Kayla Carr (Crystal / Patient 2) is currently a senior at UNCG, studying Theatre and Broadcasting. She is from Charlotte, NC and enjoys reading and shopping in her spare time. Having previously participated in spreading awareness with Planned Parenthood, Kayla now hopes to use the experience of the Jane staged reading to get people around campus fired up and talking about abortion rights.

 

Franny Civitano (Judith) is a senior in the BFA Acting program at UNCG.  She recently appeared as Cobweb in the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Mercy in The Revenger's Tragedy that UNCG took to the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in Washington D.C.  Franny is excited to be a part of this project because she believes that only each woman can individually make decisions about her body and it is evermore important to protect the right to choose. 

 

Jarmiria Durant (Jane 5), originally from Greensboro, is a sophomore at The University of North Carolina Greensboro where she majors in Psychology. She is a member of VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood). She first heard about Jane over a year ago, and got inspired to become a part of showing others who may not know, what Jane was, and the major role it played in legalizing abortion for women. She is, always has been, and will forever be a pro-choice activist. 

 

Sophie Eisdorfer (Ruth) is a junior at UNCG majoring in Religious Studies, and is also a big fan of the Theater and French departments. She loves working in student films, Musical Theater Ensemble, workshops, and all manner of plays, especially those by Tennessee Williams. A former Tisch drama student, Sophie hopes to continue acting, and plans to live somewhere in Europe. This is her first time working with UNCG-VOX, and it feels great to support the important issue of being pro-choice.

 

Brandy Grabow (Playwright / Caller / Jane 2) is currently a PhD student in the English Department at UNCG.  She received her BA in Theatre from Minnesota State University Mankato in 2001. Most recently she served as stage manager for Project Shimmy, forcing her to coral a brood of belly dancers into a very, very small dressing room and making her lonesome for late night rehearsals and impossible schedules.  Her current research explores the intersection of feminism, pragmatism, and hospitality theory.  Her pragmatic belief in the conjunction of belief and action inspired her to participate in this production. 

 

Anne Keyworth (Producer of Jane), originally from Raleigh, NC, is a junior at UNCG double majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and Public Health Education. She currently is a VOX officer and a Research Assistant for Dr. Tracy Nichols on attitudes towards pregnancy and parenting in a university setting, a committee chair for the Eta Sigma Gamma Public Health Honorary, a Spartan Tour Guide, and is actively involved in several honors societies and other university efforts. She recently returned from spending her summer working in a rural village health center in Ghana, and her primary interests are international and women’s health. Anne has been actively involved in VOX for three years and has also worked as a field canvasser for NARAL Pro-Choice NC, and hopes that Jane will create critical on-going discussion amongst her peers and community members about abortion rights and women’s rights in today’s politics.

 

Greg Knehans (Radical Man / Rev. Parsons / Lawyer) is a Fellow at the Center for Legislative Studies at UNCG. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 2007, an MA in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a BA in Architecture from Virginia Tech. His research brings together feminist and Marxist insights to understand global processes and relations, and is currently writing a book using the theories of Slavoj Žižek to investigate how East Timor has been constructed in scholarly and popular media to serve particular ideological ends. He is also a musician who has recorded more than 50 CDs. He has been involved in pro-choice activities for 20 years years, believing that unless women have the right AND opportunity to have an abortion they are not free. He does not believe in finding "common ground" with misogynists, theocrats and fascists.

 

Claire Macomson (Caller / Nurse) is a Junior at UNCG from Durham, NC.  She is a History and Women and Gender Studies double major.   She is a member of both UNCG VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood) and the History Club.  She became aware of Jane: Abortion and the Underground through her involvement in UNCG VOX.  “Jane” is an important event in the history of reproductive rights in America.  She also sees this production as a potential stepping stone for dialogue between the pro-choice and anti-choice movements in this community. 

 

Sarah McCall (Producer of Jane) is a senior Public Health major with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.  She has been an employee of Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc.  since February of 2007 and takes great pride in being an advocate for the women and men Planned Parenthood serve.  Sarah is currently the President of VOX- Voices for Planned Parenthood and has been an active member for 3 years.  She enjoys educating the campus about reproductive health and the policies affecting access to those services. A self-proclaimed feminist, Sarah spends the majority of her academic, professional, and personal time striving for equity and social justice. Her ultimate goal is to see women have the education and access to resources that can help them live the best life for themselves and their own common sense.

 

Michael Lee Matyi (Nick / Medical Supplier) is a psychology and sociology student at UNCG, originally from Wilmington. While having participated in some stage productions, most notably The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he spends most of his creative energy toward his music and independent films. Michael is involved in Jane because he strongly believes in women’s rights and is a vocal proponent of social progress.

