Call the show a political crusade for V-Day -- a campaign against women's violence -- and the global rights of women. Call Eve Ensler an activist who is changing the way women are regarded around the world. Call the audience members women and (yes) men who are willing to open their minds and alter their perspectives. Make all of these statements and you would indeed be completely accurate. But "The Vagina Monologues" also is an intensely personal and liberating experience, one that currently is touring around the globe. And from Tuesday, Feb. 11 through Sunday, Feb. 16, "The Vagina Monologues" will be showing in Charlottesville at The Jefferson Theater.
The Cavalier Daily spoke withGretchen Krich and Joyce Lee -- the two stars for the National Tour -- about the show's poignancy and its political crusade.
The Cavalier Daily: Immediate question: how discomforting or (alternatively) liberating was it to finally talk about the vagina?
Joyce Lee: Well, it wasn't discomforting at all to talk about it in front of people. The people listening may be discomforted and they may be liberated. As we've seen, we had a talk-back last night, and we had women come up to us crying. They came up to us telling us their stories about being molested or just sharing some aspect of their lives referring to their sexuality. So it is liberating in that way. For me personally, I've never had any problems talking about sex or sharing stories with my girlfriends about my vagina. We've shared stories about going to the gynecologist, and as early as 8th grade, a friend of mine shared a story about being raped. So the topic of talking about sexuality for me has never been something that I had trouble doing. Some of the pieces in the monologue, they are emotionally disturbing. But like I said, for some people it will liberate them.
Gretchen Krich: Oh boy ... it's just the most fun thing in the world. It's so liberating and it's uncomfortable to talk about some of the stuff. There are some of the monologues that touch on violent subjects. And as uncomfortable as it is to say it, it's so important to say it out loud because it gives women who are experiencing the same thing a forum for release. It's a fantastic experience to get up there and say these words. It's so empowering.
CD: Could you say that there was anything in your past theater experience (or other experience) that led up to this? What decisions were made in signing on to such a project?
JL: Well, I knew that it was a powerful show. So it fulfills two needs: one, that as an actress, I need to be employed, and the other is that these stories are just so incredibly powerful that they change people. I mean for me, I've never considered myself an activist, but I believe that it will change me in that way, that I will take a more active part in addressing the issue.
GK: Well, I mean, this was kind of a no-brainer, getting this job... largely because it's such great material and secondly because it's in support of the V-Day movement. That's 90 percent; that's why we're doing it. It's a political platform to talk about this stuff and no one talks about it and there are all these women who are abused and battered and they have nowhere to go. We're the spokespeople really, spokespeople for V-Day. I just can't stress it enough.
CD: The monologues always are labeled as both hilarious and startling. Are there some that stand out to you as particularly revealing or powerful? More so than others?
JL: They're all extremely powerful -- even the six-year-old girl. The six-year-old girl was interviewed and asked what a vagina smelled like and she said snowflakes and she said that somewhere deep inside it has a really, really smart brain. So even that cute little monologue is powerful. The piece about Bosnia, the rape, I mean, that one is not meant to be shocking, it's just what it is. Rape is always a horrible act and it's always going to have an emotional response. There's this story about a girl who was raped when she was 10 years old. I mean, maybe we don't want to hear them, but we have to. And not only hear them, but take some action, whether it's protecting your little sister or just telling them about the possibility that, you know, this could happen, how to be safe.
GK: Well, they all have their own story to tell and they're all equally important. I think from an audience standpoint, ones that stand out are, of course, the Bosnia monologue about the woman in a rape camp in Kosovo. And that's pretty hard to handle, especially if you're not aware of what's going on in those countries. So I think that one is probably the most startling. Other ones just have wonderful stories in them and they're sort of touching and tragic and funny and the thing that brings them all together is the fact that women can globally relate to almost every single thing. There is something for everyone and I think men can relate too. Last night we had a man come up and say, "That was so informative, I needed to know that." It's not at all male bashing ... it's such a great relief to have people come to hear this and know they can talk about it with their family or their daughter or son.
CD: Are you ever shocked by the reactions in the audience? I've read articles purporting that women have shrieked, fainted and begun to chant. Is there anything that comes as a shock?
JL: Well, not shocked. Not shocked, but sometimes they are surprising. I said "Thong underwear, that's the worst," and one woman shouted "Thank you!" And usually you get a lot of laughter, but she shouted and everyone in the theater heard her. We haven't been on tour long enough to experience anything really shocking, though.
GK: Well, so far we haven't had anything really, you know, outrageous happen. Mostly we get standing ovations; everybody loves it. So it's not shocking, because we're sort of prepped to expect various things. You know, Eve was here last night (she gave a talk-back) and she's had women faint during the Bosnia monologue and other places and it's just where people get jolted into a repressed memory that they might have had and it has now surfaced and they can deal with it. It's a very healing thing.
CD: Are there any differences in the audience makeup and response depending on what region of the country you're currently in? Are certain regions more receptive to the ideas or the topic than others?
