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ROE | Theatre Series

  • Whidbey Island Center for the Arts PO Box 52 | 565 Camano Avenue Langley, WA 98260 (map)

Special Event: A talkback will take place post show with
Director Rose Woods and some members of the cast.

Roe was originally commissioned in 2016 through the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's American Revolutions program. That first production then traveled to Arena Stage and Berkeley Rep. The world has changed and Lisa Loomer has reworked the play to reflect current events including the Summer 2022 Supreme Court Decision.

The play travels through many landscapes evoking different Americas. Roe v. Wade was conceived in a pizza parlor, argued in the Supreme court - and has been debated ever since. There is a fundamental divide between the characters, which the production will evoke, including a large cultural divide.

Playwright Lisa Loomer is a Whidbey Island Hedgebrook alum, well known for co-writing the screenplay, Girl Interrupted. WICA is thrilled to be one of the first theatre’s in the country to secure the rights to the current script.

From the publisher: “For the first time in the play’s life, it’s not a look back at the history of Roe v Wade – the whole context has changed.”

CAST

Gail Liston
Lexi Warden
Miles Harrison
Zachary Schneider
Jeff Natter
Layla Akhtar
Kaia Bentsen

Teresa Hess
Helen Roundhill
Katrina Collins Bentsen
Julie Boren
Jacq Babb
Abie Ekenezar

CREW

Rose Woods (Director, Sound Design), Michelle Durr (Stage Manager), Katie Kammerer (Assistant Stage Manager/Prop Design), David Churchill (Production Manager), Deana Duncan
(Scenic Design/Projections), Valerie Johnson (Costume Design), Tyler Raymond (Technical Director/Light Design), Zachary Schneider (Media), Alyssa Keene (Dialect Coach), Miranda Cassée (Backstage Crew), Sarah Sanborn (Backstage Crew), Grace Webb (Backstage Crew), Sarafina Durr (Backstage Crew), Zoë Eisenbrey (Backstage Crew)

Content Advisory/Trigger Warning:

This material is potentially sensitive. ROE deals with strong emotions, viewpoints, and themes surrounding the landmark Roe v Wade case and abortion. This play is intended for mature audiences. If any material is triggering or distressing, please feel safe to exit the theatre and care for yourself. We understand. No graphic imagery is shown in the production. If you have any questions about the content of this play, please email: Deana.Duncan@wicaonline.org.

Preview Oct 7 | 7:30 PM
October 8 | 7:30 PM
October 9 | 2:00 PM
October 13 | 7:30 PM
October 14 | 7:30 PM
October 15 | 7:30 PM
October 16 | 2:00 PM
October 20 | 7:30 PM
October 21 | 7:30 PM
October 22 | 7:30 PM

Evening shows:
WICA Star Ticket: $45
Standard Ticket: $30
20 for $20 Ticket: $20

Matinee shows:
WICA Star Ticket: $35
Standard Ticket: $25
20 for $20 Ticket: $20

Thursday shows are all
”Pay What You Will”
at the box office

Earlier Event: October 20
ROE | Theatre Series
Later Event: October 22
ROE | Theatre Series *Closing Night*

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts would like to begin by acknowledging that we gather on the ancestral homelands, originally known as Tscha-kole-chy (SHA-KOL-CHI) in Lushootseed (LU-SHOOT-SEED), of the Coastal Salish Peoples, on the lands of the lower Skagit, Tulalip (tuh·lay·luhp), Swinomish (SWIN-ə-mish), Snohomish (snō-hō-mish), Stillaguamish (still-uh-GWAH-mish), and Suquamish (soo-kwah-mish), who have lived in the Salish Sea basin since time immemorial and have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands.

We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water.

Please join us in expressing our deepest respect and gratitude to the indigenous people of this territory and for their enduring care and protection of the land in which we currently occupy and share through the Treaty of Point Elliott signed by 82 tribes in Múckl-te-óh (Mukilteo) on January 22, 1855.