THIS WEEKEND'S VAGINA MONOLOGUES PERFORMANCES
RAISE AWARENESS, FUNDS AS PART OF V-DAY

"V-Day" will arrive early at Bryn Mawr this year with two benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues in Thomas Great Hall this Friday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 for Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore students and $8 for others. Proceeds will be donated to Women in Transition, a Philadelphia-area agency that provides services to women who are endangered by domestic violence and/or substance abuse. Doors open at 7 p.m. with Vulvapalooza, an information fair focusing on women's health.

Eve Ensler wrote The Vagina Monologues in 1998, after she interviewed women around the world about their vaginas. It includes 17 monologues in different women's voices about their experiences. Called "funny and poignant" by The New York Times and "intelligent and courageous" by The Daily News, the play looks at the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement in women's experiences. Since Ensler's first performances of the piece, it has become a global phenomenon: translated and staged in more than 40 languages, its messages of positive sexuality and nonviolence against women have touched audiences around the world.

The performance of The Vagina Monologues at Bryn Mawr is part of V-Day, a worldwide movement instituted by Ensler to raise awareness of and combat violence against women and girls. 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 own communities. The Bryn Mawr production, presented this year by Rainbow Alliance and Voices for Choice, is entirely student-run. Molly Ahrens '03, founder of the Body Image Council, launched the College's first performance of the play in 2001, and it has been performed here each year since then.

This year's production is co-directed by Jessie Payson '06, a three-year veteran of Bryn Mawr V-Day performances and Sky Stegall '07, a first-time director. Cast members are Rahel Ayalew '07, Amanda Dougherty '07, Lauren Dubowski '08, Shannon Friday '06, Nikki Ho-Shing '06, Tanjima Islam '08, Njuhi Karianjahi '09, Leah KaneRisman '09, Katie Kronbergs '08, Anna Mazzariello '08, Andrea Milne '09, Lori Pedersen '09, Amy Phillips '07, Emily Phillips '08, Amanda Preston '09, Virginia Rubey '09, Jeanne Ryan '06, Caroline Troein '09 and Paige Walker '08.

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