University News
WIU to Present "The Vagina Monologues" and Documentary as Part of National 'V-Day'
February 11, 2008
MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University will present a benefit production of Eve Ensler's award-winning play "The Vagina Monologues" Thursday-Friday, February 14-15, and a benefit screening of the documentary "Until the Violence Stops" Saturday, Feb. 16 in celebration of V-Day's 10-year anniversary.
"The Vagina Monologues" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14 and Friday, Feb. 15 in the Horrabin Hall Theatre. Tickets are on sale at the Women's Center, 320 Seal Hall, and from cast and crew members. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for non-students, payable by cash or check to the Women's Center. Advance sales are encouraged, as tickets will be available at the door only if the performances do not sell out.
A screening of "Until the Violence Stops," a documentary about the V-Day Campaign, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16 in Morgan Hall 109. Tickets are $3 for non-students and $2 for students.
WIU's V-Day Campaign is sponsored by the Women's Center and the Feminist Action Alliance student organization. According to Women's Center graduate assistant Rebecca Groves, (Lodi, Wis.), who is coordinating this year's campaign and producing the play, all proceeds from the V-Day 2008 Campaign ticket and merchandise sales will go to local, national and international efforts to prevent violence against women and survivor support services.
"Both the play and the movie provide support for violence prevention in a unique way," Groves said. "The message is to empower women in the fight to end sexual violence."
Hailed by The New York Times as "funny" and "poignant," "The Vagina Monologues" was first performed off-Broadway by writer Eve Ensler. The play dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement of women's experiences.
"Until the Violence Stops," a one-hour documentary that follows the grassroots impact of V-Day in five international communities, begins at a star-studded V-Day benefit at Harlem's Apollo Theater and travels to regional events in Ukiah, Calif., the Philippines and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, culminating in the opening of the first V-Day Safe House for girls in Kenya. The film features appearances by Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek, Rosie Perez, and Isabella Rossellini among others.
Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of 'The Vagina Monologues' to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their communities. In 2007, V-Day benefits around the world raised more than $6 million.
To learn more about V Day at WIU, call 309/298-2242 or e-mail the organization at womenscenter@wiu.edu. To learn more about V Day and its campaigns, visit www.vday.org.
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Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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