 

Whitney McDavid (Rose) is a junior at UNCG majoring in Political Science and Asian Studies and she is an active member of UNCG's College Democrats, as well as the university's radio station, WUAG. This will be the first production she has participated in since high school and is thrilled to blend her interest in politics with theatre. Whitney is honored to have this opportunity to portray one of the brave women who founded the Jane service.

 

Morgan Myers (Caller / Lory ) is a freshman at UNCG. She has had a passion for acting since her seventh grade year at Penn-Griffin school for the arts in High Point. Morgan wrote and produced the play "Seeing Double" during her seventh grade year. Morgan continued to work tech and perform at Southwest Guilford High school. She also participated in productions outside of school, acting for the public housing of Greensboro. Morgan enjoys putting herself into her character's shoes, learning about new things during the process of a play, and also the art of theatre and performing in general. Morgan's career goals are to become an actress, or media icon, such as a journalist or talk show host. Morgan is majoring in Communications Studies with a minor in Theatre.

 

Thomas O'Connell (Steve / Radical Man / Policeman) is currently an undergraduate student at UNCG majoring in Political Science. Originally from Massachusetts, he has been involved in theater since a young age doing many different plays throughout High School from Arsenic and Old Lace to Grease. He has been pro-choice for most of his life believing that every woman has the right to control her own body. He is also a member of the College Democrats and has interned for progressive, pro-choice candidates in the past. 

 

Laura Owens (Nancy / Radical Woman / Jane 3) is a freshman at UNCG majoring in Theatre. She has performed in other shows at local and community theatres and is grateful to be working on Jane this fall. Laura takes a pro-choice stance and is very excited to be involved with such a powerful production. She hopes that after watching this staged reading of Jane: Abortion and the Underground many of the audience members will be inspired to fight for the right of women everywhere to have a safe, yet affordable abortion. This show has a powerful message and Laura is pleased to help share that message with others.

 

Jesse Russo (Radical Woman / Jane 4 / Patient 1) is a senior from Charlotte, North Carolina and is studying Media Studies and Political Science at UNCG.  She is active in the UNCG community and serves as President of the Student Government Association, is a member of the Golden Chain Honor Society and a University Marshal.  Jane is the first play that she has been cast in at UNCG.  Women's rights are very important to Jesse, who decided to join the play to spread knowledge of the untold story of the “Jane” founders.  Jesse believes this story should be taught side by side with other Civil Rights issues.

 

Hannah Sims (Heather Booth / Patient  4) earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a minor in Art History, and has currently begun the task of earning a Masters in Business Administration, both at UNCG. Growing up in Asheville, NC the idea of live and let live has been ingrained in her since childhood. The Jane project attracted her because not only does it discuss an issue that is close to her heart, but it is actual history. The Jane story is part of our recent history, and because of that it is the most difficult to scrutinize but the most important. Jane deals with the ability of women to control their own bodies without pleading to “others” which generally takes the form of men. Whether or not one wishes to take advantage of the availability of safe abortions, they should be available. Because there will always be a demand for them.

 

 

Jessamyn Stanley (Micki), a UNCG senior, has spent the last twenty-two years turning her entire life into an extended excuse for a musical. In pursuit of her Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies, Jessamyn has had the pleasure of being immersed in UNCG’s independent music station, WUAG 1O3.1 FM, where she has been a disc jockey and a member of their noted news team. After graduation, Jessamyn hopes to extend her educational experience by studying arts administration at the graduate level. When she's not updating her food blog or collecting first edition copies of The Joy Of Cooking, Jessamyn enjoys creating impromptu songs, dancing in her underwear, and enhancing her knowledge of lesser known made for television films. Jessamyn is fascinated by the roles women choose to play in modern society, and for the past five years she has been conducting a non-academic study on the ways women morph their identities to fit within the boundaries of co-educational schools. Jessamyn is thrilled to be part of the Jane cast, and she hopes this production will help men and women recognize 'choice' as an inalienable human right.

 

Meredith Swain (Sunny / Caller / Patient 3) is a freshman Theatre major at UNCG, originally from Morganton, North Carolina.  Meredith has a background in theatre and believes that Jane: Abortion and the Underground is a great way to express the issue of women’s rights. Meredith is a proud supporter of the pro-choice movement and is honored to portray the experience of Sunny.

 

Porsha Washington (Jane 1) is a senior at UNCG with a major in sociology and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. She’s currently residing on UNCG campus in an on campus apartment but when she goes home she goes to Charlotte, NC. During her free time she loves to go to the recreation center and work out. She is also involved in VOX which is the on campus voice for Planned Parenthood and is highly involved with her honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. She has always loved acting and if she didn’t have such a passion for becoming a lawyer she would pursue acting as a career. She has performed in a few plays here and there dating all the way back to a fourth grade production of the Rugrats. She decided to get involved with Jane because she thinks it’s a remarkable story and believes that someone who doesn’t believe reproductive rights are important might change their mind after seeing this production.