2008 Woodie Awards
Students, faculty to perform acclaimed play
Kim Gailliard
Issue date: 1/8/08 Section: News
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Ninety percent of the proceeds will benefit victims' services provided by the Pee Dee Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Assault.
The remaining 10 percent will go to Ensler's V-Day organization, which advocates globally against violence toward women and girls.
The production will be directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Dr. Dawn Larsen and is part of the worldwide 2008 V-Day Campaign.
"V-Day is (Ensler's) way of raising money and awareness for the issue of domestic violence," Larsen said. "The V-Day celebration is a period of several weeks in February and March where she will allow a college or community organization to do 'The Vagina Monologues' royalty free as long as they donate most of the proceeds to a shelter that protects women and children."
Though proceeds from the play benefit domestic abuse organizations, the message encompasses more than anti-violence.
"It's really about everything you could think of," Larsen said. "There's a monologue about birth… there are funny monologues. There are really serious monologues. It's just about the experience of being a woman."
Larsen has discussed the varying themes and significance of each monologue with the cast, and she said "one or more" of the monologues will resonate with audience members regardless of their age or gender.
"Intimately, you know a woman no matter what gender you are because everyone in the world has been pretty intimate with a vagina," Larsen said. "You all have mothers, sisters, cousins, girlfriends or whatever."
Ensler initially performed the play off Broadway as a one-woman show in the late 1990s. Since then, "The Monologues" have grown to include casts of women from different walks of life and empowered many others.
Dr. Janis McWayne, assistant professor of health education, hopes the play will be a success on campus.
"Perhaps 'The Vagina Monologues' will help people in general to better understand issues of self-concept, body image and self-esteem, and how connected the body and mind are," McWayne said.
For many years, "The Monologues" have been criticized for several reasons, including the title.
According to Larsen, Ensler's reason for using "vagina" was to help weaken the societal taboo attached to speaking the word publicly.
"If you think about the male anatomy and all the slang we call it, it's very powerful, sometimes positive," Larsen said.
"If you think about the word for the (female) anatomy and the slang we call it, it's weak… so words sort of lose their (negative) power when everybody speaks them," she said.
Some colleges have banned the play because of the strong content.
Most of those involved, however, think college campuses are ideal places to perform such thematic material because of the varied opinions and perspectives held by students.
"I think a lot of times things are presented for the majority opinion," Larsen said. "I'm here to present things for people (who) want to be challenged and want to see something a little edgier, and we can't ignore those people."
Stephanie Simms, freshman, will be reading one of the monologues and hopes the audience will attend the show with an open mind.
"A lot of people are afraid of the message involved with it, but I think it will be good for everyone," Simms said.
Larsen said if anyone finds certain elements of the play to be offensive, the easiest solution is not to attend.
Still, she encourages those who want to see something different to experience the show for themselves.
"For those people who do want a more challenged experience, please (come) because the money goes for a good cause," Larsen said.
Francis Marion will be one of six S.C. institutions performing the play. The others include the College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University, Furman University, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.
For more information about "The Vagina Monologues" or V-Day, visit www.vday.org.
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