Vagina Monologues to be Performed at Converse
<Several Converse College student organizations will present the globally successful “Vagina Monologues” by Eve Ensler March 6-8. Curtain time for the performances is 8 p.m. in Hazel B. Abbott Theatre which is on the second floor of Wilson Hall. Tickets are $10 each, and reservations can be made by calling 596-9068. All proceeds will be given to SAFE Home: Rape Crisis Coalition in Spartanburg and the V-Day organization.
The performances will include 20 monologues performed by 30 Converse students, faculty, staff and community members. From menstruation and gynecological exams, to orgasm and childbirth, “The Vagina Monologues” explores the most private aspects of women’s experiences of, and relationships to, their bodies. Cultural norms and social taboos are also explored. One particular monologue entitled “Memory of her Face” highlights the atrocities inflicted on women in Islamabad, Baghdad and Juarez.
The Palmetto Players, the Student Activities Committee and the Converse chapter of FLAG (Friends of Lesbians and Gays) have joined together for the V-Day 2007 College Campaign which is a catalyst for mobilizing college communities to heighten awareness about violence against women and girls. The ‘V’ in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.
On March 5 at 7 p.m., a candlelight vigil will be held on the lawn in front of Twichell Auditorium to honor the women, men and children who are victims of criminal domestic violence and sexual assault both here in the Upstate and globally. Candles will be provided and speakers will be present from the Spartanburg District Attorneys office, the Child Advocacy Center, Spartanburg SAFE Homes: Rape Crisis Coalition and more.
What are “The Vagina Monologues”?
Hailed by The New York Times as "funny" and "poignant" and by the Daily News as "intelligent" and "courageous," “The Vagina Monologues,” which was first performed off-Broadway by Ensler, dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement buried in women’s experiences. Ensler has performed the play to great acclaim throughout the world – from Zagreb to Santa Barbara, from London to Seattle, from Jerusalem to Oklahoma City. Villard Books/Random House first published “The Vagina Monologues,” which includes a foreword by Gloria Steinem, in February 1998. A special V Day edition of the play was released in February 2001.
Last year, over 1,150 communities hosted V-Day benefits around the world raising funds and awareness towards ending violence against women. These highly successful events raised over $6 million.
V-Day’s 2007 theme, “Reclaiming Peace,” seeks to make a connection between the worldwide anti-violence work of thousands of V-Day activists with a collective desire for peace and an end to armed conflicts. V-Day activists, known as Vagina Warriors, are women and men who have often experienced violence personally or witnessed it within their communities and dedicated themselves toward ending such violence through effective, grassroots means. Often, their work takes place in conflict zones throughout the world, where they see how war exponentially increases violence against women and girls. V-Day 2007 productions around the world from Ethiopia to China; Indiana to India; Croatia to Finland will put forth this message of peace generating attention, newspaper articles, and raising funds to support their anti-violence work and dedication to peaceful means.
The V-Day movement is growing at a rapid pace throughout the world, in 90 countries from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and all of North America. V-Day