“…to speak of them out loud, to speak of their hunger and pain and loneliness and humor, to make them visible so that they cannot be ravaged in the dark without great consequence.” ― Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues
That’s right, folks. It’s time for the WVWC’s annual performance of Eve Ensler’s work! Normally a group of female students would perform The Vagina Monologues, but this year will be different. Students will instead be performing A memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, which is a collection of monologues written by several different authors, including Maya Angelou, Michael Cunningham and Susan Miller, and edited by Eve Ensler herself.
Performing A memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer instead of the usual Vagina Monologues will allow students to cover a wider range of topics instead of just women’s issues. It will also allow male students to perform in the show, too. Jessica Tichenor, one of the student directors working on the play, hopes for a record number of students to emerge as audience members.
“The Vagina Monologues, or this year’s script, A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer, is a series of creative pieces about violence against women in our modern world,” Tichenor said. “It is a show that exposes the ideas of female sexuality, imprisonment, racism, rape and torture. The Vagina Monologues are more funny and interesting with a center image about femininity, but this new script is about violence and racism. It is a headstrong emotional retelling, from war stories to the dynamics of a marriage. The most pivotal characteristic of this show, however, is that it is for activists, not necessarily thespians. It is about spreading the word and using theater as a projection.”
A memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer (and many of Eve Ensler’s other works) is usually performed in conjunction with V-Day. Celebrated on February 14, V-Day is a day where activist groups across the country raise awareness about women’s issues and help raise money for female victims of violence and sexual abuse.
In 1998, V-Day started as a small grassroots movement. Since then it has grown into a global phenomenon. In 2010, 5,400 V-Day events took place in 1,500 locations around the world. Additionally, in 2011, the Foundation Panzi (DCR) and UNICEF started “The City of Joy” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) for women who suffered from gender violence.
Although that date has passed, Wesleyan students are performing the work during Social Justice Week, held annually from March 18-22. Come out and support your fellow friends as they help spread awareness of the issues people face in today’s society. They might even inspire you to take action. In the words of Tichenor, “It is really going to be something special!”