” Despite the fact that this is the fourth consecutive year the University of Akron has performed The Vagina Monologues the organizers expect a bigger audience than ever before. One reason for the continued interest: vaginas. Not to be crass, but it’s taboo and it attracts people, Alyssa Berthiaume, an organizer of the event, said.”
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Despite the fact that this is the fourth consecutive year the University of Akron has performed The Vagina Monologues the organizers expect a bigger audience than ever before.
One reason for the continued interest: vaginas.
Not to be crass, but it’s taboo and it attracts people, Alyssa Berthiaume, an organizer of the event, said. Beyond that, though, people come to support the women in their lives and work to end violence against women.
The Vagina Monologues is more than a performance. It is part of a 12-year international event called V-Day that works to end violence against women. The performances, which occur in 120 countries, donate 90 percent of their proceeds to a local organization and 10 percent to the larger organization V-day.
Akron’s chosen local center is the Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina County. Last year the event raised $4,000 that was directly donated to the center. The organizers hope for a larger turnout and a larger donation this year for the center.
The University’s performers typify the diversity of the community. Many are students, some are graduate assistants, others are professors and one even teaches at the university preschool. All are drawn to the performance because they express the stories of women and support an important cause.
Ann Switocz-Cohen, a head preschool teacher at the university center, is performing in the Monologues for the first time. She performs a powerful version of the Say It monologue, retelling the story of the all but forgotten Comfort Women, alongside Dr. Heather Burton, professor in the Pan-African department.
I was part of the audience a couple of years ago, and I thought how much fun that would be and how interesting. To be with women who are all passionate about the same cause, Switocz-Cohen said.
Her scene partner, Burton, has performed in the last three Monologues and normally performs multiple roles.
What keeps prompting me? I had heard of The Vagina Monologues and never participated. When I heard that there was one on campus I thought I would audition.
It’s for a good cause. It’s another of those topics that are taboo – that we don’t like to talk about. Puts it out there and lets the audience find out what’s going on through monologues, Burton said.
Kameka Fullwood said the raw performances are another reason for the show’s enduring popularity. Because the cast is comprised of a variety of women of all ages, races and professions, some with acting experience and some without, the performance is both powerful and authentic.
Eve Ensler, the Tony award winning author of The Vagina Monologues and founder of V-Day, compiled the monologues from hundreds of interviews with real women who expressed their real experiences.
Each year Ensler adds a monologue designed to spotlight a new story, a new female experience. This year, The Spotlight Monologue concerns the lives of the women living in the Congo who are victims of rape.
The Spotlight Monologue allows each performance to be new and different from the last and addresses concerns that modern women face today.
The scope of V-Day is global but the event also focus on the local and the personal.
For the first time, The Monologues will be performed at EJ Thomas Hall as part of its Stage Door series. The organizers of the event hope that the new venue will bring out a wider audience.
You’d be surprised about the audience, Fullwood said. You’d think it would be mostly women, but men come on dates to support the women in their lives. It’s an effort to stop violence against women, and it’s important to have the men in their lives as support.
In addition to the performance, there will be a raffle. The performance is Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.
General admission tickets are $10 and student tickets are $5.
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