Why I’ll never leave the V-Day cult (+ Toronto show info)
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The ladies of the V-Day Toronto production team write the loveliest rejection emails. They thank you for auditioning, compliment you, tell you that hundreds auditioned for very few roles and unfortunately they couldn’t find one for you, and strongly encourage you to try again next year. They tell you that your date with V-Day will come, that you’re fabulous, and to keep your spirits up. But an uplifting let-down is still a let-down and after being rejected two years in a row, I was devastated. I closed my email and attempted to get ready, only to end up feeling defeated and crying on my boyfriend’s shoulder, wondering why I even audition every year.
My first audition for The Vagina Monologues was in 2004 (my first year of university) without having seen the show or knowing anything about it. I knew that it was a play with the word “vagina” in the title, that it discussed sexuality/gender, and that it raised money to stop violence against women and girls. Eager to make a lasting impression, I chose the most obscene selection at my audition: “Reclaiming Cunt.” I read it in a plain phonetic manner, not realizing that “cunt” is usually sounded out like a building orgasm. The producers were very nice and that must explain how I made the cast. My experience that year led me to audition for and co-direct the show a few years later. In total, I’ve perfomed in university productions of The Vagina Monologues three times and despite my general love of theatre, it’s the only show I audition for every year. After moving to Toronto, I started trying out for the city’s V-Day productions and realized just how important being involved had become to me and why.
Being in a V-Day production is an experience that sticks.
Organizers call V-Day a cult (the good kind of cult, of course), because once you’re in, you never leave. They say it’s addictive. And they’re right, but it isn’t because of the thrill of performance or the swollen ego. What makes it special is the people you meet; being emotionally connected with what you’re performing; knowing that you’re a part of something global and meaningful. I didn’t fall into a pit of despair because I wanted to be on stage or because my ego was bruised. I had an unusually strong emotional reaction because I wanted to be a part of it so badly. So I’m ecstatic about being cast in this year’s production of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer.
The year I co-directed The Vagina Monologues, we had a woman ask if she could audition for “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” a piece in which a woman recalls a series of traumatic sexual memories: being punched in the crotch, tearing her vagina on a bedpost, and being raped by a friend of her father’s. She told us that it was her story and she would love to perform it. Some women read monologues they’d written themselves. Later, more cast members told their own stories of abuse and recovery, what they’ve learned, how they related to their pieces. Watching the show that first night was incredible. There were all these women up there telling their stories, or stories so much like their own or someone they knew.
At last week’s meet and greet for the V-Day 2010 cast, there was similar sharing. Two women talked about surviving rape and how much time it took for them to be able to tell other people without shame. Another woman told us that her mom had been a victim of rape. The woman beside me revealed that she had experienced domestic abuse. It became clear that no one in the room was there to add to their resume, but to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
It’s that feeling that keeps me, us, coming back.
This year, the V-Day Spotlight is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where sexual violence is used as a war weapon by several groups. A percentage of the proceeds from all shows will go to the DRC project as well as one local organization (more details are under show info).
The Vagina Monologues
A poignant and hilarious tour of the last frontier, the ultimate forbidden zone, The Vagina Monologues is a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery. In this stunning phenomenon that has swept the globe, Eve Ensler gives us real women’s stories of intimacy, vulnerability, and sexual self-discovery. Celebrated as the bible for a new generation of women, The Vagina Monologues has been performed in cities all across the world through both the Worldwide & College compaigns. It inspired a dynamic grassroots movement – V-Day – with goal of ending violence against women.
March 13 & 14 at The Capitol Event Theatre
Proceeds go to: V-Day Spotlight and the YWCA
Tickets: $21 adult, $16 student, available here
A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer
…is a groundbreaking collection of writings and monologues by world-renowned figures, commissioned by V-Day for the first Until The Violence Stops festival which took place in June 2006 in NYC. The collection, edited by Eve Ensler, brings the issue of violence against women and girls to the forefront of our consciousness. These diverse voices rise up in a collective roar to break open, expose, and examine the insidiousness of brutality, neglect, exploitation or “just a little put-down”. MMRP is Michael Cunningham on self-mutilation, Kathy Najimy on junior high and Edward Albee on S&M.
These writings are inspired, funny, angry, heartfelt, tragic, and gorgeous. But above all, together they create a true and profound portrait of this issue’s effect on every one of us. A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer is an unabashed and disturbingly beautiful look at violence against women and a shout out to the world to demand an end to it. And for the first time onstage, some of those shouting are men.
March 20 & 21 in the cabaret space at Buddies in Bad Times
Proceeds go to: V-Day Spotlight and METRAC
Tickets: $21 adult, $16 student, available here
There will also be two workshops: Wonder of Women and V-Men, details for which will be available soon.
