V's "The Vagina Monologues" performed at Madison Square Garden
Courteys of by Presta.
The February 10, 2001, performance of V (formerly known as Eve Ensler)'s The Vagina Monologues was cheered by 18,000 men and women at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The event raised $1 million for V's V-Day movement, which works to end violence against women and girls.
The Vagina Monologues, first performed in 1996, won an Obie Award in 1997, and has been translated into over 35 languages and run in theaters all over the world. The play consists of a series of monologues drawn from interviews in which V asked hundreds of women to share their thoughts and feelings about their vaginas. Funny, painful, angry: the monologues run the gamut of emotion, and are told in diverse voices, ranging from a sex worker to a victim of mass rape, a 65-year-old to a young lesbian.
In performing Monologues around the world, V says, she was inspired to create V-Day as a way of working to stop violence against women and girls. In order to draw attention to rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation, and sexual slavery, annual V-Day events — including performances of Monologues — raise money for the organization, which then distributes it to anti-violence groups around the world. Since its inception in 1998, V-Day has raised more than $50 million. In 2008, V-Day's tenth anniversary was celebrated at the New Orleans Superdome on April 11 and 12. It included an international and star-studded cast performance of The Vagina Monologues and was preceded by two weeks of local activities meant to bring attention and assistance to efforts to help women and girls of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in rebuilding their lives after Katrina.
To see video clips of an interview with V from the MAKERS project, click here.
Sources: www.vday.org.
I was there at Madison Square Garden in 2001. Eve actually created the monologues in 1998. In 2003 and again in 2006 I helped produce two productions. In 2003 at Town hall with 30 lay leaders of UJA/Federation of NY . This production saw 1200 people at Town hall and raised $250,000. The proceeds benefiting four UJA/federation agencies with domestic violence programs. In 2003 I helped again produce the VM with 23 Long island leaders the proceeds of this at the Tillis Center in Long island raised $125,000 for FEGS domestic and family Violence programs fast forward: Friday Feb 5th 2010 a benefit reading of Eve Ensler's news work" I am an emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World. This show chronicled the stories that were inspired by young girls around the globe and was totally inspiring. 25 Young girls performed dance, poetry song monologues music that were a true platform to let their voices be heard.this is eve's newest work and amazing indeed.