V-Day campaign promotes community over conflict
Published Feb. 13, 2007
For the ninth year in a row, playwright Eve Ensler's V-Day campaign, a global movement to end domestic violence against women and girls, will make its appearance on college campuses nationwide this week. The campaign includes a performance of Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues," which features a series of stories and commentaries concerning the female experience.
MU's sixth annual production of "The Vagina Monologues" will take place on Saturday. The production is sponsored by Stronger Together Against Rape and facilitated by staff members from the MU Women's Center.
Junior Lucie Macias will perform in this year's show. It is her first time working with the production.
"I heard about it last year a few weeks before the show, when it was too late to audition," Macias said. "I decided that I would audition for the following year, this year, and get involved with the planning as well."
Macias performs a monologue entitled "Because He Liked to Look At It."
"I think the comedy in it fits me really well," Macias said. "It is also a great story about loving your own womanhood. I also really like that it portrays a man, Bob, in a positive light. Bob helps the character in the monologue love herself as a woman, so I would consider Bob a feminist, which I think rocks because feminism is for everyone."
Every year, a monologue is added to reflect the theme of focus for the V-Day movement that year. This year's theme is "Women In Conflict Zones," and it focuses on ending violence against women in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, said Sarah Landolfi, a member of the V-Day Education Committee.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go to local charities, including The Shelter, the MU Stop the Violence Fund and Leadership through Education and Advocacy for the Deaf Institute.
Members of the V-Day Educational Committee held presentations to inform the women in the cast about issues that coincided with this year's V-Day focus.
"We give educational presentations to the women in the cast at each rehearsal," Landolfi said. "Some of the topics we have covered so far are women and the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, women in the U.S. military who are deployed in conflict zones and the resources they have available to them."
Landolfi said the benefits of being a part of the V-Day movement go beyond the precedent of activism the movement has started. The women who have been a part of the production share a strong communal and emotional bond.
"I've gained a real sense of community among the women involved," Landolfi said. "We really share a very strong bond. I'm so grateful to have met all the women. They all have so much to say, so much to share with the world. Everyone is so resilient and so fantastic."
Freshman Ashley Crimaldi said the opportunity to have conversations with and learn from each of the women in the cast inspired her.
"The highlight of the experience for me has been going to rehearsals and being able to talk with so many strong and amazing women," Crimaldi said.
Landolfi said she hopes the show inspires MU students in the same way the experience has inspired the cast.
"It will entertain them," Landolfi said. "It will make them think, and it will be an all-around incredibly enjoyable experience. I also think it's really important to have a community of strong women out there for everyone to see. That sense of community is one of the most important things about the show."