"Sacred Wombs: Honoring Marginalized Birthing Bodies"

Erin Bigelow-Umar is the Creative Director of 4thU Artivists. For this show, Erin was inspired to curate this show because nothing like it exists publicly. Inspired by Lillian Isabella's play about the birth experience and Erin's own birthing experiences, she knew the unspoken Black maternal mortality crisis in the U.S. was what needed to be revealed in a powerful way, as the Artivists know how to do. This show seeks to be a wake-up call, an outrage and a call to action for us all. Returning to the stage with an in-person audience and a professional livestream option promises to bring this important production to more people than ever before. Thank you for attending this show and working to bring birth equity to this country still steeped in systems of white supremacy.

Nancy Robillard is a theatre director who has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theater, summer theatre and university productions. Her New York production work has been at the Culture Project, Vital Theatre, Directors Company, Red Fern Theatre Company, Algonquin Theatre, Theatre for the New City, and HERE. Robillard’s notable regional: Kennedy Center, Walnut Street Theatre, MetroStage, Northern Stage, Luna Stage, Gateway Playhouse, and Theater Masters national new play festival in Aspen. Robillard worked as a director and dramaturg in the Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for over 15 years. She has an MFA in directing from Illinois State University (home of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater) and has taught acting and directing at several colleges. She is currently on the faculty of the Dramatists Guild Foundation. In addition to directing, Nancy is and acting and public speaking coach.