JANE: Abortion & The Underground
Something you might not realize about me, aside from being an artist and designer, I’m also a theatremaker in Chicago. For the last few months, I’ve been directing a production of Paula Kamen’s “JANE: Abortion and the Underground”. This is a docudrama about the Jane collective in the 1960s and 70s who successfully facilitated and performed over 11,000 safe, but illegal abortions before Roe v Wade went into law. There’s an incredible documentary called “The Janes” on MAX that I encourage y’all to watch.
It’s an incredible true story about real-life heroes, many of whom are still with us, who just did their part to help women in need.
The producing company, Idle Muse Theatre Company, and I were trying to figure out the brief for the AdMat (advertising and marketing materials) to give to their marketing and PR team. We tossed around a bunch of ideas and the marketing team went to work! Then one day, while I was waiting for the train to rehearsal, I was inspired to make a graphic for the show, featuring a green bandana. The green bandana originated as a symbol of reproductive rights in Argentina, a country with a powerful history of fighting against oppression. You can read more about the symbolism behind the bandana here. By this time, the company’s marketing team was already working with the original brief we provided, so I decided to tinker around and just make my own poster for funsies.
I started with a simple picture of my own green bandana (which I’ve been wearing everywhere these days.)
Then I worked some Affinity Photo magic and created this design with bold text and a drop shadow to make the title pop and give the vibe of stenciled street art.
Aside from street art as an inspiration, in the play one of the characters (Micki) mentions the Graphics Collective which was active during this time. They created many activist posters that were bright, colorful, and striking. So, I wanted to try to create something with the GC in mind, but with a slightly modern take.
I’m really happy with how this design turned out and the company ended up using it on their website, too, which was pleasantly unexpected.
If you’re in the Chicago area, the production runs until October 15th at the Edge Theatre Off-Broadway. We’re Jeff & Chicago Reader Recommended (* hair toss in a Cher-like fashion *). If you would like to support reproductive rights, please consider making a donation to the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF), which is doing amazing work to help people achieve this type of healthcare. ‘Cuz that’s what abortion is, HEALTHCARE.
- M
