Meeghan Holaway and Julia Manis (all photos by Mae Koo Photography)
Reproductive Rights Hanging in the Balance
Lisa Kenner Grissom, on her play, “here comes the night”
By Deborah Klugman
Meeghan Holoway and Julia Manis (all photos by Mae Koo Photography)
A native of Boston, Lisa Kenner Grissom is an LA-based playwright and screenwriter whose work explores complex social issues and their impact on our lives and our relationships, frequently from a woman’s standpoint. Premiering next week at Moving Arts Theater Company in Atwater, her play here comes the night delves into the often difficult and sometimes crisis-ridden circumstances that most women confront when deciding whether or not to bear children. It’s an age-old conflict, perhaps, but especially timely given today’s bleak political climate when the right to choose — and women’s autonomy overall — is under threat from reactionary political forces.
A two-hander, the play was workshopped last summer by She Arts LA. The Moving Arts staging features an alternate ensemble, directed by the company’s artistic director, Dana Schwartz.
Stage Raw: What inspired you to write here comes the night? Was there any particular moment or circumstance?
Lisa Kenner Grissom: A number of years ago, I became aware of medication abortion through a friend’s experience. I felt compelled to write about it because it’s such a game-changer for women in terms of options and access. I couldn’t help but ask myself, what would I do in this situation? And I found that the answer was not an easy one. The question stayed with me, and I knew I had to write about it.
I also found that exploring a contemporary topic while learning about the history of women’s reproductive health to be incredibly inspiring. The truth is, abortion has been around since…women. In my research, I learned that women from nearly every culture created rituals to provide support for each other. In the play, Olivia (the character who is having the abortion) shares that “she feels like she’s in solidarity with the women of the world…” I think that perspective can help women feel less alone.
SR: For readers who may not be familiar with the term, can you clarify what medication abortion refers to?
LKG A medication abortion is a non-surgical procedure that uses medication to end a pregnancy. It typically involves two types of medication: Mifepristone, which stops the pregnancy by blocking progesterone, a hormone that supports pregnancy; and Misoprostol, which helps to expel the pregnancy tissue. Mifepristone has been legal since 2000, and Misoprostol since 1988. These drugs have been routinely used to treat women for miscarriage. Since the Dobbs decision, access to these drugs varies widely.
Note: Information on where and/or whether one can access Mifepristone and Misoprostol (on a state by state basis) is available at Plan C, a grassroots organization that offers resources for women dealing with reproductive health decisions.
When I started writing here comes the night, I knew nothing about this option. And actually, people in my writer’s group thought I was making it up! At that time, in 2019, it was something to share. Now, it’s something to protect. It’s shocking to be living in a time and place where the legality of abortion and women’s rights are being openly threatened.
SR: Is that threat something you intended to highlight when you were writing the play?
LKG: Yes, but I had no idea it would become the hot topic it is today. When I began writing here comes the night, I wanted to address the issue of body autonomy for women, but not in an overtly political way. Of course, any story about abortion is inherently political but I wanted to take a more nuanced approach. What interests me are the personal stories behind the topic — the points of view we don’t hear about in the news. The issue has become so politicized that the average person can forget there are actual women making these decisions. In the course of writing this play, I have talked to many women, and no one that I spoke with wanted to have an abortion; they needed to. It was the best choice for them.
SR: Besides abortion, is there a broader canvas we should be looking at? Is the choice to have a child or not have a child part of the bigger dilemma in women’s lives?
LKG: Yes, absolutely. Once the dramatic situation became clear in my mind, I became intrigued by how the choice of whether or not to have a child impacts just about every other aspect of a woman’s life from choosing or staying with a partner, to career and lifestyle decisions, and beyond. Not to mention how health and socioeconomic issues factor in. Every woman’s story is a mix of these choices, which makes every woman’s story unique. The media reduces the topic of “choice” to black-and-white talking points. I wanted to explore the gray.
