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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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Vaginas take center stage in Monologues
KERRY ELSON
STAFF WRITER
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| Bowdoin women discuss the usage, or lack thereof, of the word "vagina" in the introductory scene of The Vagina Monologues. (Jennifer Lee, Bowdoin Orient) |
"Downeastah," "bear's den," and "the basement."
If you have not yet encountered these euphemisms for vaginas, you stand to learn a great deal from Bowdoin's production of The Vagina Monologues.
The play written by Eve Ensler opened last night in Kresge Auditorium and presents the stories of over 200 women who were interviewed about their vaginas. The women in this year's cast portray a sex worker, a Bosnian refugee, a six-year-old girl, a Palestinian burn victim, and a New York antiques dealer, among other characters. Barbara Condliffe '04 and Kristin Pollock '04, co-chairs of V-Day Bowdoin College 2004, directed the cast of 25.
The show aims to raise awareness about violence against women and makes a tangible contribution to local and global efforts to eradicate such violence: 90 percent of ticket sales go to Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine, while the other ten percent benefits Casa Amiga, a shelter for abused women in Ju rez, Mexico. The 14 monologues celebrate the vagina in order to lift the shame that so often surrounds women's sexuality. To display the complexity of women's experiences, the monologues describe both humorous sexual awakenings and horrific experiences of abuse victims.
Both Condliffe and Pollock were involved in the inaugural 2002 production-Condliffe was a director and V-Day co-chair while Pollock was a performer. Both women stress the importance of performing the show for its third year in a row. "I think what we've been really trying to remind the entire community about this year," Condliffe said, "is that this show-it is a great show, it's a fun show to watch-but the show [is] part of a movement to stop violence against women and in no way has violence against women stopped. Even in our small community, these issues affect us."
The V-Day campaign has grown over the past two years from a small group of individuals to an 18-member committee that has broadened the campaign's scope for the 2003-2004 school year. V-Day now not only includes the Monologues but also an art show, "Love Your Body" Day, and the "V is for Vote" campaign, which encourages women to become more politically active.
More students and faculty have also become eager to promote the cause onstage: the directors had to choose from over 80 women at auditions last fall. Increased interest in the organization can only lead to positive changes at Bowdoin, according to Pollock. "I think the more people get involved with it, the more this campus will change and become a more vagina-friendly space," she said.
Condliffe concurs with Pollock, stressing that the dialogue the Monologues promotes creates greater awareness of women's concerns in the Bowdoin community. She said, "It's going to take moving into uncomfortable spaces and talking about these [issues] if we're going to change things. It's about just starting dialogue and trying to change things and using creative energy to do that."
While different cast members create a new show each year, there are also three additions to this year's Monologues. A new monologue honors the more than 300 women who have been murdered or found dead in Ju rez, Mexico, the site of beneficiary Casa Amiga.
Condliffe and Pollock have also added a "Vulva Choir," a team of twelve women in pink boas and V-Day t-shirts who sit amongst the audience, enthusiastically cheer for the women onstage, and, during a monologue about the word "cunt," encourage the audience to shout "cunt" along with the performer. According to Condliffe, the Choir will "remind the audience that this isn't really a performance piece that's being presented to them for them to digest, but that they're really part of this movement. By being at the show, they're beginning to do their part to stop violence against women."
This year's show also honors three Vagina Warriors: Karin Clough, Director of the Women's Resource Center and advisor to V-Day and Safe Space; Sue Hall-Dreher, Executive Director of Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine; and Melissa Walters '86, Physician Assistant at Dudley Coe Health Center, who conducts health education and outreach programs on campus.
The Vagina Monologues will be performed tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 with a Bowdoin ID, $7 without, and can be purchased at the information desk in Smith Union.
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