2018 Spotlight: The Resistance
In 2018, staging a production of The Vagina Monologues or A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer is more than just a theatrical experience; it is an ARTISTIC UPRISING, a RADICAL act, an ACT OF RESISTANCE.
2018 Spotlight: The Resistance: Infuse key aspects of your production with the spirit of V20: Rise, Resist & Unite. Consider producing the play in radical spaces. Explore where that might be in your community – ideas include fracking sites, Legislatures, Governor’s offices & City Halls, historical bookstores, museums that typically background women artists, churches, mosques, Planned Parenthood Clinics (work with the clinic on how this can uplift the work they do), refugee and immigration offices, prisons (opportunity to highlight the experience of women in prison/make a statement against the prison industrial complex, and for a restorative justice frame), places that typically exclude women, Trump Tower, etc… (Note: always reach out to discuss the idea of the play as a tool for resistance with the frontline groups working on the issues and how it might work or not within their current actions/campaigns/priorities).
Platform Resistance within your production: Collaborate with a range of local anti-violence groups from groups working to end campus sexual assault (in the US many groups are working to counter the upcoming policy changes expected under Betsy DeVos); Say Her Name and Black Lives Matter; groups working to support refugees and immigrant rights, end mass incarceration, promote fair pay and economic justice issues for women workers and more.
Amplify and lift up the most marginalized groups and activists in your communities with your productions: Center the voices of the most marginalized women on your stage, harnessing the power of The Vagina Monologues to create a space for critical conversations and voices. For example, this might include cast members who are undocumented women (who have made the decision to be public about their status), formerly incarcerated women, women workers, Indigenous women, immigrant women, transgender women and gender non-conforming folks.
Testimonies of Resistance, Amplifying New Voices: When women take the stage, incredible things happen, as their issues are voiced and confronted for all to see and hear. In place of a traditional Spotlight monologue, we invite you to select up to three local leaders or activists to showcase after the play, inviting them to speak to the audience about “What and Why my Vagina is Resisting”. Create a platform for those who are doing the crucial, daily work of resistance. Invite them to share with the audience what they are working to change and how the local community can support them. We suggest each speaker is given 2 minutes each to speak and that you work out staging and lighting for this aspect, so that it is an integrated part of the experience for the audience.
