Call for Chapter Proposals for Book on Abortion Related Theatre, Performance, and Protest

Edited by:

Angela Sweigart-Gallagher, Associate Professor of Performance and Communication Arts, St. Lawrence University (asweigart@stlawu.edu )

Victoria P. Lantz, Associate Professor of Theatre, Sam Houston State University (vicky.lantz@gmail.com)

We invite scholars to contribute to a forthcoming book, Abortion Performances: Staging and Protesting Reproductive Pasts, Presents, and Futures.

The collection will trace how playwrights and theatre artists approached the cultural and political minefield of abortion over time—moving from tragic plot points (Eugene O’Neill’s Abortion) to often overlooked side plots in the time immediately before Roe v. Wade (Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun), to front and center metaphors for racialized, systemic violence (Suzan-Lori Parks’ Fucking A and In the Blood), to historical explorations of the feminist fight for abortion rights (Lisa Loomer’s Roe or Paula Kamen’s docudrama Jane and the Abortion Underground). We welcome chapters addressing the surge of new plays about abortion being written and produced after the Dobbs decision.

The proposed book will include essays on theatrical and protest performances in the United States from the pre-Roe period to our post-Dobbs era and will track theatrical case studies alongside relevant protest performances off stage. We also welcome international case studies of abortion related plays, performances, and theatrical protests.

Prospective chapters might consider (but are not limited to) the following questions:

• What is the historical accounting of abortion in theatre? How have playwrights depicted abortion, abortion rights, Roe v. Wade, and reproductive justice or choice on stage in the pre-Roe, Roe, and post-Dobbs eras?
• How have historical feminist movements utilized theatre as a platform for activism around abortion or reproductive rights?
• Alternatively, how have conservative movements utilized theatre as a platform for activism around the repeal of abortion protections?
• How have historical and/or contemporary abortion-related protest movements on both sides of the issue incorporated theatricality or performance to support their activism?

Submission Guidelines:

• Please submit an abstract of 300-500 words by August 31st
• Please include a brief biography (150 words)
• Final chapters (6,000-8,000 words) will be due in Spring 2026
• Submissions and inquiries should be sent to vicky.lantz@gmail.com and asweigart@stlawu.edu