Thousands were shocked last month when it was announced that state funding to the Planned Parenthood on East 7th Street in Austin would be eliminated completely starting September 1. Reactions ran the gamut of disbelief and rage to depression and desperation.

The clinic is the only access many Austin women have to free or low-cost reproductive health care including birth control, yearly check ups, health screenings and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. Without insurance, Planned Parenthood was many women's only option for care.

One Austin performance company is not willing to stand by and passively watch what some are calling Texas's "War on Women's Health." Instead, the Poison Apple Initiative--a socially conscious, politically active theater company—is conducting a "guerrilla theater" style performative action along Congress Avenue this Wednesday.

Starting at Republic Square Park and ending at the steps of the State Capitol, the featured actors have prepared a short piece that they will be performing at three locations en route to the Texas State Capitol. The scene, according to spirited Poison Apple artistic director Bastion Carboni, takes place in a world where women have to get treatment and health care on the black market.

The scene is enacted spontanously to surprise and engage the everyday bystanders along Congress into questioning the happenings and getting further information. While only two actresses will take part in the spontaneous scene, the other company members will act as plainclothes audience members to draw attention to the crowd following the proceedings.

By the time the company reaches the Capitol steps, they will all participate in a visual representation of the number of women and men benefited by the work of women's health clinics like Planned Parenthood beyond abortions.

"Posterboards with services inscribed on them will be held up and people will step forward when they've received said service," explains Carboni. "The entire event will be silent save the actresses, and the result should be visually striking, somber, and optimistic."

The group explains they are inspired by the actions of U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Martin who recently overturned the defunding of state funds to Planned Parenthood in Kansas. Their belief is that, with the precedent already established, there is definitely still hope of doing the same in Texas.

To see the guerrilla theater performance in action, position yourself along Congress Avenue Wednesday around 10am. The performances will take place at the intersections of Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Streets, in that order.

According to Carboni, anyone who is passionate about this cause and would like to answer questions is welcome to join the procession. The performance will also be recorded and transmitted virally to share the group's opinions and garner support for their cause.