Getting to Know the Vagina
"The Vagina Monlogues" will be performed in Don Powell Theatre March 4-6.
Each year, activists around the globe perform for a common cause with a "shocking" name.
The common cause is V-Day, where ‘V’ stands for victory, valentine and vagina, and it strives to end violence against women and girls. The movement is based on the award-winning play The Vagina Monologues, founded and written by the playwright, performer and prominent activist Eve Ensler.
Ensler traveled the world and interviewed women about their experiences with their vagina. SDSU will host three performances of The Vagina Monologues March 4-6. Ninety percent of the funds raised from the performances will go to License to Freedom, a San Diego non-profit organization that promotes nonviolence through education and advocacy, and provides services for those who have been victims of violence.
“It’s important to be aware of what’s going on and to make it known that things are going on,” said student Jasmin Jakobsen, producer of SDSU's V-Day performances. “It’s a reality, all around us; it’s happening everywhere.”
In addition to the money raised for the local beneficiary, 10 percent will go to women and girls in Haiti, as part of the V-Day Spotlight Campaign. Each year, the spotlight campaign selects a region of the world that needs assistance in the fight against violence toward women and girls.
Jakobsen guaranteed that attendees “will laugh, probably cry and will definitely experience something (they’ve) never felt before, which is a feeling of empowerment.”
“I don’t think I’ve meet anyone in my life who doesn’t know somebody who has been abused, whether it’s sexually, physically, mentally or emotionally,” Jakobsen said.
According to Jakobsen, V-Day raised $20,000 last year. This year, the SDSU group is raising the bar and aiming for a fundraising goal of $25,000.
Victory, Valentine and Vagina Day
With a cast of 14, The Vagina Monologues performances will be held in the Don Powell Theatre. While the theater seats 500 people, Jakobsen said the show sold out last year, and turned attendees away.
Show times and dates for the three performances include:
- 8 p.m., Friday, March 4
- 8 p.m., Saturday, March 5
- 2 p.m., Sunday, March 6
Tickets are $17 at the door and can be purchased in advance through Friday for $15 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the V-Day table on Centennial Walkway.
According to Vday.org, more than 5,400 V-Day various benefit events were presented around the globe in 2010.
Flesh of the monologues
In the play, there will be a total of 12 monologues. One of Jakobsen’s favorite monologues is “The Flood.”
“Once you get deeper into it (the story), you hear the actual story of what is going on with this woman,” Jakobsen said. “It’s so compelling and heart wrenching to hear what she actually went through."
“Yet, it's told in a way where you can still laugh about it at a moment, and then you can also be serious about it.”
For more information, contact Jasmin Jakobsen at [email protected].
