Response to The Vagina Monologues (Adrienne Fischer)

Subject: Response to The Vagina Monologues

The most immediately noticeable thing about Thursday’s performance of The Vagina Monologues was the audience – or lack thereof. It seems that many women are more worried about missing an episode of Grey’s Anatomy than they are about vaginas. Luckily, our cast assured us, they are worried about vaginas. Having seen this performed twice before – once in a similar Austin College production and once in the form of Eve Ensler’s one-woman show on HBO – I was familiar enough with the material that it was like putting on a warm blanket. Like old blankets tend to be it was comforting in its familiarity but rough and scratchy in places.

First let me say that I have always preferred this material in the form of a one-woman show. It is admittedly unfair to compare an amateur group of college students to the author of the material, but I think there is something about the material that lends itself more readily to the hands of a single performer. Having said that, performance cannot entirely diminish the experience of the material. The Vagina Monologues are like the opera – you’ll either love it or hate it when you first see it. You might come to appreciate it, but the first blush is what will always stick.

I found many aspects of the production distracting. The lighting on center stage was dimmed during monologues, with the performers usually occupying the front of the stage. While this did add to the intimacy of the monologues, the front stage lighting was a bit too, well, blue. I found myself staring closely at the heads of several performers and wondering, “Do they have blue highlights?” The setup was also distracting. I will reiterate that I liked the idea of having monologue performers in the forefront, but in reality it detracted from the entire segment. This was mostly due to a worrisome amount of fidgeting on the part of the remaining cast. It was entirely unintentional, but by moving the performer to the foreground, the setup actually emphasized any movement in the background.

The acting was, to be sure, earnest. I felt at times as though the girls were trying too hard. Most monologues had a high point that redeemed any shortcomings, but for the most part there was a pronounced lack of making it their own. It was as though they were attempting to perform them in the exact manner they imagined their authors to have done. The disclaimer notes that these monologues are amalgams, not to be read as belonging to any one individual. They should be performed as such. The high point of the night for me was watching Mary Bryant do her thing in “My Vagina is Angry.” This was what I wanted to see from the rest of the performers – have as much fun as possible and try to get more than an understated chuckle from the less-than-impressive audience.

~ Adrienne

Written by Adrienne Fischser - February 20, 2007
Posted by Kirk Andrew Everist