The Vagina Monologues (9 page)

—Anika, Yale University

I would just like to say that bringing The Vagina Monologues and the V-Day celebration to Lincoln, Nebraska, is a HUGE deal. Lincoln is an ultra-conservative town that when viewed from the outside would appear to care nothing about “women’s issues.” Nebraska is famous for its “Husker Mania” where

during college football season most people go to “church” twice a week, once on Saturday afternoon, and once on the usual Sunday morning. This is a state where a retired football coach/demigod is running

for the U.S. Senate position, and has a pretty darned good chance at winning. This is a state where violence against women is normalized. Just a few short years ago, a certain favorite football star was given a slap on the wrist and sent back out on the field after missing only a few games, for beating up his estranged girlfriend. Coincidentally, I believe the Huskers brought home the national title that year.

In spite of the apathetic position of our notorious athletic department, there are many passionate individuals in this community who are dedicated to stopping the violence. I am overwhelmed by the

overall positive response that I have gotten for bringing this show to Lincoln. It will truly open some eyes, minds, and hearts!

—Keri, University of Nebraska, Lincoln The Buildup In this environment, The Vagina Monologues was not initially well received. Now, support has come forth from various departments on campus with donations. I have booked one performance at a 450-person venue. Now I am not so sure that 450 seats will be enough.

—David, Oregon State University

I’m trying to work in the community. I’ve contacted several shelters and programs, and they’re very interested. They ask me, OK, what do you want us to do? This is where I choke up.

—Laura, University of Puget Sound

I just wanted to thank you once again for giving Colorado State University permission to do The Vagina Monologues last November. Our show was a huge success and “vagina” is still the hottest buzzword on our campus. We completely sold out our run in an 80-seat theatre, and had to add two shows and break fire code (Shhh!) by squeezing in 20 extra seats each night. We cleared over $1,000

for the Crossroads Safehouse in Fort Collins. Because we were able to direct the show earlier, I am also able to revive it for Valentine’s Day. This time, we are doing two shows that night in a 650-seat theatre and publicity has been donated by organizations all over our once-conservative little town. This show has done so much for all of us, and I just wanted you to know that by stretching the rules for us, our message reached hundreds of people.

—Danielle, Colorado State University

We have been posting little teasers every week to let people know that the show is coming, things like “ ’What are we saying about our bodies if we can’t say vagina?’—Eve Ensler” or “Have you made a clitoris happy today?” or “V-Day is coming . . .” Well, our teasers keep mysteriously disappearing and one of our cast members noticed one of our flyers that had been defaced (the clitoris one).

The word

“clitoris” had been scratched out and a penis had been drawn in, and not just any penis, but a penis ejaculating. I’ve also been hearing people on campus commenting about the show: “Vaginas?! Jesus.”

(laughter) “What are we saying about our vaginas?!” (laughter) But I guess that’s what this show is for, to dissipate this ignorance.

—Eman, University of California at Santa Cruz It has been such an exciting and exhilarating experience, I don’t know where to begin.

Somehow, with

hard work and effort and love, it’s all coming together. We have some fantastic actresses, undergrads, grads and alumnae, as well as a few non-Columbia actresses. We’ve been rehearsing like crazy, and I can’t tell you what a profound experience it is. I keep learning more and more about The Vagina Monologues and about women. It’s wonderful.

—Joan, Columbia University

Dear Karen,

I just want to tell you how deeply moved I am by all of the women who have come forward to donate their time to our Women’s Resource Center production of The Vagina Monologues. I had no idea when I replied to your e-mail that this event would become such a powerful experience for so many of us. I worry a little about negative backlash from certain individuals at this university but am completely dedicated to this project. So, there is much more in my heart to say but I have so much to do in running the Women’s Resource Center, including making time to memorize my lines, that I must go for now.

