Amherst College's production of "The Vagina Monologues" created a particularly close, informal atmosphere, staged most appropriately in the "V-shaped" Red Room (as coordinator Gretchen Krull called it in her introduction). The room was so crowded that many viewers sat on the floor just inches away from where the monologues took place; while not performing, the actresses lined the steps between the aisles-while all this may have been in violation of fire codes, the arrangement contributed to the warmth and intimacy of the space.
All of the participants performed with charm, wit and most importantly, a passionate commitment to the cause. Standout performances included Alexis Weiss '04's "My Angry Vagina," delivered with delicious sarcasm and biting truth, as well as Jade Tam '04 and Kellie McEvoy '05's simultaneously saucy and smart "My Short Skirt" and Leora Maccabee '05's outrageous "Reclaiming Cunt." The sex-worker's monologue, "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy," culminated in a hilarious list of the various types of moans, each one voiced by a different member of the cast, from the "WASP Moan" to the priceless "Amherst Moan" (which ends in a cry of "hegemony!").
The incorporation of original pieces by Amherst students into Ensler's monologues made the experience more personal and powerful for the audience. Also, "The Memory of Her Face," performed in concert by Director Alexandra Hadley '06, Emily Silberstein '06 and Irina Ivanova '06, provided compelling and painful portraits of violence against women as a world problem. If I must furnish any criticism, I would say that Eve Ensler could have aimed for a higher quality of artistic achievement in her translation of interviews with women into scenes of the play. Still, my complaint is qualified by the vast respect that I have for the mere existence of "The Vagina Monologues," as well as the support the V-Day movement provides for women who suffer abuse.
"The Vagina Monologues" serves as a reminder of the violence against women that takes place in the world-often in brutal yet culturally-permissible ways. Rape, as the "Monologues" program informs us, happens to one-third of all women world-wide. Vignettes like "Under the Burqua" and "The Memory of Her Face" provide glimpses at the suffering forced upon women in the form of acid burns, mutilation and oppressive restrictions on clothing. The V-Day movement not only spreads awareness of these incidents, but also raises money to fight violence worldwide. Proceeds from the ticket sales, raffle, silent auction and merchandise went to the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition, as well as Nuestra Hijas de Regreso A Casa (Bring Our Daughters Home), which fights for justice for the murdered and assaulted women of Juarez, Mexico.
"The Vagina Monologues" fights to change the status quo in more subtle and controversial ways, by beginning the process of normalizing female sexuality. It aims to instruct its audience to reject the numerous taboos that mark a woman's body and sexuality. Pieces like "I was 12, My Mother Slapped Me" and "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy" help women to accept that everything from menstruation to masturbation all exist as part of the female range of experience and are not causes for shame, despite years of counterintuitive tradition. "The Monologues" conveys its point through engaging stories, rants, jokes and, yes, repetition of the word "vagina" for as long as it takes people to realize that it's not a dirty word.
The combination of harsh accounts of violence with more frivolous tales of sexuality may appear inappropriate on the surface; however, we must remember that the root of violence towards women lies in overarching attitudes towards women. "The Vagina Monologues" advocates sexual respect by debunking those attitudes in a number of ways. This very juxtaposition is the strength of the show, which provokes the viewer with moving, difficult stories, but also charms both men and women with truly comic and amusing narrative sequences, like the list of "Moans." I'd wager that even the most disapproving of audience members would have trouble keeping a straight face throughout "The Vagina Monologues."
So if you bought a Vagina Pop and attended the show, you've contributed to a "fierce, wild, unstoppable movement and community" (www.vday. org). And if not, do so next year: You can be sure that there is much more at stake than just sensationalism.