JL: I expect that those who come to see this show have an idea of what it's about. If they don't have any idea, somebody dragged them there who has an idea. Maybe they've seen Eve on HBO or read about it or seen Oprah talk about V-Day. They know it's not a porn show; they know it's not male bashing and they want to see it to celebrate their womanhood. So we really don't expect people to be totally unprepared for what they're going to get. So having said that, I do expect there to be tremendous support for the show and appreciation that the show exists, that Eve was brave enough to write it and to share it. And now it's spreading like wildfire.
GK: Oh boy, that's really hard for us to say right now. We're in Santa Fe right now and this is only our third city. So far, everywhere we've been, the response has been incredible. People stop us on the street and say such wonderful things. So far so good. I have a funny feeling that the people who see our posters and our ads and our billboards -- who make the choice to come see us -- are very satisfied.
CD: And men -- how do they tend to react to the show? How many men would you say that you get in a particular audience?
JL: I think that the men who come to see the show really care enough about women to find out what it is that women are talking about. The step to come and see it shows some kind of compassion for the vagina, some kind of care. Men have brought their daughters, wives have brought their husbands and some come on their own.
GK: Oh yeah, they love it. They love it. I haven't met one man yet, after the show or in a town we've been to, who hasn't loved it. Oh yeah, definitely. A lot of husband and wife teams are coming.
CD: You come into the room and sit down on a stool, facing a single microphone. How much is memorized beforehand and how much is spontaneous? To what extent could you say that every show is completely different?
JL: Well, this week I had to do the Bosnia monologue and I'd never done it, so last night was the first time I did it. And I think that monologue is probably easier to do when it's memorized. I found myself having to look at the paper during some of the more dramatic sequences, and I think it would be more powerful if I didn't have to look down and could keep my eyes out on the audience. So for that particular monologue, I'd like to have it memorized. But for the others, as an actor, I'm used to having everything memorized, so this is kind of half-memorized, half not memorized. It's kind of tricky because, in some places, you just don't want to look at the card because you might lose your audience or you might lose the image that you have in telling the story. But it doesn't seem to bother the audience, because everyone up there has cards.
The reason for us not memorizing is because every week we have a new guest, and that guest has one rehearsal, and we don't expect them to memorize. We had three before we hit the road. I figure within a month, Gretchen and I will have the whole show memorized because we'll have done it so many times.
GK: Okay. There are several answers to this. It's very casual and there's some ad-libbing between the monologues, and we get a new celebrity or local person every week in every new city. It isn't memorized; we use cards and this is very important. Eve wants us to use the cards because she really wants the audience to be in the frame of mind that we're not acting these parts, that these are real women's stories from real interviews and she's written them into these beautiful stories. It's me storytelling, so in that way, it is very spontaneous because we're reading off of cards. And depending on audience reactions, some really like some stuff and are quiet during others. It's always, always different. We switch monologues every week, depending on where we go. It's always new, always different, a different combination of monologues we might have. The guest that we have brings a new and vital energy to what we're doing. We all sort of play together and have a good time.
CD: When it comes to rehearsing, how much time is actually spent working with each other and with Eve Ensler?
JL: We just met Eve last night; at least, I had never met her -- I'd seen her do the show in New York. Listening to her talk at the talk-back, the questions that the audience asked. One asked how did you come to create this piece, and she said that she was talking to a girlfriend about menopause, that it's all over, the vagina is dried up and you know. Eve was surprised at her response, so she asked another girlfriend how she felt about her vagina. And she said her mama had told her not to wear panties under her pajamas to air out her pussycat. So she did a reading of a couple monologues that she wrote and this New York critic told her that she was onto something and she got a great review. So that's when she knew she was onto something and started interviewing women.
That's basically how it started for Eve and also, she talked about coming from a family where there was a lot of violence and all of her life, she had to deal with this upbringing. And anybody who's been physically abused or sexually abused or has witnessed it, it's going to affect their lives.
GK: Well, we actually met her last night (I had met her in New York and so had Joyce) but she has spent very little time with us because she's busy traveling giving talks and doing the monologues herself and doing all the V-Day stuff. So last night we were talking with her about maybe doing talk-backs afterward, Q&As, so people can ask about V-Day, so they know what they can do -- how to find a shelter, how to find someone to talk to. So we're going to start incorporating that into our tour. So Joyce and I are meeting with a V-Day person tomorrow to brief us more.
CD: The show, in so many ways, has been labeled as a crusade. When you're sitting out there or traveling from city to city, does it feel like you're acting in a political manner? Or are the monologues more personal?
JL: It's both. Both. I've never been able to believe that one could not be political. We have choices in life and if we choose to not get involved, then to me, that's a political statement. And if we choose to be involved, that's also a political statement. So when people ask if I'm political, my response is, how can you not be? Every action you take is a political statement. To me, that's life. So, then personally, to me, it's very important. I'm honored to be doing this show because I feel like I am helping to make an impact. These are not my words, but every actor has to draw from their heart, whatever they're doing.
GK: Well, it's hard to separate those two things. It is incredibly personal, but it is my personal feeling that this supports V-Day. They go completely hand-in-hand. This is my own political crusade as well and I am so honored and privileged to be on this platform with Eve and all of these other women. I'm just a cog in the big wheel of this and personally, I find it very satisfying.
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