Inspired by over three years of Courtney Bailey's own volunteer work at Planned Parenthood, her beguiling new play offers a unique, front-line perspective on reproductive healthcare. It follows "Charon," a clinic escort in the Midwest who helps patients navigate safely past protestors while refining her comedy routine during her solitary time in the "pavement kingdom."

Bailey's selection for the 2025 Interstate Initiative quickly led to a powerful collaboration, resulting in My Body, My Voice: A Night of Performance and Activism, produced with LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and Magritte & Rosen.

Brought to NYC from Atlanta, Georgia in 2023

The Interstate Initiative's pilot project was Atlanta Reclamation Studios' "Mavens of St. Catherines Island," a full-length ghost play with folk music written by Catherine Mew and SR Gentry, and featuring an incredible all-Atlanta cast and team.

After two years of development supported by the Nexus Fund and The Warhol Foundation, Mavens came to NYC for two staged readings at Bechdel Project on November 5th and 6th. We facilitated feedback and community engagement through talkbacks, and the readings were highly praised by NY audiences, critics, and historians.

The Initiative's impact was profound: the play has since had staged readings at The Alley Theatre, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Center, Armstrong University, and Savannah Rep.