Vagina Monologues survives Jesuit campus

By Liz Weeker

Despite attempts made by a conservative religious group to prevent a production of The Vagina Monologues at Santa Clara, an all female cast delivered an "empowering" performance in the California Mission Room last month.

The crowd was so packed opening night, people had to be turned away from the doors just minutes before the production began.

"I call it cunt. I'm reclaiming it," one actor said during her monologue.

"We had people coming up to us after the show saying, 'I've never been prouder to be a woman,' " said Francesca McKenzie, one of the show's student producers, who said the show was a success.

Performing the monologues may have been a dream realized for the show's organizers, but preserving student authority over the contested project throughout the production process wasn't easy. Nearly three weeks before the show's first night, the university placed restrictions on the promotion of the play because its content contradicts Catholic teachings. No part of the play, however, was censored.

The Vagina Monologues is a performance based upon Eve Enseler's book, a collection of stories written to celebrate women's sexuality.

The topics explored and language used in the monologues has received flak from conservatives on a national scale. Only a few weeks ago, high school students in New York faced suspension for using the word "vagina" while delivering a performance of the monologues at their school.

When McKenzie and Lauren Austin decided they wanted to bring the performance to Santa Clara, they anticipated some resistance, given the script's blunt nature and the fact that the show would be performed on a Catholic college campus.

But the organizers were initially surprised that during much of the production process they heard few complaints and received little direction from the university. It seemed they would have complete creative control. Then, several weeks before the performance, administrators made the decision to change the venue for "educational" reasons and applied a list of restrictions.

"The content of the play in some ways is contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church," said Jim Briggs, assistant to the president. The play's controversy was under discussion for some time, he added.

University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., received complaints from the Cardinal Newman Society concerning the monologues.

The society, a group dedicated to preserving Catholic values on college campuses, had a 2006 campaign to prevent performances of the "morally offensive" play at all Catholic universities.

One condition applied to the performance was intended to give the show a more educational context. The show was bookended first by former provost Denise Carmody, who introduced the monologues by explaining the Catholic Church's perspective on the performance. It was closed by Michael Zampelli, S.J., a professor for the theatre and dance department, who led a discussion about the show's controversy.

"We weren't opposed to it," Laura Brown, an organizer, said of the bookends. "It's just that the university kept springing all of these new rules on us."

According to Presidential Fellow Mike Harvey, the Center for Student Leadership club advisor and manager of The Bronco, one reason the show was moved from The Bronco to the California Mission Room in downstairs Benson Memorial Center was to preserve the "social hangout" atmosphere intended for The Bronco. An educational performance like the monologues would require the "astute" attention of all its audience and could turn students off from social activities, he said.

But as McKenzie explained, the performance was moved to downstairs Benson, to prevent people from taking the show "out of context" as they walked by The Bronco.

"Obviously, there are other factors," Harvey said. "We want to find out how can we balance our role as a Catholic university with wanting to provide different perspectives."

In addition to the bookends and change of venue, organizers were also prohibited from advertising outside of the university and were asked to disband their Facebook group. Harvey said there was concern that oppositional groups from the community could attend the performance and create a "hostile atmosphere." Today, typing "The Vagina Monologues" into the Santa Clara's Web site does not turn up any results. The performance was never included in the campus event calendar.

Despite the limitations placed on the show, organizers were pleased with the results. "We are so thankful that Fr. Locatelli allowed us to do this on campus," said McKenzie. She also said there were about 150 more people in attendance than expected.

Proceeds from performances go towards the nonprofit group V-Day, which is dedicated to ending violence against women around the world. Santa Clara's show raised approximately $2,700.

Contact Liz Weeker at (408) 554-4546 or eweeker@scu.edu.