Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. Probably because it's one of the few times it's OK for prople to say "I Love You". The V-Day movement chose this time of year to tell the world about a something that continues to hold the human race back from love.
Violence and especially violence against women.
And that's why The Vagina Monologues are performed in February all over the world. The celebration/lesson by Eve Ensler starts off not-so innocently enough, with women talking about their vaginas -- it'a a celebration of that which is the gateway to creation of the most profound kind.
Then you go to intermission and, when you get back, you see what some people have to go through just because they own one of these amazing things. There is a price for owning a little bit of the power to create.
And, over the years, there have been reasponses to the Vagina Monologues. A man by the name of Derek Dujardin had such a response to the show that he wrote The MENding Monologues to show the women of the world that men are listening.
He wanted to make it funny and keep the pieces light but sometimes, it didn't work out so well. There is just so much to think and feel about the concept of violence towards women.
So I joined the cast and we are invited to write our own pieces in response to the Vagina Monologues. And it's been powerful.
Not a laugh riot; not always fun; not a great way to think and feel. But it's a way to show hope. That there are men who won't buy into cheap shots at women, won't accept the status quo; and who stand up for the right of women to be safe.
And there's a third production that takes Derek Dujardin's work one step further. A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and a Prayer is a response from famous writers and performers. This response to the Vagina Monologues, the movement and the fact that there is violence in the world was put together by Eve Ensler and features some of the best writers working today.
And, like the two shows that preceded it, it contains things that are monstrous and beautiful. Well-written, passionately performed and containing a valuable message. This is why I am involved this year and why I am inviting every one I know with children to come to this event.
To these people, I say:vsee one of these performances for your children.
It is one evening out of your life. It will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It will show you that the world is not neat and tidy, that people are capable of perpetrating horror; and that other people have not taken the news silently. It is a way to see the darkness and the hope in the world. Something you should not have to tell your kids about but exists.
Something that I believe in. So please come and see what the world is. Know that you won't be the same after seeing it but you will be informed. Know that there is hope and you and your chuldren represent that hope and know that the money is distributed to the onranizations where it can do the most dood.
Thank you and love,
Kevin
