'Monologues' moving, powerful

Laughter, tears, screaming, silence and moaning filled the Fine Arts Auditorium at 3 p.m. Sunday as 13 women from the IU and Bloomington communities presented "The Vagina Monologues" to a standing-room-only crowd. \nThe audience, composed of people of all ages, genders and races, was united in appreciation of the show, which deals with a usually taboo topic -- the vagina. The crowd contributed as much to the production as the actresses themselves: their laughter, applause and response created a comfortable, accepting mood in which the performers could shine.\nPlaywright Eve Ensler's work, written after conducting interviews with women of all ages and backgrounds across the country, was presented in a showcase format. Each performer was dressed in red and took the bare stage with three microphones and the energy of the crowd. Some pieces were set up with introductions, but many needed no explanation. \nEach actress brought talent, honesty and vulnerability to her monologue. The tone of the show ranged from a 6-year-old's innocence and honesty in "I Asked a Six-Year-Old Girl," performed by Emily Land, to the confidence of graduate student Alicia Suarez' dominatrix in "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy," to the heartbreak of rape and war in "My Vagina Was My Village," performed by junior Jessica Carlin and Laura Smith.\nThese different emotional levels made the show unique and poignant. Each piece had many layers, most notably in "My Angry Vagina," superbly performed by Diane Kondrat, executive director of InterAction Theater, Inc. She was energized and focused on the stage, kicking a chair over one minute and laughing at herself the next. Her piece was reminiscent of a stand-up routine, decrying the injustices vaginas face on a daily basis: tampons, gynecological visits and insensitivity at large. But her monologue closed with her revealing what her vagina wants, or in essence, what her character wants: "beauty … silence … kindness … everything."\nThe actresses effortlessly took on other lives like different changes of clothes. In "I was 12. My Mother Slapped Me," junior Jada Barbry was a scared girl dealing with her first menstrual period. In "The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could," she was a confident old woman reminiscing about life experiences that made her strong. Without elaborate costuming and make-up, Bloomington resident Brandie Baucco, through her voice and movements, effectively portrayed a grandmother who was in awe of her daughter-in-law's vagina after witnessing her grandchild's birth in "I Was There in the Room."\nAt the opening and closing of the performance, director Abigail Katz and producer Debby Herbenick stressed the reason for the show: raising money for Middle Way House and the Office of Women's Affairs. To illustrate the need for funds, awareness and education, event organizers gave people in the audience a sticker. At the end of the show, those people were asked to stand. They illustrated the statistical number of women who are raped or sexually violated each year in the United States. \nThough much of the show was humorous and candid, the performance left many in the audience with a sober reminder that women are abused every day. By discussing, presenting and embracing pieces dealing with vaginas, female sexuality, rape and childbirth, IU's production of "The Vagina Monologues" entertained and educated the crowd.