The AmeriVagina Monologues

After being in or in support of The Vagina Monologues (TVM) for the past 4 years of my life, I couldn't imagine a V-Day season without seeing fabulous women reading these powerful monologues.

So, I decided NCCC needed to do their own monologues.

A lot of red tape was cut through because traditionally TVM is an advocacy event that raises money for to help stop violence against women and children, but as a governmental program, NCCC cannot raise money for an organization. Luckily, the V-Day ladies we're very on board with the education aspect presenting TVM to the corps members would have and thus allowed us to put on a production at no cost.

Recruiting and auditioning the ladies was very interesting as all but 6 of the teams were away from campus. There were both on campus auditions and off campus skype/phone auditions, and after weeks of preparation, TVM took place during Mid Year Transition.

The show was very well received. I gather anywhere from 100-130 people were in attendance, and everyone throughly enjoyed the show. My teammates, friends, and those I don't even know all gave praise to the cast.

Even more rewarding than that was seeing the cast come together. We had last minute changes, doubts and fears, but once the show began, it was obvious these ladies realized they were part of something more powerful than they ever imagined.

But perhaps the most profound experience within in this Vday was my own personal growth.

The past year has been a very intense, emotional, and unfathomable one for the issues the monologues tackle. I along with one of my best friends from college had a hell of a year and I never really gave myself time to deal with any of those issues. So the monologues became my therapy, or to quote a line for the the show, my "politically incorrect savior."

Hearing these monologues again gave me the courage and strength to begin to let go of my past and look forward.

And for that I have Eve Ensler and The cast of the AmeriVagina Monologues to thank.