SCSU women produce a hit with take on 'Vagina Monologues'

Tracy Ust

All those who partook in the usual Valentine's Day celebrations that included something along the lines of dinner for two and a lot of special time with your "pookums" missed out on one of the best dramatic performances this school has seen in a long time.

Seventeen SCSU women, mostly students, took the stage in Eve Ensler's ground-breaking play "The Vagina Monologues" Thursday and played to a nearly-full house in Kimberly A. Ritsche Auditorium.

The play, organized and directed by SCSU students Shireen Ghorbani and Nicole Asselin, consisted of around 12 monologues that ranged in any topic from orgasms to the "down there" taboo of our grandmother's days, from menstruation to reclaiming the term "cunt." Some people may have felt uncomfortable with such straight-forward content, but the majority of the audience laughed or cried right along with the funny, touching stories.

As a group, the cast performed some of the funniest parts of the "Monologues." They passed the microphone around, describing what their vaginas would wear if they dressed. Their answers caused the audience to roar with laughter: "A tutu. Armani. Something machine washable. A ball gown. Purple velvet pajamas."

While the group was outstanding, there were a few individuals who gave show-stopping performances solo.

Trista Schaub's attire (a black shirt with "CUNT" across the front) was enough to shock people, but her empowering monologue reclaiming the word proved to stir the audience to strong applause.

Adrece Thighman talked about "coochie snorcher" memories, good and bad, from childhood through adolescence. Just hearing her voice inflection when she said "coochie snorcher" was enough to make the audience roar with laughter in some parts and be stunned with silence in others.

The absolute funniest monologue of the entire show was Ghorbani's rendition of different ways women moan while having an orgasm. She excellently performed the Grace Slick moan (a loud rockstar-type note), the WASP moan (no noise at all) and the diva moan (a Mariah Carey-like high note that Ghorbani hit in true diva style).

Other monologues and factoids about female genital mutilation the the treatment of women in other countries such as Afghanistan made the audience gasp and think about important issues.

One line from the play was "Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas," and I have to admit that when my three girlfriends and I left the auditorium, that is all we talked about for the rest of the night. I just hope all of the other women in the audience had the same reaction that my friends and I did. It helped get out from under the shell of shyness with our "down there" areas and talk about the things that are important to women all over.

The performers � Kashimana Ahua, Lisa Sequin, Amanda Seelen, Melissa Thom, Rebekah Kothe, Abby Morris, Tracey White, Schaub, Cassie Jensen, Sharon Sobotta, Zoa Rockenstein, Ghorbani, Asselin, Kim Vanyo, Thighman, Allison True and Brenda Wentworth � all deserve around of applause.

The presentation was not one in vain, though. SCSU joined over 500 schools across the world that produced a local version as a part of what has become V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. All of the proceeds from SCSU's performance were donated to charity: to Anna Marie's Shelter for Battered Women, the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center and RAWA, which will help the women of Afghanistan.

It was wonderful to spend my Valentine's Day watching a nationally-known play and helping others.

I suggest anyone who can catch this show to do so, be it a local production like SCSU just offered or a professional performance in New York, Chicago Los Angeles or one of the traveling performances that is sweeping the country this spring (the nearest one is in Des Moines, Iowa April 1 - 7.)

If it is impossible to catch the show on the road, check out the book by the same title and author. It is essentially the script of the play with an excellent introduction by Gloria Steinem.

I can't wait until V-Day 2003.

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Tracy Ust can be reached at: [email protected]

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