The play is based on interviews with conducted by the playwright Eve Ensler. | Courtesy of Sydney Mullings
The Women and Gender Resource Center will host their annual student-led production of “The Vagina Monologues” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Student Center Theater.
Playwright Eve Ensler’s play is a presentation of interviews and conversations with women about sex, rape, menstruation and other feminine topics in a series of monologues.
“It’s about women’s empowerment,” said Sydney Mullings, the program coordinator for the Women and Gender Resource Center. “We want to talk about how to empower yourself, how to love yourself, so I think that’s why it has stayed, and it’s really an enjoyable play.”
The play is a mix of group and individual monologues, and the students performing will be acting out the women that Ensler interviewed for the original production.
Theatre sophomore Madisen McMurray is performing in two of the monologues: “My Short Skirt” and “My Revolution Begins in the Body.” McMurray said she hopes this play will encourage women to have a deeper appreciation for themselves and for their bodies.
“I really liked these because they were really inspiring,” McMurray said. “One alludes to people taking advantage of girls because of what they wear, and that’s something I feel really passionate about. That should never occur.”
Sociology junior Emma Connolly is also performing two monologues, “My Angry Vagina,” and “My Vagina Was a Village,” as well as parts in some other performances.
“It’s really important now to bring major awareness to women’s issues,” Connelly said. “All of the pieces in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ have a really important message, and I think that those messages need to be made even stronger.”
“My Angry Vagina” is a rant about what women tolerate regarding the vagina. According to Connolly, it’s one of the funny monologues. “My Vagina Was a Village” is focused on a more serious topic — Bosnian women’s struggle through rape used as a war strategy.
“That one’s really difficult to listen to; it’s really difficult to read honestly,” Connelly said. “But it’s a really inspiring story. I’m glad that we’re able to kind of bring light to issues that aren’t necessarily in the forefront of people’s minds.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the door for $5.
