In the fifth annual performance of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” this weekend, a four-woman cast performed several pieces that evoked laughter, tears and even the word “cunt” from more than 600 audience members.
The Women’s Coalition sponsored three shows during Valentine’s Day weekend in honor of “V-Day,” a global initiative that seeks to end violence against females.
Because a similar script is performed every year, organizers tried to put a new spin on this year’s performance by casting fewer actresses. Previous shows have cast up to 13 actresses, but having only four performers helped further the show’s message, said Sarah Sullivan, a co-producer.
“When you see the same girl performing two very different experiential monologues, it really lends itself to the ideas that the experiences are universal,” said Sullivan, a Communication sophomore.
Although the characters did not directly interact, director Alexis Goldberg wanted all four actresses to be onstage for the entire program.
“It was about all of them, and it was about all women, and it was about this collective idea that, as a group, they were imparting to the audience,” said Goldberg, a Communication senior.
Organizers held the performance in McCormick Auditorium instead of Pick-Staiger Concert Hall this year.
Goldberg said the smaller venue not only made for a more intimate experience but also saved money, allowing them to donate more of their profits to the Young Women’s Empowerment Project. The Chicago-based organization helps women involved in the sex trade — defined as the exchange of sex or sexual acts for gifts or money — by providing counseling.
“It’s an organization that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, and they do things that make a positive, visible impact,” Sullivan said. “Their mission is to give (women and girls) options in a space where they feel safe.”
The monologues evoked humor, sadness and self-reflection from the audience.
Weinberg senior Yujin Yi’s performance relayed a woman’s frustration with tampons, Pap smear exams and thong underwear:
“I mean, what is this shit? An army of people out there thinking of ways to torture my poor, gentle, loving vagina, spending their days constructing psycho products and nasty ideas to undermine my pussy,” she said in the performance.
In an 8-minute monologue, Communication sophomore Diana Metzger, playing a sex therapist, acted out 20 types of moans, including the “right-on-it moan,” the “uninhibited militant bisexual moan” and the “surprise triple orgasm moan.”
While those pieces dealt with sexual empowerment, others addressed sexual insecurity resulting from sexual abuse and rape. In a monologue performed by Communication sophomore Allison Hirschlag, a Bosnian woman recounts being violently raped by a group of men when her village was ransacked and burned.
Near the end of the show, Communication junior Megan Duffy led the audience in chanting the word “cunt” in an attempt to redefine this word’s connotation.
Weinberg freshman Alexis Hamilton said the show had a positive impact on her and made her proud to be a woman.
“It made me focus on things about myself that I never thought about before, that I never thought were beautiful and mysterious,” Hamilton said.
But Will Haney, a Weinberg freshman, said he expected the show to be funnier.
“Maybe I’m not as in touch with it because I don’t have a vagina,” he said.
Cathy Kohen, 76, said she came to see her granddaughter, Duffy, perform, although her daughter advised her not to attend because of the show’s shock value. But Kohen said it did not offend her.
“Basically there was a lot of honesty and truth behind it,” she said. “They talked about things that really needed to be talked about and they couched it in humor and outrageousness.”
