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When I first auditioned for The Vagina Monologues last year, I had no idea I would be embarking on my first real experience
as a public advocate. I did not know much about the play or the V-Day movement, and simply thought it would be a fun play
to improve my acting skills in, since I am studying theatre. I cannot express in words how much more that experience became
for me.
Learning how and why The Vagina Monologues came to be really opened up my eyes. The horrible facts and statistics (about
violence against girls and women worldwide) are shocking, and that is precisely what The Vagina Monologues raises money to
fight against. This can include assault, sexual assault, rape, incest, female genital mutilation, and any other type of violence
against females. The entire process of being in The Vagina Monologues helped me realize how important it is to educate oneself
about significant issues and more importantly, to turn around and inform the world. I realized, as I sold merchandise for
the show or tickets to the show, that I was helping an incredible cause. Though my part was just a small contribution to
this overwhelmingly huge matter, every little bit counts.
For me, performing a piece about a women who was raped as a systematic tactic of war in a Bosnian refugee camp, literally
opened up my eyes to the real life nightmare that thousands of women face on a daily basis. This piece was extremely challenging
to perform every night because it literally drained me of all my emotions. Just a glimpse of the enormous amounts of pain
these innocent women must feel every day of their life moved me deeply. The reality of the situation is so depressing, and
what is even more tragic is the fact that rape occurs all over the world, all the time, and so little is done about it. Performing
this piece and representing one woman who had to experience all those horrendous, frightening things, helped me realize the
importance of becoming a public advocate to fight against it from happening to someone else.
This experience literally changed me. It helped me to become a strong, independent, empowered woman. It exposed to me
the hardships and struggles of women around the world, and also, their triumphs. It showed me the importance of sharing my
newfound knowledge and experience with others. It taught me that I really can make a difference in this world. And most
of all, it made me realize that by being part of a world-wide phenomenon I was able to combine theatre and communication in
a beautiful, powerful, life-changing way.
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