‘Vagina Monologues’
island style in March
PHILIPSBURG--An all-female cast will present the St. Maarten perspective of the renowned “Vagina Monologues” in celebration of International Women’s Day, Saturday, March 8. The vaudeville, set for Philipsburg Community and Culture Centre, will run until Saturday, March15.
Co-producers of “In the Company of Women Presents The Vagina Monologues St. Maarten” Clara Reyes, Lysanne Charles, Sinfra Zaandam and Mercedes “Elektra” de Windt want the production to both highlight issues concerning women and ultimately empower the island’s women.
The cast, comprising of veteran and amateur performers, will tell women’s stories poetry, drama, dance and song. Part of the proceeds from the production ticket sales will be donated to local organisations involved in the fight to stop violence against women and to the Imbali Scholarship for the Performing Arts. For ticket information, contact the co-producers.
The four producers have combined creative energies to bring this international production to the island. For the past years, Reyes has brought attention to various women’s issues through her annual production of In the Company of Women. She recently completed a similar male-oriented production called “HiStory, Men and HIV/AIDS.
“The last two productions of ‘In the Company of Women’ provided us all with such a rich experience, not just the cast, but also the women who came to the performances, that I really want to continue bringing this deeper truth to the stage and explore it more,” Reyes said.
The arts, she added, have the ability to transform everything and the truth is that the dialogues that come from the process of putting on these productions always have a healing effect both on the cast and on those in attendance.
For Reyes and her co-producers, the goal is to grab the attention of women at whatever stage they are at and, through awareness, empower them to accept and value all parts of their bodies, even those traditionally considered dirty or taboo.
“As women, we are often taught to devalue rather than value and respect certain parts of ourselves, but until we fully accept all parts of who we are, we will continue to allow others to disrespect and minimize us and by doing so limit our power,” she explained.
The inspiration for The Vagina Monologues St. Maarten is Eve Ensler’s famous book, “The Vagina Monologues.” Women who have not yet read it are encouraged by the producers to do so as soon as possible.
While many issues presented in the book will be localised and adopted for the local crowd, the co-producers’ hope is to stay true to its message of the female. “We want to show St. Maarten women that we are more than “chicas,” “gyals dem,” “hoes” or just orifices, especially for this generation of girls who have grown up on BET, TEMPO and MTV and who have a warped sense of reality on what it means to a woman,” Reyes said.
