What: Vagina Monologues
When: March 25 at 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $5 at the door, or can be bought in advance by going to the Student Center room 116
Ball State will continue its annual showing of the “Vagina Monologues” as part of Women’s Week. The show is co-produced by Feminists for Action and the Women and Gender Studies Department.
The show is a series of spoken pieces inspired by the interviews of Eve Ensler, a playwright and women’s activist. She interviewed hundreds of women across every spectrum, said Riley Gray, a senior psychology major.
“[Ensler] interviewed old women, young women, women of every race, every social standing,” Gray said. “She found common themes among their stories and put them together in the Vagina Monologues. She wanted to tell the world what it was like to be a woman.”
Topics involve motherhood, coming into one’s sexuality, who they are as a woman, reclaiming womanhood, rape/assault survivors and the life of a sex worker. There is even a piece solely about things that make women angry.
This year, there are about 20 women performing the pieces.
Gray said since she has been involved, this is the highest audition turnout she has seen with about 35-45 people. In the show, there are both individual pieces and pieces performed by groups of women.
Gray is the show’s production committee chair. She was in charge of creating a set and advertising for the event.
This is her fourth year being in the show; she has been a performer in the show since her freshman year. As soon as her first show was over, she was ready to go and do it again, she said.
“I was just coming into my understanding of women’s rights and advocacy,” Gray said. “I was impacted by all the women around me and the stories and messages. It was like the forming a sisterhood.”
Dayna Arnett, a junior biochemistry and pre-medicine major is the show’s director. She first became involved in the “Vagina Monologues” her sophomore year after seeing only seeing it her freshman year.
“The show was very moving,” Arnett said. “It was during the time when I was coming into who I was as a woman and a feminist. I saw they were having auditions and jumped on the opportunity.”
Arnett is also performing in the show. Her job as director included holding auditions, casting the show and deciding who would be performing what monologue.
The show has been performed in both John J. Pruis Hall or the L.A. Pittenger Student Center ballroom. The number of attendees normally depends on the venue, but Gray said she has seen the Student Center almost reach the max of 400 people.
Tickets are $5, and all proceeds go to the Muncie YWCA.
The purpose is to put on the show because they like what it has to say and the message it has for women, Gray said.
“This show has a really important message and if we can raise money at the same time then that’s an added bonus,” Gray said. “If we weren’t donating I would be fine doing the show for free. We’re telling stories about supporting women, while actually supporting women.”
Arnett said her biggest takeaway from being involved in the show is realizing being a woman is something truly beautiful.
“I feel like many women, especially college women, don’t recognize that,” Arnett said. “It’s such a beautiful experience—whether in pain, anger, love etc. Being a woman is truly amazing.”
The show will be at 7pm on March 25 in the Student Center ballroom. Doors open at 6pm.
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