By Angelica Hartgers
After months of preparation, a group of female students, faculty and staff members joined efforts to deliver a production of the Vagina Monologues April 25. The 11-member cast had a 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performance in the large auditorium, Room 168 of Brooks City-Base Campus.
The play, written by Eve Ensler and performed world-wide, is an R-rated performance featuring female characters of all ages and backgrounds who relate experiences — funny, painful and exploratory — with their vaginas. The play addresses topics such as sex, love, rape, menstruation, female genital mutilation, masturbation, birth and orgasms.
The Vagina Monologues is part of a national campaign through V-Day, a non-profit organization that utilizes creative platforms, such as theatrical performances and large-scale benefits to raise awareness and funds to end violence against women. The proceeds raised from this year’s Vagina Monologue production will go to the Battered Women’s Shelter of San Antonio.
The cast performed 14 monologues including excerpts from “The Flood,” in which an older woman narrates her experiences; “My Angry Vagina,” a humorous rant about vaginal products and women’s underwear; “My Vagina Was My Village,” an emotional piece about rape; and “Six Year Old Girl,” which features a little girl’s perspective.
Between monologues, facts about the vagina and statistics about violence against women were shared with the audience.
In an interview before the production, English Professor Ann V. Bliss said, “Our goal is to raise money for the organization and to educate people on how women are still abused. We want to encourage women to not be ashamed of themselves and their bodies.”
Between both production times, there were approximately 115 people in attendance. For the 2 p.m. performance, a shuttle bus funded by the School of Arts and Sciences was available to transport students back and forth from Main Campus Building to Brooks Campus.
During the 7 p.m. performance, the production had the audience laughing, cringing, silenced and in awe. The cast, dressed in black and red attire, seemed to perform comfortably with no inhibitions so that the audience could quickly be absorbed.
Together, both the cast members and the audience took a journey into a taboo-free zone. Any perceptions of an indecent and socially unacceptable subject matter were stripped away layer by layer through each episodic performance, uncovering real issues that continue to plight women around the world each and every day.
“I think it’s fantastic,” history junior Cynthia Boyd said, who had previously seen a Vagina Monologue performance.
Biology junior Dede Mahone said she thought the performance was high quality and entertaining, adding that she had a lot of fun.
“I could relate to a lot of it,” psychology junior Nicole Mitchell said, who watched the performance with friends.
The performance attracted a diverse audience, made up of men and women, both young and old.
Communications junior Monica Flores said when she first walked into the large auditorium and saw men in the audience, she thought to herself that she should have brought her husband along with her.
“I think it’s good for every man to sit there. I kept thinking, ‘Wow, he needs to be hearing this,’” Flores said.
Perhaps that’s why Toni Castillo, mother of a graduate student, brought her husband along.
“She made me come,” laughs Raul Rodriguez as he points jokingly to Castillo.
Another male, English junior Felipe Lopez said, “It completely gives me insight as a male. I loved the emotion and the openness. All senses just went out the door.”
After the production, lemonade and a white cake with the phrase “Until the Violence Stops” written in red frosting was offered to audience and cast members.
Jolene DesRoches, counselor and disability services coordinator and monologue cast member, stood by the cake after the performance with a donation box.
Last year’s performance raised about $250 for the women’s shelter. With a goal to raise $500 during this year’s production, organizers were a little disappointed to discover that only about $150 was raised this year.
Rehearsing to make a difference
Since March, each member of the group set time aside from their work, school and family in order to meet for a weekly practice.
Considered graphic for some of the audience members, cast members had their own adjustments to make.
English junior Zabde Garza said some cast members had to initially warm up to the content and get over their discomfort.
“I was raised in a very conservative family. But just because it’s uncomfortable doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it,” Garza said.
Others, like sociology junior Briana Escamilla, felt prepared by her human sexuality course and didn’t feel awkward at all.
Regardless, cast members said they believed in their cause and the awareness that the performance could trigger and put forth their collective efforts to offer a great production to the community.
“I like being a part of things that make a difference,” graduate student LaTanya Woods said.
It’s more than a performance, cast members say. It’s a production that takes on personal politics, social attitudes and violence against women. If talking about the vagina and women’s sexuality is repressed, a solution to the violence against women is harder to solve. By stripping away the taboo, organizers say they can come closer to exposing real issues that are in need of confrontation.
“We all need to cowboy up and start talking about these issues,” said sociology Professor Vicky Elias, who participated in and helped organize the performance.
As the auditorium erupted in applause and the cast members joined hands to bow, the hard work, dedication and perseverance of the performers seemed to resonate within the campus community.
Last year’s performance
Last year, the inaugural production of the Vagina Monologues was in the gymnasium at the Gillette campus. The production attracted 85 audience members but performers were initially unsure of how many people to expect.
University administration did not allow any inside advertisements and performers had to rely on word-of-mouth and social media tactics to promote the event. The administration’s decision generated quite a bit of controversy among the campus community, and a petition was even circulated. Read related story.
This year, administration approved internal advertisements and the event was promoted through digital boards, the University’s online calendar, fliers posted on bulletin boards and off campus.
“I received a few emails about it from the school,” Lopez said.
A full page sponsorship ad also appeared on the April’s issue of Ignite Magazine, a local GLBT publication.
