'Monologues' celebrates women's true stories

SE/ALL/VIEW--Director Sarah Pick watches a rehearsal at UNLV for the Vagina Monologues. Friday, February 25,2005--View photo by shelly donahue SE/ALL/VIEW--Miranda Smith, left, and Alma Castro rehearse for the Vagina Monologues at UNLV. Friday, February 25,2005--View photo by shelly donahue

For the last four years, "The Vagina Monologues" has sought to entertain and inspire women and men alike. The production, brought to Las Vegas by Tia Paymar, has seen a steady increase in attendees, to the point where it had to be moved to a larger venue, and it has raised a considerable amount of money for local and international women's charities.

Jaime Leorna, co-director of the production, said besides the true stories that are told each year, she also is inspired by just being a part of a performance that is put on throughout the world. Leorna was involved in the monologues as an actress before switching sides to direct the play, which is slated locally for 7 p.m. March 18 at the Artemus Ham Concert Hall.

"As we celebrate women, we're also raising awareness," Leorna said. "The theme is always to envision a world without violence. The writer, Eve Ensler, compiled stories from women around the world. She writes them in monologue form. These are real women's experiences. And 90 percent of proceeds go to Rape Crisis Center. Ten percent will go to V-Day spotlight issue. This year, it's women in Iraq."

Thousands of performances are staged globally in places such as Israel, Afghanistan and Kenya. Leorna said the fact that many of these cities will even allow the shows demonstrates that people are becoming more sensitive to women's issues.

"A lot of the women put their lives on the line to put these performances out," Leorna said. "It's intended to educate. But it's not all sad stories. There are one-liners about women's experiences that are really funny. It's a lot of diverse performances."

Cast members and behind-the-scenes helpers volunteer their time to make sure the performance goes off without a glitch. Leorna said the first time she saw it, she knew she had to become involved. She even brought her boyfriend to last year's one-night-only performance.

"I actually saw the performance for the first time on HBO, and when I saw it on television, half the time I was sitting there with my jaw dropped," she said. "It was so true to what I'd experienced myself. Being with all these women is also empowering. And just by coming, people are giving back to the community."

Shandi Pierzina, another director of this year's performance, is a full-time student at UNLV and works on campus at the women's center. With places such as the Republic of Uganda forbidding people to perform the play, she believes that speaks volumes about its effectiveness.

"It makes me feel very fortunate that I live in a place where there's no resistance," she said. "It makes me feel blessed that we can still perform this here. Half of the world has vaginas and everyone came from one, so it's kind of silly that we would omit this from performances or shows."

Tickets are on sale at the UNLV Performing Arts Center Box Office for $12 for the public and $5 for UNLV students and faculty, and they can be obtained by calling 895-2787 or visiting www.unlvtickets.com.