The Performing Arts Department and the Program in Women and Gender Studies, both in Arts & Sciences, are presenting Words of Choice, labeled as "dynamic pro-choice theater."

The performance will be at 4 p.m. today in the Women's Building Formal Lounge.

Created by Cindy Cooper and directed by Joan Lipkin, artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company, Words of Choice describes the real-life effects of policies.

The stories — passionate, comic and dramatic — in Words of Choice address many topics, such as emergency contraception, sexual assault, unintended pregnancy, abstinence education, fetal anomalies, abortion and scare tactics against women.

The dozen short pieces in Words of Choice touch upon a wide panorama of modern lives.

In one serious piece, a father describes his feelings after learning of his daughter's rape; in another, a woman learns of severe fetal anomalies.

In a comic piece written by actress Kathy Najimy, two adventurous 30-somethings seek confessional forgiveness for their sins, and in a satirical selection from the publication The Onion, a publicist announces the release of the exciting morning-after burrito.

Barbara Baumgartner, Ph.D., associate director of Women and Gender Studies, will facilitate a post-show discussion that will include Lipkin and Allison Gee, political director of Planned Parenthood St. Louis.

Writings include works by Angela Bonavoglia, Judith Arcana, Harry Blackmun, Kathleen Tolan, Alix Olson, Emily Lyons, Sherica White, Michael Quinn, Emilie Townes and Gloria Feldt.

Cooper is an award-winning playwright and journalist in New York City. Her plays have been produced in New York, regional theaters, Canada and parts of Europe, including at the Women's Project, Primary Stages, Art and Work Ensemble, the Women's Project in Minneapolis, Venus Theater and elsewhere.

Among her works is How She Played the Game, about six women in sports history. A member of the Dramatists' Guild, Cooper's plays are contained in 11 volumes, including Great Monologues for Women and On The Edge.

With a background as a lawyer, she was communications director in the field of reproductive justice; she first created Words of Choice in 2000.

"We need many more safe spaces for strangers and neighbors and even mothers and daughters to talk," Cooper writes on the production's Web site, wordsofchoice.org. "Spoken-word cafés. Church basements. Dormitories where five friends sit down and discuss. Tupperware-style house parties. Art galleries, bookstores, after-hours groups at doctors' offices.

"And our leaders need to sit in. Away from polls and focus groups and message-makers, they need to open new conversations with the people who need Roe, even if they don't know about it. No one owns the subject of reproductive freedom, and we are all immigrants to this strange new landscape where no one talks.

"We urgently need to learn from one another. Let the dialogues begin."