Please thank Eve Ensler for what she has given us and you for all your hard organizational work! By the

way, we are close to selling out our 300-seat venue. It’s amazing! Another Vagina Warrior, —Sandrea, University of New Mexico Women’s Resource Center Karen, approximately 31 faculty, staff, and students will collaborate in performing the show. The entire performance will be presented simultaneously in English and in American Sign Language (approximately 10% of our population is deaf). Staging will be fairly simple—for most monologues two actors will be on stage, one performing in spoken English, the other in ASL. A few of the monologues will be ensemble pieces, including “Wear and Say,” “Smell,” “My Mother Slapped Me,” and “I Was There in the Room.”

In between the monologues, a slide will be displayed on a large screen with one of the violence statistics given to us in our V-Day packets. Before and after the show, taped music will be played which celebrates women, women’s health, women’s sexuality, women’s empowerment. Before and after the show, there will be informational tables set up from local health agencies, as well as sales of the book, T-shirts, buttons, and vagina chocolates. At the reception, we are making plans to have artwork by a student who does paintings of vaginas.

—Julie, Coordinator of the Women’s Center, Rochester Institute of Technology Just had to share! Our largest local newspaper is extremely (putting it mildly) conservative and I expected that even though the arts desk is on friendly terms with several cast members, we would be listed in some dark recess of the classified section. I just spoke with our friend and not ONLY will we have a nice-sized article in the Sunday edition, but he was granted permission to actually PRINT

“VAGINA” ONE TIME!! Please remember we are talking KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, where the

grocery stores block the cover photos of Cosmopolitan magazine because the images are too suggestive!! We ARE making a difference!! VIVE V-DAY!!!

—Linda, University of Tennessee, Knoxville I just wanted to thank you and Eve (and all the other people whose names I don’t know) for making this possible. Since becoming involved in this project, I have learned to respect myself more. I take more chances. I am just a happier person overall, because I feel that I am a part of something so colossal and important and compelling and breathtaking—the list goes on and on. And, I am proud to say that I now have no problem saying vagina. In fact, I literally say it at least five times a day lately. Sincerely, —Jenna, Carnegie Mellon University The Events We are already sold out for all of our shows. This is going to be insane. We sold out in a couple of hours!

—Danah, Brown University

We are performing at 3:30 today.

Yesterday’s rehearsal was unbelievably emotional. The woman who does “Coochi Snorcher” broke

down and sobbed for about five minutes at the line “my coochi snorcher is a very bad place.” She was afraid that she won’t be able to make it through today’s performance without crying. We all said we didn’t care if she does cry and probably all the better if she does; people SHOULD be disturbed by that monologue. Probably the funniest thing about rehearsal yesterday was that we were in the room next to a history conference (on post-colonialism of all things!), and I think they were a little shocked to hear Crista screaming “CUNT, CUNT!! SAY IT! SAY IT! CUNT! CUNT!! SAY IT!! SAY

IT!!” and to

hear us responding and then when I did the triple surprise orgasm moan . . . well . . . let’s just say that they heard that loud and clear too!

—Mary, Michigan State University

[To her fellow College Initiative participants]

I have yet to send out a message into this pool of beautiful vagina-talking women. Better late than never?! I just wanted to say that this is an awesome thing that we are all doing and every time I hear someone ask “Why do a play about vaginas?” I think about all the e-mails I have received and I know that we are taking steps to ensure that maybe for our daughter’s granddaughters there won’t need to be plays about vaginas, they will be talked about and respected. But until then I remind those people who ask that we have a long battle in front of us to stop the violation and shame. Happy VDay, have a fabulous opening night!

