The Leader

[Click to enlarge]

"The Vagina Monologues", a nationally syndicated production dedicated to raising awareness of violence against women and girls, will return to the UWM campus March 30 and 31 after a one year hiatus.

Monologues strings together the personal tales of numerous women and their experiences with their vaginas. The play was originally written and performed by Eve Ensler, who earned an Obie-award for her portrayal of women at many different stages in their lives and the physical experiences they encounter.

"'The Vagina Monologues' serves to create awareness and support organizations that seek to reduce and ultimately end this violence," said Amy Phipps, president of the College Feminists. "I originally got involved in women's equality issues the first time I saw it. When I first saw it I was really impacted by it and when I produced it I saw how it positively impacted other people."

Beginning in 1998, an organization called the "V-Day College Campaign" began encouraging college campuses across the nation to put the show together to promote awareness and raise money for anti-violence organizations. All of the actors in the play are UWM students and the show is directed by senior theatre major Rose Wasielewski.

"I saw it my freshman year at UWM and I'd read the book, but I'd never seen it performed," Wasielewski said. "I was completely blown away by the stories, by the intimacy I felt when I saw it, and the camaraderie of the women that had put it on. When I got the opportunity [to direct it], I jumped on it."

Earlier this month, officials at Marquette University banned a performance of Monologues because they thought it would be too distracting and because administrators said they had serious concerns about the production quality.

Critics of the move blasted Marquette's encroachment on free speech and said that the decision was nothing more than a Catholic Universities opposition to the play, which deals with homosexuality, rape and abuse.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Marquette has also banned student organizations that have supported other controversial subjects such as gay rights and birth control.

"The show is a great opportunity for women to see and hear other women's stories about sexuality," Wasielewski said. "It's a mostly taboo subject, and getting monologues out there for women to see if a great thing."

The play is being produced by the College Feminists and is cosponsored by the UWM Student Association, Campus Activities Board, Players' Guild, UWM LGBT Resource Center, UWM Center for Women's Studies and the UWM Women's Resource Center.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed Thursday, March 30 and Friday, March 31 at 7pm in the Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free with donations being accepted to benefit local organizations working to end violence against woman.

Article Tools