On February 29 and March 2 and 3, the Bloomsburg University Players (BU Players) and The Women’s Resource Center performed The Vagina Monologues, written by Eve Ensler. Each year, the performance is held as a part of “V-DAY Until the Violence Stops.”
V-DAY is aimed at bringing awareness and raising funds to end violence against women. The “V” in V-Day stands not only for vagina, but for victory and valentine.
The monologues, performed by an all-female cast, vary in subject. Some are very funny, others provoke thought, while others are heartbreaking. The performers did a wonderful job conveying the emotions of the characters.
One of the first monologues is titled They Beat the Girl out of My Boy…or So They Tried, and it highlights the hardships of male to female transgendered people. The scene was very well done, and was really heart wrenching. The performers did a wonderful job conveying the emotion of the situation.
Natasha Willis did an amazing job with the monologue What if I Told You I Did Not Have a Vagina. This is about the women and girls that have been raped and sexually abused. Willis brought emotion to the scene, and performed it perfectly. A similar monologue was titled My Vagina Was My Village, which discusses the rape and sexual abuse of women in war torn countries.
One of the funniest parts of the evening was My Angry Vagina. The monologue is about all of the things women’s vaginas are put through that just seem ridiculous. Lauren Shover was perfect with this scene. The whole audience was in stiches as she talked about tampons, cleansers, and the “duck lips” used at the gynecologist office.
Another hilarious monologue, performed by Courtney Costello, was called Reclaiming Cunt. This is about taking back a word that is used as a derogatory term to call women. She was wonderful, funny and energetic performing the act and it was perfectly done.
The final comedic act of the night was The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy; Jenny Hensley was absolutely hilarious with this scene. She didn’t hold back when she was demonstrating the several types of orgasms that she’s encountered throughout the years. The audience was almost on the floor during her performance.
The Vagina Monologues ended on a more somber note. The finale was titled Over It and talked about the amount of rape, sexual abuse, and violence against women, and just people in general. We were urged to join the world wide movement of One Billion Rising; a mission to end violence against women.
The movement will take place on February 14, 2013. To learn more visit http://www.vday.org/node/2849.
