Annual "Vagina Monologues" to be held Mon., Tues.

"The Vagina Monologues," written by Eve Ensler, will be performed at 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 as well as Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, at The Pier in Tyler Hanes Commons. Tickets are being sold in the Commons for $6 each or can be bought at the door for $8. The play is directed by junior Mary McDonnell.

"The Vagina Monologues," an annual benefit production, is performed on campus to raise awareness of the violence against women, McDonnell said. Statistics show one in three women will be physically or sexually abused in their lifetime, said assistant producer Katie Lambeth.

The show is a compilation of monologues based off Ensler's book, a series of interviews, Lambeth said. After creating "The Vagina Monologues," Ensler founded V-Day, a non-profit organization that supports anti-violence organizations around the world and strives to stop violence against women, according to the V-Day website. "The Vagina Monologues" is one of V-Day's campaigns to raise money for the organization.

Ten percent of the proceeds from "The Vagina Monologues" go to the V-Day organization and the other 90% is being donated to Safe Harbor, a local shelter for women who have been domestically abused, said Bryarly Richards, senior producer.

Every year, a new monologue is added to the production to keep the show current, Lambeth said. This year, the "spotlight" monologue is a combination of the past three years' productions that focused on problems and poverty in Haiti, New Orleans and Congo, Richards said.

"[The show is] people playing characters from all around the world, all diversities, all their experiences; some good, some bad, some sad," said Lambeth.

Safe Harbor's staff will be present before the show to answer any questions about their organization and to talk about abuse among women and children in Richmond.

According to the V-Day website, "The 'V' in V-Day stands for victory, valentine, and vagina."

Contact reporter Marie Jayme at marie.jayme@richmond.edu