'Learning curves'

The stage is dimly lit, and a group of young women move into view. They are dressed in black, moving quietly and confidently, and they strike individual poses on the floor.  “I was worried about what we think about vaginas, and I was even more worried that we don’t think about them,” says one of the actresses, weaving in between her counterparts as she speaks.

It is this sentiment that has propelled The Vagina Monologues from a small arts centre in New York City into theatres around the world – and into the public consciousness. The famous play, written by Eve Ensler in 1996, has been performed constantly since, to audiences made up of men, women, and children, and has become one of the most controversial and yet well-known pieces in modern theatre.

The play is performed as a fundraiser for V-day, an organization started by Ms. Ensler that seeks to raise awareness of violence against women and girls. This is one of many years it has been performed at Dalhousie, and it opened to a full house on February 16th in the McInnes Room.

Director Ashley Alberg, a second-year double major in acting and Gender and Women’s Studies, had actually never seen the play before she decided to take on directing it, but has trained in theatre all her life, and fell in love with the script as soon as she read it. “It’s been intense. A lot of learning curves,” she says of her first-time directing experience.

“The girls are all so strong and dedicated. They could forget all their lines and all their movements, and still be brilliant, because they care.”

Since the play is one that is staged each year, Ms. Alberg decided to change the format slightly this time around by incorporating movement theatre into the performances. Each actress was responsible for creating movements that would correspond to their characters.

That aspect was challenging, admits performer Erin Landry, but most challenging of all was being on stage for the first time ever. “The girls were so wonderful before each performance, when I was so scared,” she says, admitting that her friends and family were shocked to hear she was taking part in the play. As a student of social work, however, some of the very real and poignant issues in the play hit home for her. “I’m really interested in issues of social justice,” she says. “Plus, the play is fun. Women truly don’t have a forum to talk about their vaginas.”

Fellow cast member Emilia Volz agrees. The first year Gender and Women’s studies student has been a big fan of the play for years, although it was her first time performing in it.

“I’ve seen it six times before,” she laughs. “It brings up a lot of issues around sexual harassment, and makes them very real. On the flip side, it’s also celebrating female sexuality.”

Ms. Volz had also never acted before, but has taught sexual health in the past, so was comfortable with the subject matter. “It was just being in front of a bunch of people and my dad that was nerve wracking,” she says.

One of the most powerful moments comes at the end of the play, when the emcee asks everyone who has been or knows someone who has been sexually assaulted to rise. When over half of the audience is standing, it is in that moment that the continuing relevance of the Vagina Monologues becomes clear.

“It just shows how far we still have to go to show that sexual assault is not OK,” says Ms. Alberg. “The Vagina Monologues are a good way of making people more comfortable, but also to get them thinking and talking about these issues.”

“I think it’s a show you must see whether or not you have a vagina, and whether or not you are comfortable with it,” she adds. “In fact, especially if you aren’t comfortable with it.”