BOLD envisions a global culture that uses the Arts to celebrate women-centered birth, honor diversity, and create space for a woman to make empowered choices about her birth experience. BOLD inspires communities around the world to create a new women-centered global culture around birth through education, truth and action.

Each year, BOLD in Austin stages the play Birth, written by BOLD founder Karen Brody. It is based on over one hundred interviews conducted with mothers across America who gave birth between 2000-2004. It tells the true stories of eight women painting a portrait of how low-risk, educated women are giving birth in America today. Moving between first-person monologues, some dialogue, and the voices these women heard on the day they gave birth, Birth confronts, what City Lights Theater Company has called, "The naked truth about childbirth in America."

Following the play, there will be a Talkback featuring a question and answer session with a few of Austin's esteemed childbirth professionals.

Supporting the Austin Community

BOLD in Austin seeks donations for production costs so that the majority of proceeds from ticket sales can go to an organization that is furthering the mission of BOLD. This year’s BOLD in Austin beneficiary is Giving Austin Labor Support (GALS).

The mission of GALS is to empower all women through their birth experiences. It is a grassroots, completely volunteer-run organization that is trying to get off the ground in Austin. The launch of the service has been halted because of lack of funding to secure the dispatch service. The proceeds from this year's production will go a long way in getting GALS off the ground so they can start being of service in the community while waiting for the approval of their 501(c)3 status.

Ultimately, GALS will provide hospital staff with a phone number to call in the event a laboring mother enters the hospital with no birth support available. A dispatcher will route the information from the hospital to an on-call volunteer who will report to the hospital to be with the mother while she labor—all at no cost to her or to the hospital—because no woman should labor alone.

This year's performance of the play Birth in Austin will be on Saturday, September 20th, 2 pm, at The City Theatre, 3823 Airport Blvd.

Due to the nature of some of the material in this production, non-mobile nursing babies are welcome, but the play is not appropriate for children under the age of 10.