The much larger canvas is an exploration of what it means to be a woman, in all of its complexity. Women have to deal with a myriad of decisions from the moment we begin menstruation. All of a sudden, everything is on the table. Sex, birth control, pregnancy, unwanted sexual advances, disease, abortion, childbirth. As women, we have to modulate our behavior to be careful and safe. At the same time, we have to find ways to enjoy our bodies while being careful and safe. Women have to think three steps ahead for every decision. Most situations become an if/then proposition. “If I get pregnant now, then….” “If I wait until I’m settled in my career, then…” and so on. The “if/thens” are endless. In the play, both characters, Olivia and Maggie are thinking several steps ahead, like all women.
From my personal experience and what I have observed, yes, I think the choice of whether or not to have a child is a dilemma for many women. Having children is a lifelong proposition. And not having them is as well. There are sacrifices either way! It’s complicated. here comes the night explores these complications and hopefully inspires conversation around the topic. If audiences leave the theatre asking themselves “what would I do in that situation?” and men come away with a greater understanding of what women go through, then I will have done my job.
SR: The play is propelled around a long-term relationship between two women. They are very different people. Are they drawn from people you know or a composite or are they drawn from your imagination?
LKG: Maggie and Olivia started out as composites of people I knew either in person or online, but then my imagination took over and they morphed into their own individuals. Maggie, for example, is a social media influencer. l know a few women who are, or who have tried to become, social media influencers and I’ve found their journeys to be fascinating. I say this without judgement. I am a consumer and participant in social media so I am part of this reflexive relationship. I think we all are, if we’re online.
One aspect that I wanted to highlight is cross-generational relationships. There is a ten year difference between Maggie (late 30’s) and Olivia (late 40’s). Personally, I have always had friends of different ages. I don’t know if that’s true for others, but I do think these types of relationships keep us on our toes because we are stepping outside the feedback loop of our peers. From a storytelling standpoint, it makes for great drama when the two generations clash. That’s also where a lot of the humor in this play comes from.
SR: You’ve mentioned how abortion and women’s support for each other in this circumstance has been around for forever. What is it about the story that is contemporary?
LKG: As much as this play is about choice-making for women, it’s also about female friendship in the digital age. These days, if we use a cell phone, we are impacted by influencer culture. It’s unavoidable. One aspect that I experience more and more of is the use of wellness or self-help language in everyday life. It’s definitely a shift in the way we give and receive information. As a writer and someone who loves language, I am fascinated by this. Everyone has their own elevator pitch, TED Talk, soundbite. We are encouraged to become “brands” and curate our social media feeds. But who are we, really?
Maggie and Olivia are impacted by social media in different ways. Part of their journey is a movement toward honesty. Maggie talks about being authentic, but then she has to embody it. Olivia is both drawn to and repelled by social media, yet on some level, it helps her reclaim her life. Ultimately, both characters must give voice to who they really are and embrace the messiness that follows.
SR: One of the characters faces a life-changing decision. If she goes one way, it will change her life forever. Is this based on personal experience or the experience of someone you have known?
LKG: I decided not to have children, and this was not the easiest decision to make. I relate to the notion of pressure-testing a decision before making it, which is what Maggie drives Olivia to do in the play. It can be the harder way to go, but [it] ultimately leads to a well-considered path.
At the same time, whatever the choice may be, we carry our decisions with us; they reverberate over time. We do not always feel “settled” just because we make the right choice for ourselves. We live with the road not taken. Both Maggie and Olivia will feel the impact of their decisions, well…forever.
Women with children wonder what their lives would be like without them. Likewise, women who have had abortions consider the baby they didn’t have. I have spoken to many friends about this. One friend cried the day she found out she was pregnant. Not because she didn’t want to have the baby, but because she anticipated the loss of her independence. Women live on both sides of the coin most days. I’m one of them.
SR: Tell us something about the two characters. How do their differences propel the drama?
