V-Day gets personal, emotional

What's in a name?

Vagina.

Does it evoke beauty? Shame? Reverence? Uncomfortable giggles? Is it, as one performer stated wryly on Friday night, "just there, like a cellar?"

With their stirring performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" last night, UConn V-Day challenged viewers to think about their own vaginas - or the vaginas they know - and ask themselves the same question. What's in a name? And why can't we print most of the names for "vagina" in this paper?

Any lingering discomfort with "the v-word" was dispelled immediately upon entering von der Mehden Recital Hall. The stage was decked a warm, intimate set: comfy couches, chic cafe tables and a single microphone, where the red-and-black adorned performers stepped up, stood and delivered.

Ensler's play is composed of dozens of vagina-themed monologues, compiled through interviews with hundreds of women. Some plumb the unspoken, wordless terrors of sexual abuse, while others jump with the frank, lighthearted charm of human sexuality.

"I loved how diverse the stories were," said Stephany Briggs, a 2nd-semester communication disorders major.

The actual performances did Ensler's script justice, ranging from conspiratorial charm to vibrant, uproarious humor - it was hard not to laugh when Renee St. Louis howled "It's gone, it's gone! I've lost my clitoris!" - and to stomach-turning horror. Some, like Allyssa Milan's "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could," dove through all three.

"They did a good job arranging [the monologues,]" said Megan Cornin, a 6th-semester psychology and urban and community studies double major. "Some were humorous, some were sad - it was very powerful."

The combined effect of the monologues was a kind of emotional gauntlet - taxing, strenuous, but ultimately refreshing.

"There was such a great energy in the room," said Victoria Flagg, a 4th-semester women's studies major and performer. "The play is so alive."

Flagg contributed a goodly chunk of that energy herself, with her joyful, whole-hearted performance of "The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy."

The production was part of V-Day 2009, a global movement to end violence against women, and all proceeds from the show were donated to domestic violence programs and sexual assault crisis centers.

"This is a particularly vital cause, especially looking at the recent slew of sexual assaults on campus," said director Caitlin McArdle, an 8th-semester political science and women's studies double major.

While the emotional roller-coaster ride was backed with a firm activist message, the vivacious, energetic performances left the room feeling hopeful at the play's conclusion.

"I'm a firm believer in using activism with entertainment, especially at college," McArdle said. "[The play] is about making people care, making people take responsibility for their everyday actions."

Despite its often-nightmarish look into the reality of sexual violence, the play's final message isn't about bleakness or despair.

"It's about giving people power," McArdle said. "Everyone has the power to change the way they communicate, and communication is vital to ending sexual violence."

And for some, it seems, the "Monologues" did their job.

"I feel differently about my vagina now," Briggs said.