For many, Feb. 14 means a celebration of love, relationships, greeting cards and candy. For others, though, it’s known as V-Day, a global movement of activism meant to end violence against women and girls. For the third year in a row, DU students have embraced the V-Day movement and put on a stunning performance of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” to increase awareness of women’s issues and to raise money for great causes.
“The Vagina Monologues” is a monologue compilation and show dedicated to telling the stories of women. The monologues come from interviews of a diverse group of women, including straight women, lesbians, transgender women, children, elderly women, single women and beyond. The original show was created by Ensler in 1996, but it has been updated to reflect the changing times and it still holds its relevance today.
Some of the most powerful monologues in the show include “They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy… or So They Tried,” “My Vagina Was My Village,” “I Was There in the Room” and “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could.” Crowd favorites include “The Flood,” “My Short Skirt” and “My Angry Vagina.”
While the production is performed across the world each year, DU students performed “The Vagina Monologues” on the evenings of Feb. 13 and 14. There were 16 talented women who presented the stories to full crowds in the Sie Complex.
The show this year was student directed by Meagan Traver and Mahin Sandoval, an undergraduate and a graduate student, respectively.
Traver has been involved with “The Vagina Monologues” for three years, and this production is very near to her heart.
“I love being able to incorporate something I love, acting, into a cause I’m very passionate about,” she said. “I also know that every time we share these stories that people want to listen to them.”
“The Vagina Monologues” does more than just share women’s stories each year on V-Day, however. Performances donate proceeds to local causes that support the same issues as the show: equality, body positivity and gender violence prevention. The 2017 performance at DU gave 90 percent of proceeds to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, and the other 10 percent earned was donated to help fight violence against women in the workplace.
This year’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” was a success yet again, reaching audience members in an intimate performance space, drawing laughs and tears in memorable moments on stage. The passion of the cast was impeccably clear with each monologue presented; it was something special to see real woman—familiar students and classmates—presenting iconic, heart-wrenching and beautiful stories meant to empower women. It was a deeply compelling experience, one that felt especially necessary in today’s troubled world.