LKG: At the beginning of the play, Maggie and Olivia have to recalibrate to each other, because they have not been together in real life for several years. I think this is a common occurrence in the age of social media and with the impact of Covid-19. We think we know what our friends are up to and who they are based on the content that we view. Then, when we see them, we have to adjust. Maggie and Olivia are doing a bit of a dance at the top of the show, sussing each other out, fielding unintentional microaggressions. As the interplay between them evolves, these microaggressions become macro. The drama ramps up as each character reveals more about who they truly are, and what their individual agendas are in this situation.
Maggie is a millennial while Olivia is Gen X, and we watch as they both attract and repel each other at times, like magnets. Just when you think they are coming together, they move apart. At times they draw upon their past and we see a kind of sisterly relationship. At other times, their generational differences drive a wedge between them. The power dynamics continue to shift in unexpected ways throughout the play, which I hope is fun for the audience to witness.
I think we see parts of ourselves in these characters, and we can laugh at some of the absurdities of modern life and Southern California pop culture.
SR: Is the play meant to make a comment about friendship in general? About friendship between women? About the vicissitudes of either?
LKG: Some of the questions that came up in the process of writing this play are…when do we play a role for our friends, and when can we be ourselves? Given the circumstances of living in a digital world, how can we be truly honest in our relationships?
Female friendships are so complex. If you ask most women if they’ve had a “friend breakup” with another woman, they often share that the experience was more painful than a breakup with a romantic partner. It’s because women run deep! There is an ebb and flow to these relationship dynamics, often across years. Without giving anything away, Maggie and Olivia are each at crossroads in their individual lives, and also within their friendship. There are no easy answers here. Living with ambiguity is hard, and often the most truthful. Female friendships are life affirming and vital, with endless complexity. I wanted to write into that.
SR: Are relationships between women of special interest to you?
LKG: I am drawn to writing about relationships between women, but it’s not something I set out to do intentionally. I also enjoy writing male characters! It’s just where my attention has taken me with many of my projects, including a musical that I am currently developing called VILNA: A RESISTANCE STORY.
The musical is inspired by the true story of Vitka Kempner, a teenage girl who helps form a Jewish resistance movement in the Vilna ghetto. The resistance fighters narrowly escape liquidation to the forest, where they fight the Nazis and ultimately retake their beloved city. Our team will be presenting a reading of the script and songs at The Ebell Theatre on April 6th.
So yes, I enjoy writing fierce women! There are so many potent situations that come from female relationships, and I expect I’ll continue to follow my curiosity with this subject matter, but I don’t feel limited by it. With a war on women in this country and globally, I do feel more of a responsibility to tell untold women’s stories. There are just so many! If we are going to rebalance the canon, why not lean into it?
SR: What drew you to the dramatic genre?
LKG: I’m from Boston originally and interestingly, I fell in love with theater in Los Angeles, as opposed to New York. I was working in film development when I first came to LA, but then I took an acting class (like everyone else!) and while I learned I wasn’t an actor, I became a writer in part because of it. I started writing monologues to perform, and actors from my class began asking me where I had found them. Soon actors were using my monologues for auditions and wanted to workshop my material for short films, that sort of thing. Monologues turned into writing short plays, short plays turned into full-lengths, and so on. I love the dramatic form because you don’t have to wait to do something. You don’t need permission. You can rehearse in your house if you need to; you can put up a play if you want. I love the freedom of that. And I love working within a community of artists.
SR: Have you written in other forms?
Yes, I do write in other forms! Librettist is a new genre for me, and I’m really interested in writing another musical. I’m also a screenwriter and have written several features and television scripts. I’ve also written/produced an award-winning short film called TATTOO YOU which is based on my short play of the same name.
In addition to writing plays (which I know I’ll always do), I’m moving toward writing features. In fact, I’m revising a screenplay called GROWN-UP BULLY, which is the feature adaptation of my short film. Working within different forms keeps things interesting—I like to stay curious.
For more detail about Lisa Kenner Grissom and her work, please go to lisakennergrissom.com
here comes the night opens on Saturday, January 25, 8 pm at Moving Arts, 3191 Casitas Ave., Atwater. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm, Mon., 8 pm; thru Feb. 16. movingarts.ludus.com
