Vagina Monologues Play Tonight at Seaver
By Chris Meyer
A&F Associate

The Vagina Monologues returns tonight to the Claremont Colleges for its fourth incarnation, hoping to repeat its successes of the last few years. Though the Obie Award-winning play has sold out past performances, many of us have never made the hike down to Seaver Theater to join in the experience.

I myself am one of those people, and, as a blue-eyed, blonde-haired white mail from Middle America, I faced the idea of sitting in on a Vagina Monologues rehearsal with some trepidation. Though I had no idea of the actual plot, the name itself conjured up mental images of militant feminists taking back the night by any means necessary, perhaps getting ready to feast on my chauvinistic bones once they'd gotten me inside their headquarters. But then my rational side got hold of me again and I remembered that many males have gone to see The Vagina Monologues without appearing to lose any vital organs, so I summoned up what little courage I had and went through with it.

The worst thing that happened was a split-second odd look or two when I arrived. The tension quickly dissipated once I explained my journalistic mission. The main cast is a diverse, well-rounded collection of young women primarily from Scripps, but including representatives from Pomona, CMC and Pitzer. Most of the actresses have never taken part in a Vagina Monologues performance before, but even at this rough-cut rehearsal it was obvious that the cast has enough skill to carry the show regardless of past experience.

The show itself is made up of roughly thirty short monologues (some involving multiple actresses) that each deal in some way with that feminine body part of which we're all so fond. Most of these were written by Eve Ensler, who gathered her material from interviews with hundreds of women on their sex lives. The result is something akin to a kaleidoscope of female experiences, including uplifting encounters of sexual discovery, morose tales of rape victims here and across the globe, vagina facts both good and bad, lots of moaning, and, yes, a scene in which you get to yell "CUNT!" as loud as your lungs will allow you. There's a little something for everyone, though it's best experienced as a whole.

Despite its popularity, Vagina Monologues continues to face some opposition on campus. Several advertisements have been removed repeatedly from certain areas, and many students simply refuse to watch the "racy" material. But the performers see the play as all the more vital because of these obstacles: "People should know that those who are most afraid of coming are the ones who really have the most reason to come," said Nichole Rathert SC '06.

"I'm not way out there," said Laura Adrian SC '06. "I'm not a total lesbian or anything, I'm kind of a middle-of-the-road person. But I saw Vagina Monologues and I really connected with it, and I think it's important for others to be able to do the same."

Although virgins to the play are greatly desired, those familiar with it are encouraged to come back. Even if you've seen the play before, even if you've memorized every part, there's still reason for you to attend Vagina Monologues this year: "in addition to the ones already written by Eve Ensler," explained director Lindsay Fendrich SC '03, "this year we're also performing two new monologues written by members of the cast, including one from our first male member of the group." The two monologues focus on the topic of "a world without violence against vaginas," and one comes from the male perspective of Patrick Kieffer PI '03.

"I play the part of a character whose father has been imprisoned for rape," Kieffer said. "Much of his life has been shaped as a result of condemned violence, so he's very anti-violence as a result." Although it was Ensler who requested the addition of a male perspective, Kieffer himself wrote it and hopes the addition will help appeal to a wider audience.

"I think that whenever one sex creates something that pertains entirely to that sex," Kieffer said, "it leaves room for ridicule from the opposite sex. The fact that there's now a male in the cast should be an invitation for males to come and watch; they're more welcome this year than any before."

If the rehearsal was any indication, Vagina Monologues is bound to please just about any type of audience. It's fun, depressing, intelligent, shocking, cathartic and chaotic; there's no real one way to describe it. Just go and see it for yourself; tickets are only $7, though profits will be donated to local charities such as the Walter Hoving Home in Pasadena, and CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in Los Angeles). There's really no reason not to spend part of your Valentine's Day evening watching Vagina Monologues; as Chelsea Coleman PI '05 put it, "It'll make girls appreciate vaginas, and it'll make guys want to have them."