February may be the month of romance and discount chocolate, but a campus organization will celebrate by performing a modernized version of "The Vagina Monologues."
"The Vagina Monologues" is a unique play, performed each February across the country. This year, OU’s Gender and Equality Center will head the on-campus production of the show.
Drawing on the experiences of women from diverse backgrounds, the production features female actors performing monologues in order to encourage women to come together.
Linda Stack-Nelson, a performer in this year’s production of "The Vagina Monologues," said the production promotes the positive contribution in the Norman community.
“OU performs it every year. The Gender and Equality Center puts it on as a fundraiser for the Rape Crisis Center. All the proceeds go directly to that,” Stack-Nelson said.
The play, first written by Eve Ensler in 1994, pulls personal accounts from over 200 women to create a collection of monologues dealing with things like sex work and reproduction.
“The performance generates over $1,000 each year, which not only helps survivors of rape but also victims of domestic abuse of all genders,” Stack-Nelson said.
The university will also bring its own touch of individualism to the event.
“The script is universal, but what’s different about this particular performance is that there are going to be activists speaking,” Stack-Nelson said.
Two of the activists who will be performing in this year's production, Mattie Witman and Alli Penner, are students at OU.
The play runs Feb. 12 and 13 in the Meacham Auditorium of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door for students and a $10 suggested donation for non-students.
