Wednesday, April 13, 2011

V-Day Until the violence stops!

In the dressing room before the show
I was recently in a bilingual production of the Vagina Monologues in Seoul and am proud to say we raised over $18,000 for KUMFA which is an organization in Korea that helps combat the discrimination that unwed mothers face here. Unwed mothers here are forced to either abort or put their children up for adoption. They rarely are allowed to keep the child for themselves. I feel proud to have raised money for this organization because it personally effects me. One of my greatest friends, Anna, was adopted from Korea as a young girl and her birth mother inevitably faced discrimination as a result of birthing such a beautiful soul.  
I take for granted that everyone knows what the monologues are about. It is a collection of women stories, thoughts and feelings about their vaginas'. It is not a show against men it is a show that raises money to end sexual violence world wide. It is a celebration of what makes women perfect. To learn more about  V-Day click on that link. 
The first time I did the Monologues was in Plattsburgh in 2002 and it was a much different experience. It was so uplifting and empowering. Unfortunately I didn't feel the same about this production. We didn't really have the opportunity to bond as a cast the way I would have liked to. I wasn't even able to learn their names or why they wanted to be in the production. I was looking forward to being in that strong female space filled with energy and light that only comes from a space full of vaginas. Unfortunately for me the male director put a dark cloud on that positive energy for many of us. He was actually the "co-director" but it didn't feel that way. He told me I needed to be sexier.... sexy is a state of mind not an article of clothing doucher! He told one of the angry vaginas to be less emotional... How does one deliver "My angry vagina" without a strong degree of emotion? I'm sure he is talented at stage direction but his presence was really not needed. I wish our female director had known how much we all trusted her and respected her and could have believed in herself enough not to ask for his help. Even though I wasn't able to make the connections I would have liked to I am still very proud to say that I continue to be a part of V-Day (anyone want to help me put it on in Plattsburgh next year?). I met some great women and we did share some special moments on that stage. I know we all feel great about helping out this place that has been our home away from home. We even got blogged about  Expat Chris's Blog

My actress bio poster
Sidewalk advertising
The Moaners
Me, Christine and Krystal
We opened the show
Christine, Courtney and Me
Some of the V-Cast
 Derrika, Me, Courtney, Christine, Ada, Michelle
Khiana,Dari and Yeon Hee Yoo 

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