AnnaBeth Crittenden, Campus Carrier Assistant Entertainment Editor
A production about vaginas and sexuality may seem like an odd way to spend Valentine’s Day, but EMPOWER’s annual production of “The Vagina Monologues” by Eve Ensler is celebrating female sexuality with two performances that highlight and celebrate vaginas. The production consists of 18-20 monologues written by Ensler and compiled into a play that touches on different aspects of female sexuality. These aspects can range from sex to love or from domestic violence to rape. The monologues are humorous at parts, and serious at others, but are designed to initiate talk about female sexuality and the issues that women face.
“It’s a show about female sexuality which is clearly taboo. It’s much less talked about than male sexuality,” senior Julia Jordan, the co-director of the production, said. “It’s a thing that exists and it’s…natural and fine and nobody needs to be ashamed of it.”
Christina Bucher, the faculty advisor of EMPOWER has been involved with the production for several years.
“(‘The Vagina Monologues) get people thinking about issues of gender, issues of sexuality, issues of sexual abuse, issues of sexual pleasure, issues about the body,” Bucher said. “It’s an eye-opening production for some people and a celebratory production for many people.”
The production was originally written in 1996 after Ensler conducted a series of interviews with women of varying ages, race, and sexualities about their views on their vagina. The piece is ever growing, as Ensler continuously publishes new monologues for productions.
For the first year, men are able to be involved in the production, with the addition of one male monologue and a new male character.
Senior and co-director Julia Jordan contacted sophomore Connor Wright when the two co-directors decided to include a male monologue. Wright agreed to be in the production after seeing it the previous year and appreciating the message behind the piece.
“It’s important for guys to be in this show because people will see the support of men for ending violence against women,” Wright said. “Through being involved in this, I hope to understand (these problems) more and help solve some of the issues that the show tries to fix.”
After being involved with the production since their freshman year both senior Julia Jordan and junior Gabby Guvara received the opportunity to co-direct the show.
“I loved it so much I came back every year and I decided I wanted to direct this year because I knew it so well,” Jordan said.
Guvara enjoyed challenging the actors and actresses involved in the production and getting them out of their comfort zones in order to help the piece resonate more with the ones performing the monologues. The co-directors attempted to give the women in the cast a different monologue than the one they had originally tried.
Freshman Tayler Wallace, was cast with a monologue called “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” which highlights the experience of a little girl who has gone through years of sexual assault. The monologue, along with others in the show, attempts to bring up these serious issues with a more humorous viewpoint.
“It sends a really good message about taking a stand to stop the violence against women and it presents it in a really comical way which is great because it helps people pay attention but still realize that it is serious,” Guvara said.
The production plans to have a lasting impact on their audience. Those involved hope that students and adults of all ages and genders come to see the production because it will speak to everyone.
“It’s educational, funny, poignant at times, it can sometimes be a little shocking for first time views, it gets people talking about something that usually we don’t talk about or just talk about in a whisper,” Bucher said.
The show is also very different than the usual production that students see performed as it deals with a subject that can be awkward or uncomfortable for students.
“It’s a different type of show then you’d expect Berry to put on. There’s profanity in it, there’s laughter, and there’s seriousness. There’s a good contrast,” Guvara said.
Everyone involved in the production hopes that students off all genders come to see the show, as there are lessons to be learned by everyone in attendance.
“I hope (the audience) realizes that the vagina is not some scary place and it’s okay to talk and laugh about vaginas,” Wallace said. “You don’t have to be so secretive about vaginas.”
The originally production created an alternative to Valentine’s Day, called V-Day. V-Day is an activist movement to end violence against women and first began in 2001. V-Day campaigns help produce the annual productions of “The Vagina Monologues,” as well as give organizations materials to raise awareness of the violence against women.
In order to give back and support the awareness, EMPOWER’s production is a fundraiser for Women of W.O.R.T.H in Rome. Women of W.O.R.T.H is a non-profit clinic for women’s reproductive health care. It offers health screenings, birth control, STD testing, medical follow-up for sexual assault cases, counseling, and preventive lab work for a low cost.
“The Vagina Monologues” will be performed in the Krannert Underground of Feb 13-14 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $3 and all proceeds will go to benefit the Women of W.O.R.T.H. clinic.