Performances of 'Vagina Monologues' will benefit area nonprofits

Grand Valley State University students will produce three performances of Eve Ensler's provocative and thought-provoking play, "The Vagina Monologues," in February.

The performances in Allendale and Grand Rapids will highlight Grand Valley's eighth annual V-Day College Campaign. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit area women's programs that work to end violence against women. Since 2002, GVSU productions of "The Vagina Monologues" have raised nearly $100,000 for area organizations and programs.

Performances are scheduled for February 12 and 13, 7 p.m., at the Cook-DeWitt Center on GVSU's Allendale Campus; and February 14, 7 p.m., at Wealthy Street Theatre, 1130 Wealthy St. SE in Grand Rapids.

Tickets are $10 for students, $20 for non-students and $20 at the door. They are available in advance at the Kirkhof Center 20/20 Desk on the Allendale Campus. Wealthy Street Theatre box office will sell tickets for the February 14 performance only. For more information, call Grand Valley's Women’s Center at (616) 331-2748.

Nearly 70 students, faculty and staff members are involved in the production. Ensler's acclaimed play is a collection of powerful, engaging and, at times, provocative monologues about women who speak frankly about their bodies, childbirth, sex, rape and love.

GVSU student Shaun Simon said she wanted to be involved in the production because it empowers her to help family members "get their voices back" after they were raped. "Being part of V-Day gives me a sense of justice, a sense of peace and gives me hope that one day I won’t have to worry about my daughter or my niece being a victim of violence," she said.

Each year, national V-Day organizers designate a spotlight campaign as a recipient of proceeds from "Vagina Monologues" productions worldwide. The 2009 spotlight will focus on women and girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo. UNICEF reports that since 1996, hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the DRC have been raped or sexually assaulted as a result of civil conflict in that country.

GVSU's production of "The Vagina Monologues" is supported by the Nokomis Foundation. For more information, contact Azra Grudic, publicity chair, at (616) 706-8253 or [email protected].