I started to write “Vagina Stories” as the headline for this post but changed it because it sounded a little shocking and could be misunderstood.  That’s when I realized the power that Eve Ensler’s  award winning play’s title has had on normalizing the word vagina.  Not only can people actually say it in public but it screams from posters all over town.

In the original Broadway version of The Vagina Monologues, Ensler performed every story herself.  The V-Day University of Arizona Benefit Production will feature undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and alumni who have joined together to bring you three nights of hilarious and captivating performances.

These stories are particularly powerful and moving because they are told from a personal point of view. According to Wikipedia, “Every monologue somehow relates to the vagina, be it through sex, love, rape, menstruation, mutilation, masturbation, birth, orgasm, the variety of names for the vagina, or simply as a physical aspect of the body. A recurring theme throughout the piece is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the ultimate embodiment of individuality.”

V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of The Vagina Monologues.  Thousands participate each year in raising awareness and have contributed to over $70 million raised to stop violence against women and girls.

Performances are February 18, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Social Sciences 100.  Doors open at 7 p.m. so that attendees may peruse educational displays and booths by campus and community organizations.

Tickets are $10 in advance (available on the University mall) and $12 at the door. Additional donations are welcome. All proceeds will be donated to the campus OASIS Center For Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence and the V-Day Spotlight Cause: The Women & Girls of The Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been chosen a second year
as V-Day’s spotlight campaign.  The women in the DRC are at a large
risk for gender-based violence.  Though the war is officially over,
the chaos of unregulated military forces have lead to a devastating
situation for women and girls in the DRC.  V-Day is currently working
on opening the City of Joy, a facility for survivors of sexual
violence.

For more information about The Vagina Monologues, please contact azvagwarriors@yahoo.com

As a producer and occasional performer for the past few years I’ve learned what Rita Mae Brown says so well: “Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides”.  Spoken Word artists and writers employ the same basic tool, words.  How and where they use them is part of the mystique of the two separate yet connected artforms.  Mark Amidon says: “Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.”

Communicating meanings or feelings is the essential goal and there are many ways to get there.  Reading, listening, watching a performance, participating in spoken word events, all can produce the ultimate experience of understanding someone else’s creative expression.  Fellini explained it in this way: “A different language is a different vision of life.”

Chuck Larkin is talking specifically about storytelling when he writes: “All branches to various degrees are forms of entertainment and information transfer”, and I think the same applies to writing.

Writers reading their work or performers writing out their performance blur the lines.  There really aren’t any lines, it’s a continuum of the same craft.  The most important thing is the keep practicing, keep moving the pen and/or getting in front of an audience.  Colette said: “Writing only leads to more writing” and the same can be said about most creative endeavors.

To sum up, Jane Wagner puts it in perspective this way:  “I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.”

Who says there’s nothing to do in Tucson in the summer?  Coming up on July 30 you’ll have to decide between two fabulous events, Ignite Tucson and Odyssey Storytelling.

Ignite Tucson, the event that David Aguirre of Dinnerware Artspace started a year ago will be at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, and down the street at the Club Congress, 311 E. Congress, you can catch Odyssey Storytelling (disclaimer, I’m the producer).  Both events start at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30.  Don’t forget, parking is free on the street after 5 p.m.

IGNITE Tucson

Around 15 people will grace the stage in front of a projected Powerpoint presentation of 20 images, each on the screen for 15 seconds.  The speaker has five minutes to talk about a topic they are passionate about.

You’ll see Karen Falkenstrom, Kathleen Williamson, Joanna Frueh, Janet K. Miller, Jodi Netzer, Shipherd Reed, Danielle from Tucson Life Cache, and more.  There is a $5 donation at the door for everyone, including the presenters.

This is the 4th IGNITE, and, according to David, “all of them have been really, really fun, informative, a great way to get your message out, and a good way to network. IGNITE Tucson shows us creative and innovative projects and talent happening in Tucson.”

Odyssey Storytelling

Six invited storytellers have ten minutes to tell their personal stories on the theme ILLEGAL.  The stories are not read or memorized, they are told from the life experiences and creativity of the teller.

This month’s storytellers are writer, Tom Clark; author, Juliana Piccillo; fundraiser, Edna Meza Aguirre; private investigator, Lorna Soroko; retired warden, Duane Vild; and No More Death’s activist, Jim Marx.  Tickets are $7 at the door or can be purchased online at the Odyssey website.

Odyssey Storytelling has been entertaining and edifying audiences for over 5 years.  Because the storytellers are uncensored and from diverse communities the stories may be fun, amazing, messy, enlightening, disturbing, and entertaining . . . and more.