Vagina: a word that most people try to shy away from; a word that is not used in our everyday conversations.
Eve Ensler, however, does not stray away from the word. In fact, she wrote a play completely based on the word. Ensler wrote the play "The Vagina Monologues," based on a series of interviews and real experiences women have had.
Ensler is a Tony Award-winning playwright, performer and activist who went to different countries around the world and interviewed a diverse group of women. She asked the women a series of questions based on their sexuality and body, things they hadn't talked about before.
This started V-Day, an event around the globe to end violence against women. "The Vagina Monologues" will play across the world throughout this month, and all the money from ticket sales will go toward charity, said Brandi Terry, a senior magazine journalism and women's studies major.
Terry said 10 percent of the money raised around the world will go to The Spotlight Campaign to help women in group camps in Haiti. The other 90 percent from the local performance will go to the women's shelter in Muncie, A Better Way, she said.
"The Vagina Monologues" is back at Ball State this year thanks to Feminists for Action. Feminists for Action brought the play back after a great performance a couple years ago, Terry said.
"I thought it was a really cool idea that it gives so much money to charity, and it really highlights women's issues," Terry said.
Samantha Ellison, a junior women's and gender studies major, directed "The Vagina Monologues" her freshman year and is now one of the co-directors in the production.
"'The Vagina Monologues' means a lot to me personally, and also I feel that it is important to allow women to share their stories," Ellison said.
When asked how this play is different from other theatrical productions, Ellison said, "This play is a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery. This play brings forth incredible stories of women who show us intimacy, vulnerability and sexual self-discovery."
Ellison also said she hopes this performance can make a bigger, long-lasting impact on its Ball State audience.
"The goal of 'The Vagina Monologues' is to end the violence against women, which takes all sorts of forms: physical, mental and emotional," she said.
Hannah Byers, a junior theatre major, will be performing a monologue about the Bosnian conflict, where more than 100,000 people died.
"It amazes me how little people know about it," Byers said.
Some of the other monologues include topics about the Congo, female genital mutilation and women coming to terms with their anatomy, Byers explained.
Byers got involved with the production through her feminist theater class last semester, and she made friends with one of the directors, Mead Jackson. She said the play has helped her grow as a person.
"It's a play that takes much more than just being a good actor; it takes having a personal connection," Byers said. "It makes you come to terms with something bad in your life, but you find that you can talk about it in this production."
Terry said that she wants people to see that, "women do think about these things, and women do have these things going on."
Byers and Terry both said working with the cast for this production has been a different experience.
Byers explained she isn't used to being around a lot of girls.
"I feel like I have a new respect for women as a group," she said.
The whole point of "The Vagina Monologues" is to shine light on issues people don't normally see, Byers said.
"The main goal of 'The Vagina Monologues' is to make the world a better place," Byers said.
Some people may be turned off by the title, Terry said, but she encourages people to step out of their comfort zones.
Tickets are available at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Room 116 or at the door for $5. The production starts at 8:00 p.m. on Friday in the Fine Arts Building Room 217.
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