Students will help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the worldwide V-Day movement with two performances of “The Vagina Monologues” Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Reamer Campus Center Auditorium.
V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, has raised more than $50 million through benefit productions of playwright Eve Ensler’s award-winning play.
“The play draws a mixed crowd and is meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek,” said Kaitlin Canty ’08. “But we also address serious issues and things about the female anatomy that aren’t typically talked about.”
Canty, who is returning for her third season, is co-producing the show with Meagan Keenan ’09, this year’s organizer.
Students pull together the 90-minute production in five weeks with only two rehearsals. V-Day guidelines dictate the number of performances allowed and prohibit memorizing the script in an effort to recruit activists instead of theatrical performers.
Director Keegan Peters ’08, a Theater and Philosophy major, is the only student with formal acting training.
This year’s cast also includes: Christina M. Cerqueira ’10, Deanna A. Cox ’10, Elizabeth C. Culp ’10, Rachel R. Curtis ’08, Colleen M. Easton ’09, Katherine Friedman ’10, Dana R. Goldsmith ’10, Ewodaghe Harrell ’10, Genevieve St. Hilaire ’10, Eyleen L. Iraola ’11, Carley S. Jacobson ’10, Emma S. Labrot ’09, Jamie B. Luguri ’10, Victoria A. Mathieu ’11, Tehtena B. Tenaw ’09, Aria D. Walfrand ’11 and Samantha L. Zayas ’10.
The play is open to the public, with tickets $5 in advance and $7 at the door. It is sponsored by the Women’s Union, Union’s Women’s Commission and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
Tickets will be on sale, along with hand-made chocolate lollipops, domestic violence awareness bracelets and T-shirts, Feb. 11-15, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., in Reamer. On Valentine’s Day, students can use their declining balances to make a donation in $5 increments.
Ninety percent of the proceeds from the show and merchandise sales benefit the Schenectady YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter. The rest goes to the national V-Day chapter’s charity of choice. This year, the money will benefit women in New Orleans who have been affected by the hurricanes.
For more information, visit http://www.vday.org.