Kristin Slaney Discusses Her Thesis Play

Kristin Slaney's thesis play, Un-Utero, follows Mel and Becca, best friends who live in a town where all Planned Parenthood locations have recently shut down. When Mel becomes pregnant, Becca decides to donate her eggs under the table to help Mel pay for an abortion. Un-Uterois a comedy about fertility, feminism, female friendship and Susan Miller horoscopes.

The play was performed at the Ford Studio at Pershing Square Signature Center in April.

Can you tell us a little bit about the origin of this play? Where did the idea come from? Did you work on it in class?

The play originated from one summer when I worked in the Columbia archives. I noticed while looking through old copies of the Columbia Spectator how many ads there were seeking egg donors, which got me really interested in the process and the different stories about egg donation. I worked on it a bit in Morgan Jenness’s class, and I also was able to hear a very early draft out loud at Youngblood, a playwriting group at EST.

Who is your mentor? Why did you want them as your mentor?

Lynn Nottage is my mentor. I wanted her as my mentor because it’s pretty amazing to come across a teacher who is not only an stunning writer, but who is an incredibly nurturing and helpful teacher. Lynn is always generous and straight-forward with her notes, and after having regular classes with her I really wanted to continue that relationship on a one-on-one basis, with her as my mentor. I definitely made the right decision.

Is there a question that your play is asking, or that you were seeking to answer when you started writing this play?

I guess the question I’m thinking about is: What does it mean for fertility to become a business, both when we have a choice to be part of that business and when we don’t? Also, what does it actually mean to be a feminist?

Read more about Slaney and Un-Utero here.