Season One
It started in 2017 when, shortly after moving back to Lexington, Founder and Artistic Director Stacie Sexton had an idea. There was a need for people to share their narratives surrounding their abortions in a safe and supportive atmosphere. There was a need to erase the stigma and lift up the voices of folks who actually have abortion-related experiences. There was a need to speak the great unspoken: people have abortions, and it’s okay. They are not alone.
Stacie reached out to the community and got folks talking, sharing, and workshopping their stories in the spring and summer of 2017. She nailed down a venue, dates, and community support. Then she met Creative Director Kacy Johnson, and the project got its sound and look. Opening at Cosmic Charlie’s in August of 2017 for a two-night run, The Abortion Monologues of Lexington shared six true stories with its first audience.
Season Two
In December of 2018, The Abortion Monologues premiered Season Two at Zanzibar in Louisville to a packed house! The second season consisted of six new stories and a few new faces! We took the show to Cincinnati’s Southgate House Revival in January 2019 and then back home to Cosmic Charlie’s in Lexington for two nights that summer. We had organizations including Kentucky Health Justice Network and the ACLU to speak or table at our productions.
Season Three & Beyond
As Season Two drew to a close, it became clear that the project could be so much more than theatre. At the start of the 2020 legislative session, The Abortion Monologues partnered with the ACLU of Kentucky to bring our stories to the General Assembly.
Stacie is pictured here with State Representative Attica Scott at the 2020 Legislative Preview for the Reproductive Freedom Network of Kentucky. Featured were folks for whom access to abortion care had proven it a vital and necessary medical procedure that should be accessible to all. We are looking forward to future advocacy work and Season Three!