A Review by Ashley Orcutt
Man, I really did feel like a woman when I had the pleasure of seeing the production Vagina Monologues put on by Eve Ensler at California State University, Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) World Theater. This powerful production projected the voices of women interviewed about their sex lives, their vaginas, and their issues they have had to encounter just because of their gender. As a woman, seeing this play on February 16, 2018 really made me proud of my gender due to what we have had to overcome in society throughout the past up to today.
The Vagina Monologues had an array of amazing scenes which showed that females can embrace the power of their womanhood. Even though there are times where we may want to ignore our vaginas, the play has reminded us why we should pay more attention to them. It’s a beautiful, natural part of a woman body, and instead of being ashamed of it, we should embrace it as women.
This production also had a few scenes where women explained their pleasure of how much they enjoyed some of their consensual sexual encounters they have had. The Vagina Monologues definitely did a good job in portraying stories which described these different scenarios they had, and how they felt like proud, sexy women while these situations were happening. Because of this, the show definitely did a good job in teaching us that even though there are some who judge the subject of sex, we shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting it, since our vaginas and our womanhood are something to be proud of. We are strong and beautiful, especially when we decide to make love to someone, but if we don’t that should be our choice too.
The play also brought up important issues that women are facing now in many scenes throughout the play, such as rape and sexual abuse. It made the audience more aware that many women are still going through such issues today. As a woman, I’ve always been afraid that such issues may happen to me, so I make sure to be aware of my surroundings, and in some instances I even make sure to bring about some self defense weapon to protect myself. After seeing the play and hearing many stories dealing with these issues, it makes me realize that we still don’t live in a society where women can feel safe without having to worry about their surroundings all the time, when we should have the right to do so.
I feel that the play reminded everyone of the struggles women still have to go through, and made them more aware that we need to take precautions as a society to ensure that women, and men, are safe from these situations.
All in all, it was a good play that definitely brought up important subjects related to women, especially to college girls, today. It teaches us to be strong, independent, and confident being a woman, and that we should want to feel comfortable when it comes time to do something intimate as sex. We should have the power to consent when we feel we want to consent, and if we say no, it means no.
A Review by Sarah Boulerice
Being that this was the second production of the Vagina Monologues I have seen, these ladies have done it again! This show by far is one of the best productions that California State University, Monterey Bay offers every year. Seeing this production again on Friday, February 16th, 2018 was amazing; and the stories at the end were so moving.
All of the girls that were in this year’s production did a fantastic job, as you could feel the emotion in the room when the issues of how women have dealt with sexual harassment were brought out in the play. The subjects of rape and what has been said in the political world were also displayed throughout the production.
Outside of the touchy subjects, they were able to talk about vaginas and their sex lives, which made the audience burst out in laughter. These girls did amazing, especially those who did the Vagina Monologues for the first time this year. These girls were remarkable, since they went out of their comfort zones and killed it! If you have not seen a production of the Vagina Monologues, please do. It is one show that is for everyone 18 years of age or older. Great job to the whole cast of this year’s Vagina Monologues, it was truly a great show!