Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 04/Sep 07:49

Vagina Monologues tells women’s stories

The Vagina Monologues will give the public the opportunity to hear the stories of women: some taboo, some playful, some enlightening. Proscenium Theatre Company’s production of the controversial play will run from September 6-8 at the Naparima Bowl. The production stars veteran actress Cecilia Salazar, who will be celebrating 45 years in theatre this year, along with Natacha Jones, Olimall Gordon-Holder, Renee King and Jerry Lee David. It is directed by Mervyn De Goeas and Salazar, with lighting by Megan Gill. The Vagina Monologues was written in 1996 by activist Eve Ensler (now known as V), and explores topics such as consensual and non-consensual sexual experiences, body image, genital mutilation, direct and indirect encounters with reproduction, vaginal care, menstruation, prostitution and several other topics through the eyes of women of various ages, races, sexualities, and other differences. David has been acting since the age of seven and has performed in several musicals. She said the Vagina Monologues is her first strictly theatrical production involving no singing and dancing, and she is excited to perform alongside a stellar cast of exceptionally talented women. “Working on the play has been an emotional rollercoaster with respect to understanding and fleshing out each of my characters with my directors, Mervyn and Cecilia, who do an excellent job of challenging me. I’m doing two monologues, along with group pieces, and themes that are explored are quite heavy and emotionally demanding. “What I do like about the character development, however, is that despite the initial turmoil that they endure, upon reflection of the experiences and moreover being able to relay to an audience those experiences, comes catharsis, healing, self-actualisation and self-love.” She said women tend to be hard on themselves and expect more of themselves without extending grace: “A grace we may extend to others but isn't applied to us as easily. "I think that my characters finally exercised that grace unto themselves and it's a beautiful thing that I am deeply honoured to portray and I hope to do justice.” She said not only women, but men should attend the show. “I know men may be hesitant to attend, but I want to encourage them to come and listen to our experiences in a stripped-down, unadulterated fashion. While as women we should always strive to fight against gender inequality and violence against women in whatever way we can, we also need allies to lend us support so that the change that we seek to effect is meaningful. “When we engage (with) topics such as sexuality, body image and ending violence against women, we are speaking about a dire need for a shift in our cultural view of women and how we treat them. We can only see that change be brought to fruition when men are willing to have a seat and really listen to us so that they can understand, reflect and make the necessary changes within themselves.” David said the play is an opportunity for everyone, regardless of generation, sex, gender or sexual orientation to be educated, moved and inspired by stories they would find universally resonant. King said the monologues in the play bring a sense of enlightenment to people discussing topics surrounding women that are not the typical table talk. “Some things may be taboo, some things may be extreme: but it’s all very relevant information that sometimes we keep to ourselves and we do not share with anyone else. "The play is centred around telling stories that people are either uncomfortable with telling or that they never thought about having, conversations they probably want to have or they’re having in secret and they don’t know it’s OK to talk about out loud. [caption id="attachment_1106601" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cast of Proscenium Theatre Productions The Vagina Monologue: - L-R - Jerry Lee David, Cecilia Salazar, Renee King and Natacha Jones - Photo by Wayne Lee Sing[/caption] “It think it’s meant to be a statement that says women are important. It’s important to be a woman, to understand a woman, to respect a woman, and to understand that women have an opinion. It may not be the popular opinion and it may not be what we’re accustomed to knowing about a woman, because maybe society has just never asked certain questions or they don’t know the answers to certain questions.” King, who has been performing for over a decade, said the process of developing the play was different from what she was used to. “Working with Mervyn is different from any other process because you can say it’s more or less one-person shows. It’s about what you can challenge yourself to find through the script, how imaginative and creative can you be, but not to lie about what you’re doing by forcing something onto the piece. "More or less it’s a journey of exploration, it’s a journey of conversation and I think because that mirrors what the Vagina Monologues are. “It’s very playful, it’s very fun, it’s very different from anything else I’ve ever worked on and of course, because it’s a bit controversial, it requires a bit more from the actress to really give up their own prejudice, to give up their own opinions in some ways, because you have to accept the stories that the people are telling and not make it too personal, where you think, 'I don’t agree with this,' or, 'This is not for me.' "You just have to approach it as if this is a story a woman has told because this is important to them to tell.” King encouraged everyone to attend the play to hear the experiences of women. “It speaks about things we don’t like to say out loud, but it also gives a greater appreciation for women, for life, for the things and experiences women go through, because these are not things we talk about. “There are women that sat down and this is the first time they had ever been asked their opinions about their bodies or about what they thought, and it wasn’t just the typical answer you get when you ask a question because you just want a particular answer. These are honest questions and these are honest answers that are given, and I think there’s a certain rawness, there’s a certain vulnerability to the pieces and it should spark a conversation in society – do we truly want to understand women?” Tickets are available at the Naparima Bowl box office, Lemon Pepper Movietowne POS, or via islandetickets.com .   The post Vagina Monologues tells women’s stories appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.