Bechdel Project Launches Nationwide 'Road Back To Roe' Campaign For All 50 States
The Road Back to Roe invites major regional theatres, university departments, community centers, and more to mount their own presentations.
Coinciding with this week's fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned federal reproductive rights, Bechdel Project, a premier intersectional feminist arts incubator, officially announced the launch of its ambitious new national campaign, The Road Back to Roe. Designed as a coordinated, nationwide act of creative resistance, the initiative aims to have a presentation of Courtney Bailey's critically acclaimed one-woman play, The Pavement Kingdom: a clinic escort play, in every corner of the United States, leading up to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 2027.
Under the banner mission of "50 States, One Voice," The Road Back to Roe invites major regional theatres, university departments, community centers, houses of worship, and even grassroots groups in private living rooms to mount their own presentations of the script. To ensure that financial barriers do not limit participation, playwright Courtney Bailey is waiving all performance royalties, and every presenter will be eligible for entry into a weighted micro-lottery to help defer costs.
The Pavement Kingdom is a disarming, deeply personal piece based on Bailey's real-world experiences volunteering as a clinic escort in St. Louis, Missouri. Moving beyond the rigid political rhetoric of the traditional "pro-life/pro-choice" divide, the play centers on the experiences of one volunteer navigating the intensity of the clinic lines while simultaneously using her time to work on her stand-up comedy routine. The play previously made its New York City premiere as part of Bechdel Project's Interstate Initiative, anchoring the My Body, My Voice festival and raising funds for the Brigid Alliance Abortion Access Fund.
The campaign welcomes a diverse range of participation formats, including:
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Fully staged productions by professional regional, local, and university theatres.
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Staged readings in community hubs, civic spaces, or houses of worship.
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Pop-up performances in unconventional outdoor or alternative spaces.
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Living room "script-ins" for intimate, kitchen-table discussions among friends.
The Road Back to Roe expands upon Bechdel Project's signature Interstate Initiative, a program dedicated to amplifying the voices of women, non-binary, and underrepresented genders from communities outside New York City, specifically targeting states that are actively suppressing their rights. By pushing The Pavement Kingdom back outward into all 50 states, the organization seeks to spark crucial front-line conversations and unite creators nationwide in a synchronized movement.
Artists, activists, and organizers ready to claim their space in The Pavement Kingdom and join the movement can learn more, sign up to host an event, or locate upcoming regional productions by visiting www.bechdelproject.org/home/programs/interstate.
