So what do Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Joke Silva, Rita Dominic, Kate Henshaw, Kate Winslet, Ireti Doyle, Funmi Iyanda, Melanie Griffith, Omonor Imobhio, Iyabo Amoke and Meryl Streep have in common? You are right is you guessed that they, along with thousands of other women the world over, actresses and celebrities alike, have at one time or the other, performed on stage, portions of The Vagina Monologues.
The title of the play itself is bound to jolt you and Eve Ensler’s world famous play has raised a storm, both positively and negatively since its debut in 1996. Based on interviews with women from all over the world and first starting as a one-woman off-Broadway play performed by the author herself, it has grown into a worldwide movement with its own special day.
The Vagina Monologues are the cornerstone of the V-Day movement, whose participants stage benefit performances of the show worldwide each year between February 1st and March 8th (International Women's Day) or, in the case of this year’s Nigerian version, March 14, 17 and 21. The "V" in V-Day stands for Valentine, Vagina, and Victory, linking love and respect for women to ending violence against women and girls. The proceeds from these performances go to programs that work to end violence against women and girls, including crisis centers and women's shelters.
The Nigerian version
Last year, for the first time, the V-Day movement came to Nigeria, with Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) hosting and Lufodo Productions producing a play that had the likes of Funmi Iyanda, Funlola Aofiyebi, Elvina Ibru, Joke Silva, Ireti Doyle and a host of others performing its monologues. Those who saw the very successful play and have been waiting with bated breath for its return will be glad to know that the show is back with some new cast members, a new director and a new vision. Saturday Sun spoke some of the old and new cast members at their rehearsals recently.
Ireti Doyle
For Ireti, the power of the play lies in the subject it so aggressively tackles.
“What makes this play so strong has to be the theme, which is about stopping violence against women, be it rape, battering, just violence in any form. Remember that the V-Day movement is a global one, so these performances we are staging here are attached to a worldwide movement.”
She adds that every part of the play has something in it which every woman can find a piece of herself. “I think all of it can resonate with you as a woman, because of your experiences. When you hear the experiences of those in the play, you can project yourself on most of it.
I related a lot because some of it were things I also experienced.”
Though this year’s production has a new director, Ireti believes it would be as successful as last year’s. “Both of them have different takes, different flavours. It’s like having different flavours of the same ice-cream. You can’t really compare and say one is better, they are both different. That won’t stop it from being successful.”
Joke Silva
She combines acting in the play with the nerve-wracking job of also being its producer. Rather than be bogged down by all that work, she finds being involved in the project quite liberating. “I find the transformation of the violation of women into this medium, where it can be brought to the awareness of people in a way they can relate to it, is really brilliant. We have all kinds of literature and figures that talk about the statistics of violence against women, but it is almost like it doesn’t involve people when you talk in figures and people really can’t relate to it, it doesn’t involve their hearts and minds. But with this medium, it becomes hard-hitting because you can see the human beings behind the figures.”
She says it is not hard, as a woman, to relate to most of the monologues in the play. “I think you’ll find for every woman, you understand the emotions the play is talking about. You can really say, yes, I’ve been through that. Even then, maybe when that happened to you, you didn’t know how to respond. It’s like you now have an outlet for those feelings that really didn’t go away after it happened.”
Criticisms
There have always been criticisms from various quarters on certain aspects of the play. Some critics have declared the play too feminist. Silva chuckles when you mention this point. “We live in a chauvinistic society, we are consciously or unconsciously being informed on chauvinistic views. I don’t think it’s a crime if once in a while we get to see the feminine view. But any man who is confident in his maleness should really not be afraid to hear the female voice. We are supposed to complement each other and a chauvinistic world view really can’t be a complete one.”
She adds that she understands why the topic of the play seems to get so many people’s hackles up. “It’s so controversial because these are issues we never like to confront and we now have a play that brings it to the public arena so boldly. Before, you probably discussed it with your girlfriends over dinner or coffee, but never in the public domain, so people are uncomfortable with that. But I think bringing it out into the public arena like this can be very unifying. Rather than talking about it in small groups, bringing it to the public shows you that these are experiences millions of women have had. The monologues are based on interviews from women all over the world and that is like saying, hey, you’re not alone.”
Rita Dominic
Being of the movie industry’s most recognizable faces, Rita Dominic is better known for her home video performances rather her work on stage. Yet one of the new faces in the cast says stage is her first love, though she hasn’t been on it since leaving university 9 years ago. “The stage is very challenging for me because it is so different from making a movie. When you are on stage there, you’re on your own, you get just one chance, you don’t get a second take, there are no technical enhancements either. But I love it because like I said, it is my first love.”
