By Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Two Amarillo performances of The Vagina Monologues are scheduled as part of the 20th anniversary of the V-Day movement.
The Eve Ensler play will be staged at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at RR Bar, 701 S. Georgia St., by one collective of Amarillo alt-theater actors and burlesque performers, then again at 7 p.m. March 1 at City Studios, Studio 25 at The Galleries at Sunset Center, 3701 Plains Blvd., by a volunteer group of non-actors.
"We have 200,000 people in (the Amarillo area), so the more productions we can get out there, the better," said Christy Ford, an Amarillo counselor organizing the City Studios production. "The more voices we can get out there, the better."
"We support them, and they support us," echoed Kaitlin Jones, co-director of the RR Bar production.
After interviewing 200 women about their experiences with assault, violence and relationships, Ensler wrote the first collection of monologues in 1995 (revising it frequently since). In them, she covers such topics as menstruation, rape, childhood assault and more.
"It is very empowering to be part of a group of comfortable, outspoken women, sharing a collection of monologues and stories about women and their vaginas," said Traci Mahannah, who's participating in the City Studios production. "For way too long, the vagina has been a 'private area' and a 'private topic.' It is time to talk out loud and share stories about the beauty of being a woman."
Two years after its first staging in 1996, Ensler created V-Day, "a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. She has devoted her life to stopping violence, envisioning a planet in which women and girls will be free to thrive, rather than merely survive," according to the organization's website.
The V-Day organization allows benefit, royalties-free productions of The Vagina Monologues around the world, mandating that a portion of proceeds be given to groups combatting violence against women. Traditionally, the productions must be done in February, but in honor of V-Day's 20th anniversary, that performance period has been expanded through March.
Though the core piece is 22 years old, Jones and Ford both said it's as relevant as ever.
"You still hear so many people not talking about their vaginas, not talking about anything taboo," Jones said.
"This (violence against women) is still happening," Ford said. "It's a huge part of our culture that no one wants to acknowledge because of the shame factor."
But things are changing, she continued.
"I think there's a collective movement in our culture that I'm loving right now. #MeToo is a big change. Women are stepping forward and saying, 'Yeah, this is happening'," Ford said.
Show participants, too, say Ensler's work is still vital.
"Because I have one, and both I and my vagina have a voice that needs to be heard and respected," said Amarillo burlesque performer Nox Falls, who'll participate in the RR Bar staging.
"I'm on a road trip to (North Carolina) this week and happened to catch a showing of Thelma and Louise last night," said Maia Tress, who'll take part in the City Studios staging. "And I was struck at how the issues of personal power, one's right to control, protect and own, in every sense of the word, our bodies, our sexuality are still, after 27 years, being negotiated and often negated in the media, the courts and the White House. Eve Ensler's work speaks as loudly and is as urgent now as ever."
Performers in the City Studios production include Tress, Laurie Higgins-Kerley, Teresa Snider, Ashlyn Major, Kristal Fletcher, Traci Mahannah, Larissa Kleuskens and Becky Heinen. Three men — Jody Holland, Charles Black and Haley Stoddard — will participate, too. They won't read a monologue, but they will present statistics about violence against women.
Performers in the RR Bar production include Amberley Clark, Nox Falls, Sarah Henry, Claire Hayes, Medusa Oblongata, Kayla Fuller, Elani Cooper and Jacky Lynn Goyette, a gender-fluid performer.
V-Day productions of The Vagina Monologues are open to "all women and non-binary folks," according to its website, which asks that participation by cisgender men include elements of the production that do not include acting.
"We need to create a loving space for people with vaginas, and women without them, to address our oppressions, desires, and secrets and to simultaneously honor the fact that gender is not based on anatomy or genitalia," Ensler wrote for Time magazine.
For Goyette, participating in the show is a way to show RR Bar's "usually rowdy audience demographic that there are issues that need to be addressed in our society when it comes to how women are viewed and treated."
"(T)his show is about empowering women from all parts of the world and walks of life. Thanks to recent social movements and new understandings, this show is now a beacon of hope for gender fluid and trans women along with the biological women it was originally intended for," she said. "Trans rights are a hot button topic right now, and my partner, Medusa, has done nothing but support and fight for my gender fluid soul. It is imperative that I’m fighting for her soul as well, and this script helps allow me to do that."
Statewide, 6.5 million Texans say they have experienced some form of sexual assault in their lifetime, including 2 in 5 women and 1 in 5 men, according to Texas Association Against Sexual Assault. In Amarillo, 183 reports of sexual assault were filed with the Amarillo Police Department in 2017, according to Corporal Jeb Hilton.
Family Support Services, meanwhile, advocated for 312 cases in 2017 and served 617 self-identifying victims of sexual assault in 2017, said crisis services director Kathy Tortoreo.
"And this is a sobering statistic: Amarillo is consistent with national statistics when it comes to sexual assault. Approximately 70 percent of victims are minors," Tortoreo said.
Those numbers make the Vagina Monologues performances essential, organizers said.
"Victims are shamed, so this, to me, is the lighthouse, the beacon that ... acknowledges what goes on in our community," Ford said.
Tickets for the RR Bar production are $10; call 806-681-9255. A portion of proceeds will benefit Martha's Home, which "provide(s) homeless women and their children with shelter and support while guiding them towards a lifestyle of self-sufficiency," according to its website.
The RR performances also will feature "a showcase of talents. Some are singing, some are reading original poetry, some are doing scenes, and there may be a bit of burlesque mixed in, as well," co-director Crystal Zimmerman said. "All talents will be presented in the spirit of V-Day and empowerment of women."
Tickets for the City Studios production are $30. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Tralee Crisis Center in Pampa, which provides crisis intervention and shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, according to its website.
"I love theater that can also give back," Jones said. "Given our political climate and what's going on, putting a spotlight on violence against women was really important to us."
Chip Chandler is a digital content producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
