Each story moves mountains. After going to the Sewanee Monologues, I realized that was no understatement. Each monologue was incredibly moving in its own way, and regardless of whether or not the tone was serious or humorous, each one had a vulnerability that allowed the audience to empathize and laugh, cry, and/or scream along with the writer. Although every monologue was amazing, here’s a rundown of some of the crowd favorites.
TINKLE TARGETS performed by Catherine Schwartz
You all know I love a good awkward hook-up story, so this was one of my personal favorites. Filled with some incredible semen puns, this story of a blowjob gone terribly wrong was absolutely hilarious. My favorite part of this monologue was the “that happened to me once” conversations it sparked; just so you know, accidental cum in the eye is actually much more common than you would think.
THE TRUMAN SHOW performed by Cullen Mitchell and Rebecca Sanders
Comparing Sewanee to the Truman Show, this monologue pushed us to embrace our differences and embrace each other. Also, shout-out for calling out how we all wear the same clothes—that’s pretty accurate. Â
BOYS WILL BE BOYS performed by Justus Bell
This one was one of my favorites of the night, and it was an incredibly powerful monologue that asked all the boys to become men and asked women to expect nothing less. The monologue was already incredible in itself, but the way Bell performed it truly made it that much more moving.
LET ME CLARIFY written and performed by Emily Ferguson
In an incredible monologue that had me and everyone around me bawling our eyes out, “Let Me Clarify” brought to the forefront an honest dialogue about the line between consensual sex and rape, and what constitutes consent. It brought the audience out of their comfort zone and got everyone thinking about rape and talking about the importance of consent, which is a conversation Sewanee needs to be having more often.
I DARE YOU written and performed by Nora Vinas
In a brave and emotional monologue about our flawed immigration system and her experiences as a Dreamer within it, Vinas brought us all to tears as she discussed her and her parents’ struggle to become citizens. Her journey to Sewanee was inspirational, and it facilitated a dialogue about immigration and the changes that need to take place.
DÉJÀ VU written and performed by Kirk Murphy
Possibly the crowd favorite based on the standing ovation he received after his monologue, Murphy forced us out of our comfort zone and opened up a dialogue about race after his unbelievable slam-poetry style monologue. He first performed this work at the Posse Plus Retreat a few weeks before which focused on crime and punishment, and in keeping with that theme, Murphy highlighted racial prejudice and stereotypes, his own background and life experiences, as well as the Mike Brown/Ferguson case. The monologue itself was powerful, and Murphy’s passion and emotion brought it to an entirely new level.
THREE YEARS written and performed by Nakeirah Christie, Sydney Philpott, Nate Foster, Andy Streiff, and Seth Burns
Calling out the administration for promising three years and destroying EMS in three months, this monologue was close to the heart of Sewanee. It showed the love and passion of the EMS team, and their hard work here at Sewanee to give back to the school they love.
SHARPIES performed by Sabol Rodgers
“You have a better chance of getting expelled for copy and pasting from Wikipedia than you do for raping someone.” I have no other words to describe this monologue than ballsy. Calling out the handling of rape cases, calling out rapists, and calling women to action— I loved everything about it.
Sewanee Monologues had a variety of stories with a variety of tones, but they all had one thing in common. In their own individual ways, each monologue paved the way for a meaningful dialogue about important issues both in and out of our Sewanee bubble, issues that demand to be discussed. YSR