"Monologues" Speak of the Unspeakable, Raise Awareness for V-Day

“The Vagina Monologues” were held last Friday and Saturday night at the Donahue Cafe. As you walked through the door – where $1 dark, white and pink chocolate vaginas were for sale – you could tell it was going to be an interesting evening.

As the crowd waited for the show to begin, there was only one thing for the audience to look at: a painting of a girl, legs spread, looking down at the mirror in between her legs.
The performance then began with a group of diverse women taking the stage and sharing their different and unique stories that all had one thing in common: they were all about their vaginas.

“You have to love hair in order to love vagina,” read Courtney McMahon in the “Hair” monologue. “My vagina is the leaf around the flower,” read another.

You could sense the awkwardness that the audience felt, especially when the monologue of a 72 year-old woman was read. Her vagina, she stated, was “closed due to flooding,” and went on to tell her tale about how her lady parts were out of service, for good.

The monologues were funny, gross, feminine, weird, interesting, sad and entertaining. However, this show was about more than just vaginas, it was about women. One of the monologues described the show as being “about the essence of a person.” It was about women’s feelings, desires, struggles and dreams.

From vaginas to moaning, rape, childbirth and homosexuality, the monologues covered everything that everyday women might experience.

The childbirth monologue, “I Was There in the Room,” read: “We forget the vagina, all of us” reminding the audience that the show had a deeper message about what is forgotten. “The vagina is like the heart; it forgives, repairs and changes shape.”

The most impactful and heartbreaking monologue was the final one entitled “A Teenage Girl’s Guide to Surviving Sex Slavery”. It told a story about a young girl that was taken by a soldier and raped repeatedly. Years later, she was able to escape, but not after having his baby. The monologue brought the audience to tears and reminded every individual why they were there, to support the cause.

“They showed a lot of different cultures and different aspects of women,” said freshman Evan Sudarsky. “It was the first time I have seen that. The actresses were really serious about their work.”

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.

This performance of “The Vagina Monologues” raised money to support putting an end to these cruel acts in Congo and in the United States. They also gave some of the profits to other local beneficiaries like the Elizabeth Stone House.

I give the night a 5 out of 5 for providing excellent entertainment while supporting a great cause and raising awareness.

For more information on VDay and the Elizabeth Stone House please log in to: http://www.vday.org and http://www.elizabethstonehouse.org/