Feb. 14, 2002
Arts & Entertainment
Page 19
‘The Vagina Monologues’ brings new meaning to V-Day
Samiha Khanna
A&E Editor
The “V” word. Few have
the courage to say it, and
even fewer have the
courage to yell it in front of a live
audience.
For seven actresses and two
sold-out audiences, the meaning of
the “V” word turned their cheeks
pink. For a riotous hour and a half,
the meaning of the word vagina cir
cumnavigated the globe.
“The Vagina Monologues,” Eve
Ensler’s award-winning play, drew
in large audiences for a good cause.
Two sold-out performances in
Yeager Recital Hall Feb. 10 and 11
review
were part of College Campaign, a
program dedicated to stopping vio
lence against women and girls co
ordinated by the V-Day organiza
tion.
V-Day’s efforts started five years
ago, marking Valentine’s Day as a
day of action. It has slowly evolved
into a 12-week calendar of events
starting every January.
In the play, the vagina took the
audience as its confidant. It was an
gry, lonely and even described it
self as an “anatomical vacuum ran
domly sucking in things from the
™
February
18 "Spaces of Exclu
sion" : Digital
Artworks by Bina
Altera, Isabella
Cannon Room, 5 p.m.
21 Le Tigre, Cat's
Cradle, Carrboro
21 River North Chicago
Dance Company,
McCrary Theatre,
7:30 p.m.
22 Weezer,
Entertaiment Sports
Arena, Raleigh
Joan MarcusA^-day.org
Eve Ensler donated the rights to
her award-winning play “The
Vagina Monologues” to
universities through V-Day’s
awareness effort, College
Campaign.
surrounding environment.”
“If my vagina could talk—two
words—slow down," freshman
Lexi Apostolou read.
Audiences only dream of laugh
ing this loudly at a live perfor
mance.
The monologues, based on
Ensler’s interviews, were read by
seven female Elon students who
used numerous accents to convey
the identities of women around the
world.
The audience burst out with such
raucous laughter that lines delivered
after the punchlines were most of
ten inaudible. But it did not matter.
The palpable bond between fe
male audience members was ce
mented by their united laughter at
some of life’s most trivial and em
barrassing moments. These light
but effective vignettes were
complemented by stories that told
of deeper, heavier sorrows such as
female genital mutilation, to which
more than 130 million females have
been subjected worldwide.
An arrangement of four of the
actresses also presented a powerful
piece that said in part, “My short
skirt, believe it or not, has nothing
to do with you.”
Sophomore Charmain Cale, who
read several monologues, was ini
tially hesitant about the script.
“I wasn’t sure if I could get
onstage and say these words, but it
makes you so much more comfort
able,” Cale said. “Vagina—it’s not
a big deal.”
Ensler’s play is being performed
in more than 200 cities worldwide,
as well as several local universities
(see www.vday.org for dates).
^
Annette Randall/Photo Editor
Seven actresses read the monologues on stage at Yeager Recital
Hall Feb. 10 and 11. The performances benefited Crossroads, a
sexual assault resource center in Burlington.
“Eve Ensler could make a lot of
money by selling her play, but she’s
letting people use it out of the good
ness of her heart,” said faculty spon
sor Mary Jo Festle.
V-Doy Statistics
♦ One in three women has been beaten or sexually abused in her
lifetime.
♦ A woman is raped every 26 seconds in South Africa.
♦ In the U.S., a woman is raped every 90 seconds.
♦ In the U.S., a woman is beaten every J5 seconds.
♦ One in three murdered females are killed by a partner, versus 3.6
percent of males. , , ,
see www.vaay.org for more information
Director and College Campaign
coordinator Anne Corbitt, sopho
more, is pleased with the interest in
the play.
“The most important thing it
brings is conversation,” Corbitt
said. “You can’t solve a problem
without talking about it.”
The performances raised
$1,144.74, which far-exceeded
Corbitt’s $500 goal. The money will
go to Crossroads Sexual Assault
Response and Resource Center in
Burlington.
“I’m hoping to see it ease a lot
of their problems,” Corbitt said. “I
want to know that what we did is
going to make a woman’s life bet
ter.”
Things to do around town
# Cha|.)el Will
Greensboro
22 Edwin McCain,
Cat's Cradle
23 Athenaeum, Lincoln
Theatre, Raleigh
26 "A Peasant of El
Salvador," McCrary
Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
March
1 Nickel Creek,
Stevens Center,
Winston-Salem
' Durhaiii - Elon #
Raleigh ^ Wiiiston-Siileni
2 Finback, Cat's
Cradle
2 moe.. The Ritz,
Raleigh
11 Death Cab for
Cutie, Dismember
ment Plan, Cat's
Cradle
12 Nelly Furtado, The
Ritz
16 311, The Ritz
Albums of the Week
], Phantom Planet - ''The Guest"
2. Sean Na No - 'Tour Majesty'"
3. Leaving Nazareth” 'The Smith Chronicles''
4. "I Am Sam''- Motion Picture Soundtrack
5. Desaparecidos - "Read Music/Speak Spanish"
6. Puddle of Mudd - "Come Clean"
7. Bod Religion • "Process of Belief'
8. Bush * "Golden State"
9* Ben Folds - "Rockin' the Suterib^'
TO. White Octave - "MenergyH
Provided liy S&.3 FM, WSO£