Feminist Collective at Case Western Stages 'The Vagina Monologues'

On February 19 and 20 in the Amasa Stone Chapel on Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University campus, the Feminist Collective will produce a local production of "The Vagina Monologues." Proceeds will go to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

The production is part of V-Day's campaign One Billion Rising for Justice, a global call for women survivors of violence and those who love them to gather safely in places where they are entitled to justice. Their talented cast is a diverse group of women from both the CWRU academic community as well as the greater Cleveland community.

Hailed by The New York Times as "funny" and "poignant" and by the Daily News as "intelligent" and "courageous," "The Vagina Monologues," which was first performed off-Broadway by Eve Ensler, dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement buried in women's experiences. �

Ensler has performed the play to great acclaim throughout the world, from Zagreb to Santa Barbara, from London to Seattle, from Jerusalem to Oklahoma City. Villard Books/Random House first published "The Vagina Monologues," which includes a foreword by Gloria Steinem, in February 1998.�A special edition was released in hard cover and paperback in February 2008 in honor of V-Day's ten-year anniversary.

This special benefit performance is presented this year as part of V-Day's campaign One Billion Rising for Justice, a global call for women survivors of violence and those who love them to gather safely in places where they are entitled to justice -- courthouses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, homes, or simply public gathering places where women deserve to feel safe but too often do not -- and release their stories through art, dance, marches, ritual, song, spoken word, sit-ins, and testimonies.

Proceeds from V-Day Case Western's production will benefit the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. Founded in 1974, the CRCC has been a leader in supporting survivors of sexual violence, promoting social change, and leading sexual violence prevention efforts. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center serves and supports all survivors. In 2013, the CRCC's staff of over 100 volunteer, who contribute the equivalent of 8 full-time staff positions, helped over 18,000 people.

The shows are scheduled for February 19-20 at 7 p.m. in Amasa Stone Chapel on the Case Western Reserve University campus. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for community members, and proceeds will go to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

For information or tickets, visit http://tickets.case.edu