Devising A Show From the Ground Up: Things We (never) Learned in Sex Ed

Only 24 U.S. states, plus DC, mandate sex education. That’s less than half of the country. When the members of Portal Theatre, including myself, shared our own personal experiences with sex education, we found one thing in common: we were all unprepared. We were unprepared for sex, queer sex, consent, sexual health like menstration, STI’s, and yeast infections, etc. We all found there was something in our sex education that was lacking. To respond to the poor sex education of the United States, and in various countries around the world, we decided to share our experiences by creating a play. The play explores seven different topics in sex education; periods, first time having sex, sex educators, masturbation, abstinence, consent/assault, and bad sex advice. Using a variety of different theatrical styles, the two actors, Lindsay Spear and Phoebe Thompson explore how their sex education in school failed them in sometimes funny sometimes dramatic ways. This play will inform, entertain, and address the real experiences of people affected by bad sex education, to which the majority of the US is affected by. By analyzing the process of creating this show and touring it across different Fringe Festivals in Canada, I will break down the creative process of devising and building a show from the ground up. I will explain the process of researching, writing with other people, and the hardships of the creative and touring process. Throught this play and reflection, I hope this thesis encourages you to look into the sex education system in your own country, or gives you the courage to create your own show on a topic you are passionate about