MO SADEK
Staff Writer
Over the Valentine’s Day weekend, Fredonia hosted its 12th annual production of “The Vagina Monologues.”
The performance, written by Eve Ensler, is a collection of monologues encapsulating various aspects of the feminine experience ranging from the miracle of birth to the mistreatment of women in society. The play was based off of various interviews Ensler had with a diverse group of women. While some of these topics are heavy and surrounded by taboos, it is imperative to Ensler that “The Vagina Monologues” exposes these topics in an informative and “in-your-face” manner of production.
From the powerful and compelling messages the play projected unto its audience came the V-Day movement, an initiative that demands an end for violence against women. Despite its humble beginnings, the V-Day movement has evolved from four women in a ballroom to millions of women taking part in over 5,800 events worldwide. In some ways, V-Day and “The Vagina Monologues” have created a new and innovative look at a social injustice.
As a show, “The Vagina Monologues” uses clever imagery to provoke the audience. Performers carry red cards with them that signify that the skits and monologues are someone else’s story, as opposed to their own. These experiences are imperative to the informative nature of the show. While the play is meant to entertain, it serves a purpose as an educational device, as well.
Crowd favorites such as “The Woman Who Loved To Make Women Happy” and “The Flood”invoked laughter, whereas others carried more serious messages. The serious skits were symbolized by a red light that engulfed the stage as a trigger warning to let the audience know and possibly prepare for a more intense experience. Emotionally charged skits such as “Vagina Village” and “Say It” dealt a raw and emotionally charged message that left the audience in awe.
Similar to the changing environment of gender equality, “The Vagina Monologues” is constantly adding new monologues and evolving with the times. Ashley Cappelli, a senior music education and vocal performance major, found the addition of the new skits to be an important and impactful change.
“Some of the newer monologues were added since the last time I saw it last year.” One of her favorite new additions to “The Vagina Monologues” was the director/organizer skit pertaining to domestic violence.
“That was something I didn’t see last year,” said Cappelli. “It hits more close to home since there are people that I know that have been [abused].”
The most interesting part about this domestic abuse skit was the cards that the performers were carrying. The red cards signifying the retelling of another’s stories were replaced with purple cards, indicating the skit was created from the personal experiences of those onstage.
Meghan Palmer, a senior musical theatre major who played the role of Eve, commented on the director/organizer skit involving abuse as a powerful and relatable experience for all parties involved.
“Even though it’s a red light monologue, it gives the directors a chance to share with the audience what they feel and their stories; and you don’t get to do that in performances a lot of the time,” Palmer said.
Though the production was designed to empower women, it was just as informative, if not more, impactful on the male and gender-variant members in the audience.
“It [is] one of those things that is very much necessary,” said Jess LaBella, a junior journalism major. “I feel like after seeing this, everyone should see this. It’s definitely for guys — it’s for everyone.”
LaBella found the production to be “eye-opening” in that “The Vagina Monologues” puts “a human face to statistics” and provided “a context for things that are usually just numbers.”
It’s said that “the journey of one thousand miles starts with a single step.” While the road to gender equality has been a bumpy one, there’s still a long way to go, but “The Vagina Monologues” is taking giant steps in the right direction.