"Monologues" returns with same potency

Author: Eleanor Johnstone

Last week's Day of Romance was uniquely celebrated on the Middlebury campus with Middlebury's annual student production of Eve Ensler's '95 "The Vagina Monologues," directed by Aaron Gensler '08 and Maegan Mishico '09. First compiled and written in 1996, the collection of monologues has become a cornerstone of the V-Day movement (Valentine, Vagina and Victory) which aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the nuances of women's sexuality and self-worth. Ensler preserves the voices of women who have suffered shame, fear and abuse at the hands of the common cultural discomfort with vaginas.

Though in her production Ensler admits that the word 'vagina' "sounds like a disease," the show encourages women to find and claim their sexuality as an empowering and fulfilling part of their identity.

"It's a great way of spreading awareness and maintaining a stance on women's issues," said actress Elizabeth Goffe '10 about the power of producing this show on an annual basis. "The script is also updated every year - Ensler adds new monologues and new information, keeping the script relevant to current events," she said.

Audience member Stephanie Spencer '09 had a similar respect for the play: "It's such a good show to do every year because it really reminds people of very important stuff about women that often gets pushed away."

The show is also valuable on a more personal level. When asked about the benefits of this theatrical tradition, Gensler emphasized the timeless quality of the issues it raises. "It creates this safe and bonded community where women are able to talk about their sexuality," she said. "I just think it's really valuable for girls to be involved with."

Actress Casey Donahue '10 agreed. "It's a great way to get a lot of women from all over campus together," she said. "It was a therapeutic process for me, and people who come to see this come away with a similar experience."

Given that contemporary opinion is increasingly wary of the term "feminism," this reporter was curious to know if the term seemed applicable to the play. "I don't think that 'feminist' is the right word for it," said Jimmy Wong '09.5. "(The play) covers all ranges of how females feel about and express their sexuality. There are a lot of positive themes that run through it."

As someone who felt slightly pushed around by last year's production, this reporter was delighted to see the show performed in a more raw and personal tone. Though the show was a very collaborative process for those who worked on it, Gensler said that one of the goals this year was to "take away all of the fancy things, pare it down to simplicity." She and Mishico encouraged the actresses to claim their characters and to use their texts as a channel for their own statements on vaginas and sexuality.

"One of the best things about being in this production was discovering that other women - both the characters in the play, and the group of women involved in this year's production - share similar concerns and experiences when it comes to vaginas," said Goffe.

"'Vagina' is not a pleasant sound," Gensler admitted. "People don't always want to deal with things that are unpleasant. It makes sense. This is a way to be comfortable with it." A quick scan of the audience gave a good idea of how many people were willing to get comfortable with it. Males and females, of various ethnicities, races and ages were in attendance.

"There are equal benefits for the male and the female in terms of revelations," said Wong. "It does a really good job breaking down barriers of what people feel comfortable talking about."

"I heard so many positive comments from so many people - friends, complete strangers, men, women, students, teachers - about the show," said Goffe. "The script is powerful, and I think the way that it combines 'happy vagina facts' and 'not-so-happy vagina facts' really works well to generate awareness and interest about women's rights and issues."

"The Vagina Monologues" has been performed for 10 consecutive years at the College, and since its debut in 1998 has been one of the nation's most widely produced plays. As a versatile, informative and perpetually pertinent and provocative play, it has an important place in the mind of the Middlebury community. And just to top off the play's connection to the College, Goffe said it best. "Eve Ensler is a Middlebury College graduate. That's just cool."

All proceeds from Middlebury's annual production of "The Vagina Monologues" go to WomenSafe, which provides services for the immediate needs of abused women.