This past Friday, 30 men and women proclaimed unrestrained female power to the UB community. A UB premiere of the play, "A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer," was held in Goodyear X as a part of last week's V-Day Campaign to end violence against women.
Eve Ensler, known for creating The Vagina Monologues, edited the play, which consisted of a compilation of vignettes concerning women's issues worldwide.
For the play's co-director Rajavi Parikh, a senior international women's health major, the performance was important because it shed light on issues affecting everyone, not just women.
"What's different about this performance (from The Vagina Monologues) is that it's a compilation of a lot of different authors into one show," Parikh said. "The Monologues are topics, but this piece is more poetic than dialogue."
The cast of the performance consisted entirely of volunteer members. Although the topics primarily concern women, the cast was composed of both male and female characters, which added depth to the performance.
"It's really important for men to get involved in the cause," Parikh said.
Undergraduates weren't the only students volunteering as cast members - graduate students were involved as well. Kate Crooks, a graduate student studying social work, sacrificed her time to join the cause.
"I feel like it's important to bring these issues to public consciousness," Crooks said. "Especially as a to-be social worker, women's issues are something that constantly needs to be spoken about."
Patrice Francois, a junior theatre major, teamed up with the cast in order to spread awareness about violence against women.
"We tend to forget about the issues that go on in society," Francois said. "When you hear them you think wow, this goes on every day."
The play progressed through a variety of issues, taking the audience through an emotional rollercoaster ride of perspectives, sorrows and struggles. The first vignette, performed by Katie Parsons, was a story of a teenage girl at a house party who found herself in a compromising situation.
A similar vignette later in the performance detailed a young woman who suddenly found her numerous male friends expecting more than friendship.
Tales of violence gave the vignettes additional weight. Alison Hight depicted a woman caught in a physically abusive marriage, and her plight to break free of the humiliation.
A longer vignette called "7 Variations of Margarita Weinberg" presented different facets of a story about a single woman who was emotionally abused and oppressed.
While a few of the monologues contained brief moments of humor, the majority of the performance took on a more serious vibe - the audience saw the world through the eyes of the characters.
The show had a good student turnout, with every seat taken and a good reaction to the finale. In addition to undergraduate students, many UB alumni came out to see the performance. Christina Asquard, a UB alumna, thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
"It was very eye opening regarding what's going on in the world around you," Asquard said.
Ninety percent of the proceeds from the event are being donated to the International Institute of Buffalo, which strives to prevent human trafficking. According to their brochure, between 15,000 and 18,000 people are trafficked into the US, and two million are trafficked worldwide. The Institute provides services to human trafficking victims including legal services, refugee resettlement, and domestic violence victim advocacy.
The remaining 10 percent of the proceeds are going towards the Spotlight Campaign location for 2008: the Women of New Orleans. The funds are to be focused on the needs of women in the southern city. Projects promote women maintaining self-sustaining businesses will be funded - allowing them become more economically stable.
This performance was able to raise funding for these causes while bringing the UB community together to unite against violence towards women.
One line spoken during the performance summed up the event as a whole: "A story about women is a story about life itself."
For more information about V-Day, visit the official Web site at www.vday.org.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
