The Vagina Monologues
Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturdays, Feb. 27-28, March 6-7, and 2 p.m. Sundays, March 1, 8
Tickets: $10 at the door or OTA office 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday (call 360-683-7326).
by MATTHEW NASH
Sequim Gazette
Before rehearsals even began for “The Vagina Monologues,” Sequim’s audiences were polarized on the production.
“The two distinct comments I’ve heard are ‘Great, I’ve wanted to see that forever,’ and ‘Oh, I can’t see that!” director Sharon DelaBarre said.
The off-Broadway production by Eve Ensler begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave., and runs through Sunday, March 8, as a Second Stage Production.
Three women — Alexandria Edouart, Maggie McDougal and Jennifer Sies — bring the series of sometimes perceived controversial monologues to the stage from a diverse group of female voices from a little girl to an elderly woman.
“The thing I don’t think people understand is that these are all real stories,” DelaBarre said. “They did it by interviewing all sorts of women, different kinds of women from different religions and ethnicities. The stories are real. The life experiences are real.”
Overcoming taboo is something DelaBarre said the play handles well.
“The reality is, I would bet money every woman alive has experienced at least one of these stories,” she said. “It’s always nice to know you’re not alone.”
McDougal agrees saying that many of the monologues she reads on stage are something she might write or think herself.
“I can relate to a lot of it,” McDougal said.
For the play, each actress takes on multiple roles, sometimes appearing alone and together.
DelaBarre said monologues range from a 72-year-old woman, who refers to her genital area as “down there,” to a young girl raped by war militants who describes her life poetically.
“None of them are preachy,” DelaBarre said. “I always feel there is a concern of focusing on rape and molestation, but that’s not the intent at all.”
McDougal said the purpose of the play isn’t to shock people but help create open-mindedness.
“It draws attention to the word (vagina),” she said. “It’s about things that aren’t discussed much openly, especially in Sequim.”
While some reactions have been strong particularly to the title, DelaBarre said “Its a biological word.”
“We’d have the same reaction if it read ‘The Penis Monologues’ up there,” she said. “Even in the introductory monologue we deal with the residual embarrassment in just acknowledging the word.”
Theater volunteers hope “The Vagina Monologues” follows in the success of last March’s “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” by Nora and Delia Ephron.
“That was a softer sell and touched on some of the same things as this,” DelaBarre said.
“One of the reasons we do a second stage is to offer things that are more edgier, and to start a conversation,” she said. “This falls out of the norm and I think it has a tremendous amount of appeal.”
For more information on the “The Vagina Monologues” visit olympictheatrearts.org or call 360-683-7326.
