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Using vaginas to stop violence

What: Vagina Monologues V-Day fundraiser Where: MY Place When: Friday, Feb. 28 Women around Whistler are ready to put the V into V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

What: Vagina Monologues V-Day fundraiser

Where: MY Place

When: Friday, Feb. 28

Women around Whistler are ready to put the V into V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

And what does V stand for I hear you ask? Victory, Valentine and Vagina, and for seven local gals it’s also acting out Eve Ensler’s smash hit Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues.

A cross-section of Sea to Sky women representing the arts, a health spa and even a hamburger joint will hit the stage and their G-spots to entertain, enlighten and increase awareness for our local anti-violence organizations. The Whistler cast includes writer and actor extraordinaire, Michele Bush, along with Ab Fab colleague and basket designer Cheryl Massey, Nibbana spa owner Dianna Sillary, TV actress Angie Nolan, and Splitz Grill girl Crystal Sevigny. From Squamish will be actors Stephanie Brown, a mother of three, and Betty Ann Person, who has many First Nation friends.

Each actress will perform a minimum of two monologues covering a diverse range of topics guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, cringe and giggle. Here’s a sample of what to expect:

My Angry Vagina

will be presented by Michele Bush, who wanted to point out it was a crime she didn’t get asked to perform last year considering her last name.

"This piece is all about the day-to-day indignities the vagina faces, from tampons to G-strings and pelvic exams," she said.

Her second piece takes a sadder tone. Titled The Flood , Bush becomes an old woman from New York who had an embarrassing sexual experience as a teenager and closed her body for business from that moment on.

My Short Skirt,

will be performed by Crystal Sevigny in her stage debut.

"It was performed on Broadway by Calista Flockhart and is a very liberating piece about having the freedom to wear whatever you want without judgement," said Sevigny.

She will also take on the role of a southern black woman in a piece called The Little Cootchie Snorcher That Could . "It’s all about a lesbian experience," she smiled.

The Vagina Workshop

will be read by Dianna Sillary.

"I become a proper English woman who finds herself at a class to discover her cltoris," said Sillary. "I also turn into Eve Ensler at the birth of her grandaughter. Both pieces are a celebration of women and their pleasure centres."

The Woman Who Makes Vaginas Happy

will be interpreted by Cheryl Massey.

"I’ll become a very vocal female sex worker," she laughed. "My second piece is full of interesting sounds to say the least. It’s called, Reclaiming Cunt . A word that I now love after reading this piece. I use lots of descriptions and sounds to bring beauty to a word that is normally considered very naughty or harsh," she said.

Because You Like To Look At It

will be read by Stephanie Brown. "It’s a very funny piece about a women who learns to love her vagina because her lover likes to look at it," she explained.

In stark contrast, Brown will also perform My Vagina Was My Village . "It’s about a Bosnian refugee dealing with the atrocities inflicted on women held in rape camps during the war."

Crooked Braid

is a piece written by Ensler especially for V-Day 2003. Betty Anne Person, who volunteers with the Howe Sound Women's Centre, will take over the persona of an American Indian woman living on a reserve.

"I have spent many years working and living with First Nations women and I've witnessed the courage some of them muster to survive. I was hesitant at first to do this piece but a smart woman once said to me, if someone can live through the horrors that have been written then we should have the courage to read them."

Person will also perform a piece called Hair .

"It's about a woman empowering herself to keep her privates the way she wants to. Her husband likes it shaved but she's saying take me as I am or hit the road."

Under The Burqa

, is another emotional and empowering piece to be performed by Angie Nolan.

"It’s a tribute to what the women of Afghanistan have gone through and overcome. I’m so honoured to do it," she said.

Nolan’s second act will see her as a six year-old girl.

Over the coming weeks 1000 V-Day productions of The Vagina Monologues will occur around the world. Locations range far and wide, from Peshawar, Pakistan to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Now in its fifth year, V-Day has raised $14 million in funding for thousands of grassroots groups.

Closer to home, Whistler’s production will raise funds for Squamish’s Transition House, helping women in the Sea to Sky corridor escape violent partners. The house provides shelter, food and clothing for those who need it, predominantly First Nations women.

This year’s local V-Day organizer is Dianne Faux, who works at the House and sees the hardships of breaking free first-hand.

"The strength these women find inside to leave their violent partners and the father of their children is incredible. Many of them walk out with nothing but the clothes they are wearing in order to make a better life. Transition House helps them get back on their feet and keep their morale up, but it’s a long and costly process."

The Transition House has seven beds, which is normally just enough to cope with demand, but last year Faux said they had to turn people away for the first time.

"It was heart breaking but beds are not as important as outreach and prevention programs, that’s where the money needs to go," she said.

Transition House is expanding into the Whistler/Pembeton area with a councillor who will set up a support group for women who might need the occasional ongoing boost to keep them independent.

Last year’s presentation of the Vagina Monologues at MY Place sold out long before the curtain was raised, and this year hints at the same.

For those who miss out on the Whistler production, Squamish will be staging one the following week. March 7 at Totem Hall will feature a production acted out predominantly by First Nations women. Tickets are just $25 from Billie’s Bouquet and Totem Hall.

An added bonus for V-Day 2003 is a small piece at the end of the monologues performed by local men, including the corridor’s councillor to abusive men. The question being posed and performed is: What would our community look like without violence?

While the majority of the audience for the Vagina Monolgoues is women, enlightened males are encouraged. MY Place marketing manager, Gillie Easdon, said volunteers on the night were predominantly men.

"A couple of the guys told me that for months following the monologues, they had women recognize them. It’s a great way to show you care," she said.

Easdon will be holding a charity auction at the event with donations still welcome.

"The theme will be around women spending more time together. We’re all so busy these days that I am making packages to promote hanging out. Whether it’s dinner and a movie, or a bottle of wine or a day at a spa, I want to get us all doing fun things together."

Tickets to the Whistler monologues are $40. The reception and auction starts at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Call 604-935-8418 or see www.vday.org

for more information.