By Megan Richardson
Arts Editor

Before February break, Bates put on its fourth annual performance of The Vagina Monologues as part of a national V-Day-sponsored campaign. The performance was made up a series of touching, humorous, and sometimes heart-wrenching stories, and was performed with a great deal of spirit and enthusiasm.

The set, which was designed by Andrew Haserlat, was simple and beautiful. The stage was garnished with red and white sashes and a gorgeous chandelier hanging in one corner of the stage. While the set was lovely, it did not distract the audience from the actors, who performed each monologue with incredible personality.

The actors portrayed a series of emotions. There were some very sad monologues, including “Hair,” performed by Amy Webb, “The Flood,” performed by Olga Osadchaya, the tear-inducing “My Vagina was my Village,” done by Martha Horan and Amanda Peters, and “The Memory of Her Face,” performed by Liz Brady, Migina Tsai, and Carolyn Myles. These monologues dealt with a variety of issues, dealing with insecurities women felt about their vaginas, as well as more serious issues of rape and abuse.

There were a handful of hysterical monologues as well: Amber Harris’s version of “My Angry Vagina” had the audience screaming with laughter, as did “Reclaiming Cunt,” performed by Sarah Kravitz, and “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy,” done perfectly by Taegan McMahon. “My Angry Vagina” was a rant about things that are annoying to women and their vaginas: tampons, gynecological visits, and thong underwear, to name a few. “Reclaiming Cunt” was an attempt to rid the word of all its negative connotations and reclaim it for women. “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” was funny because of its many impressions of moans. The comic relief was much needed and added to the overall enjoyment of the show.

There were also some very touching stories. “Because He Liked to Look At It,” performed by Rebecca Harrington, was an empowering tale of a woman growing to love her vagina. “The Little Coochi-Snorcher That Could,” flawlessly done by Christine Beckwith, started out as a sad tale of rape and humiliation but ended as an inspiring story of sexual pride and awakening. One of the evening’s final monologues, “I Was There in the Room,” performed by Iavora Daraktchieva, was a story of the awe inspired in one woman after witnessing the birth of a child. All of these monologues were beautifully acted and had something important to say about appreciating your own body.

The entire play was great. As Director Carolyn Miles said, “I’m very pleased with how this year’s performance went. All of the hard work on the part of the cast and crew most definitely paid off, and I’ve received nothing but positive feedback from various sources both within and outside of the Bates community. Our tech week was definitely a huge time commitment for everyone involved, but the end result was a beautiful production that far exceeded my initial expectations.”

As mentioned before, V-Day sponsored the production, and all of the proceeds – over four hundred dollars in total - went to that organization to help bring violence against women into the light and hopefully put an end to it. The performance here at Bates certainly helped bring these issues to the minds of students, and it was a lovely continuation of the tradition of bringing The Vagina Monologues to campus.

 

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