

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College