—Amy, University of Washington at Seattle Directors’ Notes What, then, are the special ways of women? I have found in seeking to answer this question a bottomless well of possibility. —Shekhinah Mountainwater From the very beginning, when I waited impatiently for my Performance Kit to arrive in the mail, my experiences with this play have proven the above quote infinitely true. The journey that it has taken me through has revealed to me the endless possibilities of form, manner, heart and spirit . . .

the things that

shape Woman. Upon reading the script for the first time, I was struck with the honesty, brilliance and strength of the women depicted in the monologues. Each had the ability to evoke genuine, heartfelt emotion through the stories of their own real lives. The sad ones made me cry, the comic ones made me laugh . . . most made me do both at once. These were real women, with real experiences, and each was completely unique . . . a bottomless well of possibility. Time passed, we held auditions and assembled a company of fairly diverse women (not one was cut from the show). As we began to organize ourselves, form plans and rehearse, I grew to know each of the women better and better. Some were actresses from the start, doing the show because it was, in fact, a show. Others were feminists to the core, who had never acted in their lives but wanted to stand up and fight for their own. Most of us were somewhere in between. Those who lived for the stage couldn’t help but develop a desire to do their part to end sexual violence. Those who knew nothing of acting often found themselves completely expressing their characters’ emotions through the passionate empathy that the script evoked. All of us grew to understand both ends of the spectrum much more deeply than we had before . . . a bottomless well of possibility. So many women, so many spirits, so many stories. . . . It was incredible enough just to experience each person and each story, but I discovered something even closer to home. I discovered the endlessness of what was inside of me. I had pieces of each of these women in my heart, as we all do. I discovered the innate connection we have with each other, the understanding that completely unacquainted women can

have of each other. I realized that I can be a director and a feminist and a friend and a student . . . all of these things simply make me a woman. All of us, all women, have this capability to be connected, to be warriors, to be friends, to have as many facets as we wish, to be . . . an endless well of possibility. Thank you all for joining us today to celebrate V-Day, enjoy the show!

—Hillary, Michigan State University

What Moved You Most?

Everything went smoothly, people wanted to come, had to come, needed to come. Wanted more!

Challenged themselves, allowed themselves to feel uncomfortable, really learned something, changed peoples lives. Watching and listening to the audience, knowing that I moved them, knowing that they got it. Seeing my actors grow into women, watching them grow and change. Watching myself grow and

change.

—Laura, California State University, Long Beach Working with a fabulous group of women who GAVE GAVE GAVE! One of my male acting students

who attended the performance mentioned afterward that he never had experienced such SHARING in the theatre before. He now knew what that word meant. What he experienced that evening is what I and

the other women who worked on this project had experienced for the past half year.

Working with

people who believed in what they were doing, took initiative to make it happen and followed through with every commitment and more—with good nature and good humor. What more could anyone ask for!?!?!?!

—Yolanda, University of Detroit, Mercy College, and Oakland Community College A friend who had told me that she didn’t understand why we were doing The Vagina Monologues and didn’t see the point in always talking about “those things” came to the performance, and the next day told me it had changed her life.

—Maryann, Carleton College

I love the WORK OF ART on which V-Day is based and I am very passionate about ending sexual

violence (all violence really). I must say that if I died tomorrow, after participating in such a wonderful event, I would be able to say that I lived a meaningful life. I of course hope that I don’t die tomorrow so that I can continue to be a part of this wondrous movement. —Keri, University of Nebraska, Lincoln Overall, I loved how I felt being part of a movement that empowers women. During the months leading up to the performances, and especially during the few weeks just prior to the event, I relished the fact that I was able to use the word “vagina” in my everyday vocabulary. Every time I saw a cast member on campus, we would speak loudly and confidently about how excited we were to be part of The VAGINA Monologues. During staff meetings and in casual conversation with college deans, I would ask if they were going to attend The VAGINA Monologues. In dining halls, the campus store, in libraries, bars and restaurants, it was my favorite topic of conversation. Because of the College Initiative, I said VAGINA at least a dozen times a day for two months, and I was able to reclaim it as a word. Thank you, Eve!

—Tyler, Cornell University

I just came back from our event. It was amazing! So many people came that we were turning people away and still, people were squished on the floor and standing outside peeking in for the whole time! I worked with a cast of thirty and we put everything together in two and a half weeks (including auditions!). I was so worried it wouldn’t come together but we rocked the house. Major standing ovation! Thank you so much for doing the amazing work you do to have made this possible. I’m a