 "Photo: Glenn Mire/Scottsdale Chronicle")
It’s late Monday night and ASU students are hard at work bringing the characters from "The Vagina Monologues" to life.
"The Vagina Monologues" is an award-winning play by Eve Ensler consisting of a series of monologues related to the vagina on various topics such as sex, birth, masturbation and rape.
Jessica Mishaga, an actress, reads the monologue, “Because he liked to look at it” in the play.
“Frankly what got me involved with V-Day was abuse by a man,” Mishaga confides hesitantly. Mishaga said that acting in the play as well as volunteering to raise awareness about women abuse issues has helped her with the healing process.
Since its original production in 1998, "The Vagina Monologues" has inspired a movement, which has come to be known as V-Day. In what has evolved into the “college campaign,“ various college campuses across the nation step up every year and put on their own productions of the play, run entirely by students.
ASU was one of the first schools to get involved and is gearing up for their 11th year.
This year’s producer of the play, recent ASU graduate Tuesday Mahrle, explains, “V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions.” Mahrle fell in love with the play after seeing it her freshman year and has volunteered for the movement for five years.
All proceeds of the play will be donated to A New Leaf, a local woman’s shelter that is strapped for cash.
“By far the most gratifying part is handing over a $15,000 check to a women‘s shelter that is hanging on by a shoestring,” says Mahrle.
The “V” in V-Day has three meanings: valentine, vagina, and victory. The ultimate goal of V-Day is to put an end to violence against women and extinguish the fear that accompanies the violence.
“I am an official vagina warrior; we all try to help out equally to make the effort possible,” says Tiffany Duening, an ASU student and volunteer in the V-Day effort.
“The cause we fight for affects us all. Everyone knows a woman or girl who has been raped or abused and we see it every day in the media, how could we not do anything to stop it?” asks Duening.
Tickets are available Feb. 5 and cost $12 for students. Visit www.asuvday.com for more information.
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