Lansing women join together to celebrate birth

Reading for roles in the play "Birth"

LANSING, Mich. — In a small conference room to the side of a progressive bookstore located on the main drag of Michigan Avenue, several women came together to audition for a play. Not anything new in this town with seven community theaters, one full-time professional theater, a road show theater and a college and university offering theater. But this was not your average play. The women were auditioning for the play “Birth.”

The production of the play is sponsored by the Capital Birth Network, a nonprofit that is designed to help women explore the many options around giving birth. Options outside the traditionalized image of hospital and sterile environments. Options include midwives; comfortable, living-space areas for birth , and other forms of childbirth other than birth in a hospital delivery room.

Marie Casinelli of Lansing will be directing the production, which she told auditioners would be more a “reader’s theater” production than a full-fledged evening of theater. Even though Casinelli is not a mother, or in her own words “likely to be one,” she said the topic caught her attention immediately.

“I like the wide array of emotions,” she said of the play. “It demonstrates that there are different options and that it is an important and beautiful process.”

And Casinelli is not the only one entranced by the play. It has become a mini-franchise, raising money around the world for mother-centered birthing options, according to the official Web site. The play will be performed from Alaska to Lansing to Oregon and back this year. The play was first performed in 2006 and has played over 200 times in places as different as Washington, D.C., and India. The play launched BirthonLaborDay.com, which encourages performances and talk-backs around the world with the goal of “inspiring communities to create childbirth choices that work for mothers.”

Susanna Joy, one of the auditioners, said the play was important for her — because she valued giving birth. “I love giving birth. I love doing it,” she said before auditioners read from the play. “This is my third pregnancy. I thought this would be a cool way to help.”

For Mandy Dallaire, it was even more personal. “I don’t want to be one of those people who feels like they were taken advantage of or that I didn’t have a choice.”

Veronica Wing-Quick said for her it was an important process to talk about birthing options. “It’s hard to talk about [birth] without feeling like you are being judged,” she said.

“You would think [women] would want to know about birth,” said Jenny Hurst. “It’s the idea in their minds that their birth experience will be dictated. It’s about empowering women, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Lansing performance of “Birth” will take place Oct. 3 and 4 at Edgewood United Church in East Lansing.