"Monologues" Premieres This Weekend

By Liz Wassman

"The Vagina Monologues" is back on campus this year, premiering in the Locatelli Activity Center on Saturday.

The show, which is in its seventh year at Santa Clara, consists of a series of monologues about issues that normally don't get discussed in public - namely, female sexuality in all its interpretations, from menstruation to rape, orgasms to childbirth.

The enthusiastic cast practiced lines at a recent rehearsal. Dressed in black, pink and red, they laughed at some of the raunchier lines in the script, good-naturedly acknowledging the sexual nature of their show while promoting an important message.

"It's a great way to give women a voice, and the monologues take me out of my comfort zone," said senior actress Elizabeth Tompkins.

Producer Amanda Dewey, a junior, echoed the sentiment, sharing how she has watched women gain confidence by talking about these crucial issues in public throughout her last three years working on production for the "Monologues."

This year, the show is bigger than ever. Thirty-four women are in the cast, and it is the production's second year in the Locatelli Activity Center.

According to Dewey, the advantage of the Locatelli Activity Center is that it is free to use, so all money from ticket sales can be donated directly to their two charities, HomeSafe Santa Clara and Women for Women International.

Two new monologues have been added to the show, one called "Over It," written by the show's original creator, Eve Ensler. "Over It" is also the theme of the show this year, referencing how women are "over" being judged by their sexuality.

Although the future is bright for the show at Santa Clara, this was not always the case.
When the show originally started here in 2007, conservative groups like the Cardinal Newman Society, which aims to renew and strengthen Catholic identity in Catholic higher education, protested the show being performed on a Jesuit campus.

In order to attract less attention, "Monologues" was moved from The Bronco to the California Mission Room and eventually moved off campus to the American Legion on Homestead Road.

Under the administration of President Michael Engh, S.J., the show was moved back onto the Santa Clara campus in 2010. The only condition was that Santa Clara cannot be listed as a place that hosts the "Monologues" on the website for V-Day, a global movement created by "Monologues" playwright Eve Ensler to stop violence against women and girls.

"I was pushed to audition my freshman year by my Creative Thinking and Writing (teaching assistant)." shared Dewey. "Although I originally had stage fright, I knew I wanted to be part of this."

Performances are this Saturday at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $10 in Benson this week.

Contact Liz Wassman at ewassman@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852.