“The Vagina Monologues” is back at the Hippodrome State Theatre for its third year, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
This episodic play, written by Eve Ensler, features a number of different monologues based on interviews with 200 diverse women. The play debuts Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Hippodrome.
Co-directors Keri Wilson, Emily Snider and Dean Carvalho met while working at a local restaurant and all worked together to bring “The Vagina Monologues” to Gainesville in 2013.
“It’s a resounding, humbling, heart-opening experience of having the community come together and support the cause,” Wilson said. “And now that we have been doing it for three years, we have created a following and people asking how they can be involved.”
Snider said the production raised $10,000 last year, and the directors are hoping to surpass that.
Two of the three performances will even be shown on the main stage in the Hippodrome to accommodate for a higher expected turnout.
“I love how this play highly encourages the vulnerability and courage that comes when a woman owns her story and the empowerment that rises when she declares it her own,” said Alea Wise, a 27-year-old UF second-year graduate student and third-year actress in the show.
Peaceful Paths, an organization that benefits survivors of domestic abuse in Alachua County, will receive 90 percent of the proceeds. The other 10 percent benefits V-Day, a nonprofit organization founded by Ensler that is partnered with One Billion Rising, another nonprofit organization.
Each year, the organization picks a new theme, and this year, the theme is One Billion Rising for a Fair Wage.
“Women make up a good portion of the workforce,” Snider said. “One Billion rising strives for equality represented in their wage.”
This year, the Alachua County Labor Coalition is one of the sponsors of the production. The coalition recently launched its campaign for a Living Wage Ordinance that will set the starting wage at a livable amount.
New features this year include spotlights on the stage and a transgender monologue, said Lynne Loewenthal, the coordinator of the labor coalition and an actress in the play for the third year.
To kick off the movement this year, the Hippodrome opened its gallery to an array of art contributed by 15 local female artists. The exhibit, entitled “Labor of Love: Valuing Women’s Work,” features paintings, pottery and photography.
The exhibit will remain open to the public until Sunday, and a portion of the art sales will go to Peaceful Paths.
The other two showings of the monologues are Feb. 21 and 23. Tickets are on sale now at eventbrite.com.
The cost, which also includes the show, live music, one drink and hors d’oeuvres, is $30 for Saturday’s showing and $25 for the later dates.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 2/11/2015 under the headline “‘The Vagina Monologues’ back for Valentine’s Day at the Hipp"]