The fact that she wanted to do something on stage collided with also wanting to be part of those speaking about women’s issues and thus led to her becoming part of the cast. “I love the topic because it deals with issues. It’s a very deep play. I won’t really say that I’ve necessarily experienced any of the things talked about in the play, but these are things that happen to women you know and love and you know they are unhappy about it. I have had people around me who have had to deal with these same issues.”
Challenges
Being in such high demand in the home video industry means that she faces a peculiar challenge, that of having to combine daily rehearsals for the show with current movie commitments. “It’s been very challenging combining my regular acting with this because I have to shuttle between sets and try to extricate myself from the movie I was working on to get into the mode for stage. But I’m managing well, I think because this is worth it. This is something few people get the opportunity to do.”
Omonor Imobhio
For many who saw the play last year, Omonor Imobhio was the stand out act of the piece with her interpretation of her monologues, including probably the most controversial, The Little Coochy Snorcher that Could. She believes she and that particular monologue are a match made in heaven.
“Of all the sections of the play, I’m really partial to the Little Coochy. I just grew to love it, because it had so much spirit, it had the right amount of attitude. I really felt her pain, I could relate to her, from things I’ve seen, I’ve experienced.”
Omonor takes the controversies the play and its name generate all in her stride, with the experiences from last year being a good confidence builder.
“The name of the play makes people curious or shocked sometimes and they come expecting to see something else. But most of the audience went away with something else, they went away better educated about these issues. A friend of mine who is a man said it helped him understand how the mind of women works better. It is like women have been saying these things for years but he only now understood from watching the play. Finally he gets it. They go away with more than they bargained for. Having people see the play as a controversial one or a feminist play, I’m not afraid of that. Whatever negativity that goes with it is outweighed by the good it does.”
Meeting the sisters
She says she has enjoyed having the opportunity to meet and interact with the other cast members. “I really enjoyed the rehearsals, getting to meet all these women. We all blended from the first day, it was like we had been friends forever. It was amazing. The reason I decided to be part of it this year was the same reason I wanted to be part of it last year and that’s because I wanted to be among the women speaking out about women’s causes.”
Another thing she’s thrilled about is the direction the new director, Ifeoma Fafunwa is giving to the play. “Last year we were in black, but this year the director wants different colours to suit each mood in the play. She’s bringing it closer to home, making it more Nigerian. She’s trying to make the actors speak and react to the play in ways Nigerians would react. She’s bringing in African drums and sound effects.”
Iyabo Amoke
You could say she’s now an old hand at this, having been in the cast from last year. Iyabo Amoke also has the experience from last year of how people reacted to the play. But rather than see the title itself as controversial, she believes this is what makes it so powerful.
“This is a powerful title, one that makes people stop and take notice. Every woman and I dare say every man has been affected in one way or the other by the issues discussed in this play. When you go around the world, these issues are the same for all women, regardless of their race and I think that’s why this play has become a worldwide phenomenon.”
She adds that the shock the play uses would really be difficult to tone down, since these are real experiences.
“I think the play needs to be so hard hitting because of the issues that it tackles. It’s so sad that women have to go through such pain for whatever reason. I personally think it’s currently an epidemic that has to be dealt with.”
A healing playShe views it more as a work that promotes healing, rather than destruction.
“I see it more as a healing play. You know in South Africa, they had the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were people came forward to speak about the pain they had gone through and those who caused their pain came forward to say why they did the things they did or to ask for forgiveness.
There’s a lot of healing in speaking out. A lot of women who came to the performance last year were healed in the sense that they found out that things they had gone through, others had gone through them too. I would love to see the same technique used in talking about these issues that women face. Some people don’t know it is wrong to treat women in a certain way. But it’s a good thing these issues are now being discussed on a worldwide stage.”
After it’s first performance at the Muson Centre on March 14, 2007, the play moves to Planet One Maryland this evening, March 17, 2007 and returns again to Muson Centre on Wednesday, 21st of March for its final show for the year. These ladies will be there, inhabiting these stories, hoping to bring them to life and add their contribution to helping to bring an end to violence against women.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpage...3-2007-001.htm
, I also had a good laugh too, not bad at all. I recommend the Vagina Monologues to both men and women who I'm sure will enjoy it.
Dreaming is half the getting there 
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