Boyfriends and girlfriends won’t be the only ones showered with affection this Valentine’s Day. The UO Cultural Forum is making sure vaginas everywhere feel loved this week, when it showcases “The Vagina Monologues.”
Cultural Forum Performing Arts Coordinator Windy Borman called the play a collection of interviews author Eve Ensler conducted with women from all over the world about their vaginas.
“It’s a topic that anyone can relate to in one way or another, whether you have a vagina or know someone that has a vagina,” Borman said.
Performances will be 8 p.m. Feb. 13-15 in the EMU Ballroom. Tickets for Thursday’s showing and opening night gala are $10 for students and $12 general admission, available at the UO Ticket Office. Tickets are $6
for students and $8 general admission the other
two nights.
Borman was able to bring the play to the University because of the V-Day organization, which makes the play available royalty-free for campus groups if profits are donated to organizations working to end violence against women. Proceeds from the University shows will benefit Womenspace, Sexual Assault Support Services and the ASUO Women’s Center.
Although this is the fourth consecutive year the Cultural Forum is presenting the show, it is the first year “Monologues” will be performed as part
of V-Week.
Workshops will discuss topics such as how to support friends or family in abusive relationships and compare reproductive rights in European countries and the United States.
Three visual arts events are happening in conjunction with V-Week. “The Clothesline Project,” where sexual assault survivors create T-shirts, will be on display in the Maple Room. The Ballroom will host “Silent Witness” — a collection of red wooden silhouettes of survivors. “Palpable Pleasures,” an exhibit of touchable artwork about women’s sexuality, will be in the Gumwood Room.
“Local and international artists have submitted artwork that is somehow a palpable pleasure,” Borman said.
This year is also the first time men are being allowed to perform in “Monologues.”
“The organization realized that you can’t just ask women to end violence,” Borman said. “It’s a necessary cooperation for achieving the goals of V-Day.”
Ben Storey and Dominic Passarelli wrote a monologue to perform together. Both men said participating in the monologues has raised their awareness about violence against women.
“It opened my eyes even more to how much of a problem violence against women is,” Passarelli said.
Recent University graduate and fellow performer Kat Reese said being involved in the production has opened her eyes too.
“It’s been intense,” Reese said. “I’ve learned a lot in this process, about myself and other women.”
Borman said she expects the viewers to learn from the experience as well.
“I hope the audience walks away having an enjoyable, entertaining experience, as well as learning ways they can get involved to help make a change,” she said. “Only by working together can we start the vulva-lution.”