Name: Kathleen Boyle
Profession: Educator, Researcher, and Playwright
Location: Astoria, NY
We got to see a reading of Kathleen's play, The Postpartum Project, last month. We laughed, we cried, we wished it didn't end - and our dream came true!
They're back for three more shows.
Purchase your tickets now!
TELL OUR AUDIENCE A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOURSELF.
I moved to New York after college to pursue theatre stage and production management. When I was the Production Manager for Manhattan Children’s Theater in Tribeca, I fell in love with kids and education, so I became a teacher. I have a learning disability and I had spent my whole educational experience in and out of special education, so now I teach students with disabilities. All of my work as an educator has meant doing a lot of research and advocacy for people with disabilities, much of which I enjoy doing through theater and art. I’m a mom to an awesome one and a half year old and my husband and I are proud Astoria residents. We’re really happy to be raising our family here.
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE POSTPARTUM PROJECT.
The Postpartum Project is a play I created over the last year and a half. It’s about new motherhood. As a researcher, I started with some questions: Why are new moms in the United States struggling, and what can we do better to support them? From there, I interviewed over a dozen new mothers from all over the country and collected their stories. I turned these stories into the play. The play has seven characters and the text is verbatim from the interviews. It is full of stories of love, of triumph, of failure and of resilience.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CREATE THIS PERFORMANCE?
My son was born in 2017 and I struggled a lot as a new mom. Not only did I find the physical recovery of my C-section difficult, I felt isolated and surprised by the difficulty of it. I went back to work when my son was eight weeks old and encountered some harassment that also surprised and angered me. I took the following school year off to recover and spend time with my son. Then I met other new moms who were struggling just as much, harassed just as much, and who were just as surprised as me. And so this project was born. This play is meant to shine a light on the struggles that new mothers are experiencing. I hope it is therapeutic for moms and that it is motivational for our allies.
YOU HIRED UP-STAND TO PROVIDE EVENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR YOUR UPCOMING PERFORMANCES. WHAT ARE WE PROVIDING?
UP-STAND is providing two stocked lactation spaces, signage for stroller parking and wheelchair accessibility, extra seating accommodations for infants, kid-sized toilets in the bathrooms, diaper changing supplies, signs for family-friendly bathrooms, and general family-friendly design support. We’re providing childcare for our two earlier shows, and UP-STAND has helped us think through that as well.
WHAT VALUE DOES THIS HAVE FOR YOU AND WHY?
We cannot put a price tag on how important this is to our performances. It is not enough to say you are advocating for something, you have to show that you are. I knew when I started writing this play that I would produce it myself, because I want it to be shown in a space and time that is accessible to new moms and young families. UP-STAND is making this happen for us.
WHEN AND WHERE CAN WE SEE YOUR SHOW?!
At Astoria First Presbyterian Church!
Saturday, October 13 at 4pm and 8pm
Sunday, October 14 at 7pm
For more information, follow Kathleen / The Postpartum Project:
Twitter – @postpartumprojectnyc
Facebook – postpartumprojectnyc
Website – www.postpartumproject.org