With support from the California Arts Council, Matriarchy Theatre will create and present JUST A PAUSE: A HORMONE PLAY, a new devised theater project in Sacramento. Funds will support artist stipends for the women+ ensemble and lead artistic personnel, facilitation and rehearsal expenses, partnerships with community-informed consultants (including medical and health justice professionals), production costs, venue expenses, accessibility measures, and community engagement activities. Through this support, Matriarchy Theatre will create and share an original, community-centered work exploring women+ access to, and denial of, healthcare while experiencing perimenopause/menopause, addressing: weight-, age- and gender- bias, and the mental, emotional and physical impacts of these hormonal changes, through an intersectional, culturally responsive, trauma-informed lens.