Union students are again supporting the global V-Day campaign to end violence against women and girls with their own production of “The Vagina Monologues.”
The award-winning play, which was written by Eve Ensler, celebrates women’s sexuality and strength. Three performances, all open to the public, will be given in Old Chapel on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $7 in advance and $9 at the door.
“Each year, the V-Day campaign spotlights a different women’s issue around the world,” said Meagan Keenan ’09, who is producing the play. “This year, Eve Ensler has focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a civil war has ravaged the nation and led to the rape and sexual assault of thousands of women.”
Ten percent of the proceeds earned through the play’s production will go to the national V-Day chapter. The remaining money will benefit the Schenectady YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter.
“I hope to beat last year’s fundraising goal of $2,400 this year,” Keenan said. “If we do, we will have donated almost $10,000 to the YWCA in the four years since we brought the production to campus.”
This year’s production of “The Vagina Monologues,” which is entirely student-run and sponsored by the Women’s Union, features a cast of 15 students. Sami Zayas ’10 is the director.
Keenan is proud of the work she and her peers are doing to present a play that reaches so far beyond the stage on which it’s performed.
“The show, for me, is not only about raising awareness of women’s issues, but also about forming lasting relationships with the women beyond Union’s gates who live these struggles every day,” she said.
Tickets are on sale this week in the Reamer Campus Center. For additional information, e-mail Keenan at keenanm@union.edu.
To learn more about V-Day, click here.