The Vagina Monologues: Fordham vs. Brandeis

The Vagina Monologues: Fordham vs. Brandeis

By: Jason Montoya.

I have seen the past two Fordham University’s productions of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” and I recently attended a separate production of said event by Brandeis University.

In both universities the monologues are widely awaited by the student population, and tickets are sold in advance, as well as on the nights of the shows. Each performance is either about to reach full capacity, or entirely sold out. At the end of the shows, there are question & answer segments that allow for the students who dedicated major efforts into the productions to explain the artistic visions that inspired their new adaptations of the massively reproduced play. The students are then highly praised at the end of the night by close friends and relatives that may have been invited to see the show. At the final performance, both schools assertively strike the sets of their performance space, even in the presence of people and outsiders, as they not only realize the success of their efforts, but they also have a responsibility to the school and the space that is offered to them.

As I watched both environments, there were obviously strong differences that a student like myself, who attends a school with a religious affiliation, could have noticed. Most interesting difference of all I found was the sentiment build up and the initiative created by the student organization. As my close friend Kaye Reyes, who was the Assistant director and performer of one of the monologues, briefly explained to me, the monologues and their production are held almost independently from any school department or faculty program. There is obviously some guidance by professors, but the production comes from the actual Vagina club at Brandeis University, which sponsors this yearly production. To this day, the Vagina club at Brandeis has been able to allocate close to $30,000 for charitable organizations in the endeavor of assisting actions that fight violence against women. At Brandeis University, the show was presented in the Shapiro Theater, which is the center of the community for social events that hold the students’ interest. The theater could potentially provide seating to over 300 theater-goers, but on its first night, the monologues were entirely sold out, forcing people to settle for seats on the stairs, or to stand at the back of the theater. A theater of this magnitude is technically equipped to provide the most professional theater experience for people. For those of whom who were able to attend Fordham’s version of the play, you would know that the production was held in McMahon hall, room 109, which is known by students as a conference room.

Despite the tremendous efforts that outside groups that support the monologues do to enhance this event, one may wonder, what could possibly be of the event if it were not only supported, but encouraged by the school’s administration? I believe that in spite of the difficulties and lack of support from the school administrators, there is a great deal of admiration for the students who participate in this event, as they manage to raise a production from the ground up. In addition, the production also manages to contribute a substantial amount of money to fund institutes that have the same objective in mind.

However, the non-supportive tone that the school sets almost creates a feeling of hostility between the administration and the students, who are passionate about social justice events like “The Vagina Monologues.” Despite the administrations’ logic as to why events like these should not be fully supported, the lack of support makes students afraid and perhaps even feel left out, because they feel as though their schools might be conveniently censoring their educational path by limiting the options of what they are permitted to learn and engage in.

In a school like Fordham, located in an area of such great diversity, perhaps the tone should change into one that is willing to embrace different approaches towards learning. Sometimes open and in-your-face productions like “The Vagina Monologues” make people aware of things like domestic violence, genital mutilation, and misogyny; topics that any well-rounded student, from a respected school like Fordham, should be well aware of.

In an era with so much available information, it is easy to lose focus and not pay attention to these issues that could seem minor to those who don’t face problems such as domestic violence. However, to those women to whom “The Vagina Monologues” and productions such as this are more than an artistic experience, but a cold-faced reality, it would be almost therapeutic to see something that pays homage to the adversity that they go through.