One of the things I was really excited about when I started learning about Helena is that it has a very active community theater. Actually, it has two really active community theaters. When we got here, I started scanning the various newspapers looking for auditions. Finally, one Sunday, I saw them. The Grand Street Theater was holding auditions for The Little Princess. Hmmm. It wasn't exactly the play that I wanted to throw myself into for my big Helena acting debut.
Then, right below it, I saw that the Iron Front Theater was holding auditions for The Vagina Monologues. Wow! My heart soared. Yes! This is it! This is a project I want to be involved with! The audition alone was an amazing experience. Every woman there was incredibly talented. They were uninhibited and honest. They represented all walks of life- from college student to menopausal grandmother. Most had never acted before, but, like me, they were excited about the play and wanted to be part of it.
I got a part. I jumped up and down when the stage manager called me. I hooted when she said I had a really funny monologue, The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could. I hadn't read the part before our first read-through. As I read, I kept asking myself, how is this funny? I felt it was tragic and sad and I couldn't see how any part of it could possibly be funny.
I've spent a lot of time working to understand the character, and now I think I get her. I understand why some of what she says if funny because she says them with the innocence of a little girl. I also understand the dramatic elements. She is a survivor. She isn't broken by the experiences of her life. Instead, she is able to open herself up to love. I respect her so much and I hope to play her well enough that the audience understands her journey.
Apparently, there are certain groups who criticize The Vagina Monologues. Not all of the monologues, just one. The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could. It's not the intensity of the rape description that they have a problem with, but the fact that the character has an affair with an older woman. I'm willing to guess that it doesn't have much to do with the fact that she's older. I think it's just that she's a WOMAN. It makes me so angry. I feel like they are saying a rape is acceptable, but a caring relationship with someone of the same sex is not.
I am not sure how I feel about being at the center of controversy. The teacher in me is scared that it will get back to my students ("Ms. is in a dirty play about vaginas."). The activist in me is enraged that there even is controversy, and is ready to stand up and fight.
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