By Elise Ong, November 25, 2025
Oct. 11 marked the first day assistant professor of the plant science department Guadalupe Maldonado Andrade brought her family in to hear her mother Hilda Maldonado share her personal abortion experience. This was the first time she opened up to anyone about her story, unaware of how she might be affected by the vulnerability.
“I didn’t know that this was going to help me,” Maldonado said. “Once I did it, it helped me a lot. I feel more free.”
The Community-based Theatre course at Cal Poly Pomona presents students with the opportunity to create art based on true, personal stories from people’s lives.
Department of Theatre and New Dance lecturer Paula Weston Solano described the concept of community-based theater as a partnership between community members and theater artists.
For example, in semesters past, the class partnered with people affected by drug use, transgender and non-binary people, former foster youth and those living with invisible illnesses.
This semester, the class is partnering with abortion doulas and support companions through Maldonado Andrade, along with her mother and sister, who are both named Hilda Maldonado.
In the class, people from various underrepresented groups partner with students to share their experiences, which are then transformed into heartfelt pieces of art that can take the form of any medium the students choose. The hope is for students to help these groups feel seen, heard and understood according to Solano.
“We hope to accurately represent folks to their liking,” Solano said. “We hope to lift up and help, not just validate their reality, but to empower.”
Maldonado Andrade is an abortion doula who brings emotional and physical support to those currently going through the abortion process or who are in recovery. Maldonado Andrade specializes in the use of plants in her practices to provide relief.
Because Maldonado Andrade and her family have all had abortions or been companions for others who have had them, she feels the story of this generational line has been an impactful learning experience for the students.
After hearing Maldonado’s story, students began working on their art pieces. Some created drawings, while others wrote songs and short stage scenes.
Theatre student Alina Cherry Serrano captured Maldonado’s experience with a drawing that incorporates elements from her story, as well as Maldonado Andrade’s plant work.
The drawing is meant to represent the pull of life and death in pregnancy. Butterflies in the piece represent rebirth and resilience.
A pomegranate above the woman in the artwork is derived from an abstract image of a uterus shown by Maldonado Andrade at their first meeting, which she said signifies fertility and the cycle of life.
“I really wanted to incorporate that, especially with some things that they had talked about with their own experiences, and just kind of mesh it together in a piece that I felt would represent their stories in a nice way (without it) being too outwardly,” Serrano said.
To ensure student work stays accurate to Maldonado’s experience and sensitive to the topic, the class held a feedback session Nov. 15, where students shared first drafts of their work with the family.
Students gathered to speak with the partners one at a time, showing their work and explaining the creative process behind it.
Despite the sensitive topic, students worked to create pieces to properly represent Maldonado’s experience.
“I’m really passionate about abortion and bodily autonomy and having rights for making decisions for ourselves,” Serrano said. “It was something that I knew I was going to put myself into as soon as we got to talking to the partners.”
Solano expressed the significance of the community this class creates, especially for the partners involved.
“Sometimes in community-based theater, that’s the first time somebody’s coming together, sort of claiming their space or at least being acknowledged in their space and community,” Solano said.
Among taking in the various projects inspired by their stories, both Maldonado and Maldonado Andrade were brought to tears.
“They were really sweet, respectful, and I didn’t know I was going to have that support with them,” Maldonado said. “I had a lot of support with the students, and it surprised me a lot. It’s difficult to talk about that topic, but they make me comfortable to talk about it.”
Students will be sharing their final works in a presentation they have named “The Garden of Choice” Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the University Theatre.
