A lot of press has been splashed across the pages of our papers regarding the apparently controversial Vagina Monologues. (Yes, I wrote vagina.) The play which has been in production for ten years now is based on true interviews with all types of women all over the country. Black, White, Japanese, Islamic, gay, straight, old, young, Jewish, Hispanic, married, single and just about any variety of which you can think.
The show is based on these interviews and is in a series of vignettes. The sets and costumes are simple which have added to the success of playing off-Broadway types of venues. I must tell you that some of the vignettes are shocking, powerful, and amazingly poignant. Knowing that the content has been written from actual fellow female voices makes the pieces even more amazingly important.
Did I mention that I am in the show? I think I may have skipped that part. The scene that I am in is very powerful. It is about the Japanese Comfort Women of WWII. I had never heard their story until I auditioned for the show. These women were taken from their homes as young girls with promises of being able to have jobs with wages and bring their families honor. And in return they had their self respect stripped from their souls in addition to many other horrors detailed in the show. This scene ends with a simple request. For the Japanese government to tell these women they are sorry before the comfort women die. (Most of the women still alive are 70-90 years old now.) I don't want to give the scene's essence away too much, but this is powerful stuff!
My scene is just a sample of what the entire show is about. Yes, its a show about women. What is wrong with that? A wise man recently told me that you can turn on the television and see stuff MUCH worse than the content of this play. I certainly can't argue with that. I really feel the show empowers women to feel okay about being a woman and all that it entails. What does it truly mean to be a woman? How many men or women can honestly say they've delved into the matter? I feel the show has been enlightening for me personally and I would love to share the experience with you.
VDay.org is a national movement supported by the Vagina Monologues on Valentines Day to benefit women's causes across the world. Not only will you be supporting family violence prevention in our valley by coming to see the show, perhaps you will open your mind just a little bit more about what it truly means to be a woman.
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