The Caregiving Project to Premiere August 2-3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bread & Roses Missouri Presents:
The Caregiving Project: Who’s Taking Care of Momma?
August 2nd - 3rd, 2024 at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Rehearsal Hall
A New Play by Mariah Richardson
ST. LOUIS, MO – Bread & Roses Missouri is proud to announce the upcoming production of
The Caregiving Project: Who's Taking Care of Momma?. This original play by Mariah L.
Richardson (The Ville: Avengence!; Drawn In, PBS) will run from August 2-3, 2024, at the St.
Louis Shakespeare Festival Rehearsal Hall, located at 3333 Washington Avenue, St. Louis,
MO 63103. This production is a powerful exploration of the challenges of caregiving, a vital
issue impacting countless individuals and families. Written based on interviews with local St.
Louis caregivers – those who provide critical care for family members and those who are paid to
provide care – the play asks the question, ‘Who’s taking care of the caregivers?’
Directed by Deanna Jent (Program Director of The Confluence New Play Festival), the cast
includes St. Louis locals Ricki Franklin (As You Like It at St. Louis Shakespeare Festival),
Leslie Wobbe (Bandera, Texas at Prism Theatre Co.) , and Michelle Dillard (Social Justice
Shorts at Bread & Roses Missouri)
“While nearly every person at some point in their lives will either need to provide care to
somebody, or will be the person who needs care, the work of caregiving is often rendered
invisible. Workplace and government policy rarely provides caregivers the support or resources
they need. Paid caregivers are most often working for low wages in less-than-ideal conditions.
We created this project to amplify the voices and concerns of caregivers through the most
powerful medium we know–storytelling,” says Emily Kohring, Executive Director of Bread and
Roses Missouri.
PLAY SYNOPSIS: Lacy is trying to juggle it all – her kids, her full-time job, and a mother in
the early stages of dementia. Some days she manages, and other days it all feels like too much.
Her kids need her care, her mom needs her care – but who’s taking care of Lacy? When Lacy
finds a support group for caregivers, she discovers a community of people with their own unique
stories of the challenges and the joys of caring for other people.
SUPPORT & FUNDING: The Caregiving Project: Who's Taking Care of Momma? is supported
and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts & Education Council's Arts
and Healing Initiative, and the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission.
ABOUT THE CAREGIVING PROJECT: The Caregiving Project by Bread & Roses Missouri
aims to highlight the lack of caregiving support in the workforce and the profound impact this
has on caregivers, especially women. While caregiving can be rewarding, it is often unpaid and
undervalued, leading to significant personal and economic challenges. The McKinsey Global
Institute estimates that the U.S. economy loses up to $840 billion annually in economic output
due to the suppression of women in the labor force caused by the lack of caregiving support.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS:
August 2nd at 7:00 pm
August 3rd at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Rehearsal Hall
3333 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103
Tickets are free, but reservations are strongly encouraged:
https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/85280
ABOUT BREAD AND ROSES MISSOURI: Bread and Roses Missouri amplifies and elevates
the stories of working people through art, performance, and activism. They believe that cultural
and creative expression are a means to effect deep and lasting social change. Bread and Roses
Missouri organizes and produces arts and humanities events, exhibits and workshops for and
about workers and their families. Bread and Roses Missouri believes that cultural and creative
expression are a means to effect deep and lasting social change. We strive to empower
participants and educate audiences. Through the arts they envision a world that achieves an