THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES SEEKS WOMEN OF COLOR, TRANS WOMEN
North NJ Production of Eve Ensler’s Smash Hit Aims To Raise Funds for Local Charity
The Vagina Monologues, the hit international sensation championing an end to violence against women and children, written by prolific playwright and NYC-based activist Eve Ensler is coming to the Studio Playhouse in Montclair (14 Alvin Place in Montclair, NJ 07043) on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 8pm. The performances are directed by William Michael Harper. “It’s always been a dream of mine to bring The Vagina Monologues back to the theater that started my theatrical career 22 years ago.” Mr. Harper adds, “We couldn’t be happier to be working with the board of this courageous, generous, risk-taking theater.”
AUDITIONS are to be held on Sunday, January 12 and Monday, January 13 from 7-9:30pm at the Studio Playhouse at 14 Alvin Place in Montclair. All women are welcome to audition and no previous acting experience is needed. Mr. Harper seeks about 20 local women aged 18-108, of all backgrounds, races, and abilities. The production team is also seeking a number of trans women to perform a brand new piece by Eve Ensler making its debut this year, entitled “He Beat The Girl out of My Boy... Or So They Tried”. Producer Katie Egan Rotio “...urges all to come out, make a difference, and have fun”.
VDay Montclair, which is a local chapter of the VDay Foundation, will stage this charity benefit production of The Vagina Monologues that in 1994 broke ground, offering to the world a piece of art like nothing it had seen before. Based on dozens of interviews Ms. Ensler conducted with women, the play addressed women's sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse, creating a new conversation about and with women. The Vagina Monologues ran Off-Broadway for five years in New York and then toured the United States.
On Valentines Day, 1998, Ms. Ensler and a team of influential women established The VDay Foundation. Set up as a 501(c)(3) and originally staffed by volunteers, the organizations seed money came from a star-studded, sold out benefit performance at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York - a show that raised $250,000 in a single evening. V-Day's mission is simple: it demands that violence against women and girls must end. To do this, once a year, in February, Ms. Ensler allows groups around the world to produce a performance of the play and use the proceeds for local individual projects and programs that work to end violence against women and girls, often in shelters and rape crisis centers.
Proceeds from our 2020 performances will be donated to Start Out Fresh Intervention Advocates (fondly referred to as S.O.F.I.A.). S.O.F.I.A. is a Montclair-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides advocacy, supportive services and referrals for temporary housing to at risk women and children of domestic violence. S.O.F.I.A.’s mission is to provide domestic violence victims and survivors with assistance and encourage them to be positive, self-sufficient, and successful. Through the S.O.F.I.A. Success Center, they offer a variety of free workshops and programming to help the process of emotional healing and financial independence. To learn more about the many services and programs S.O.F.I.A offers to the community, please visit them at
supportsofia.org.
We are honored and grateful to be chosen as this year's beneficiary of the VDay Montclair event, said Cynthia Walker, executive director and founder of S.O.F.I.A.. The local spotlight of this year's performance of The Vagina Monologues reflects S.O.F.I.A.'s micro-focus on helping those affected by domestic violence become positive, autonomous members of our community.”
This production is directed by local theatrical producer William Michael Harper, currently of Roseland, NJ, who has been staging productions of The Vagina Monologues throughout the northeast United States since 2004. It is produced by Alyssum D’Aoust of Bloomfield, NJ; Katie Egan Rotio of Bloomfield, NJ; and Jessica Phelan of Montclair, NJ. Don’t miss this thrilling interpretation of a classic piece of contemporary American theater, complete for the first time with a live DJ, appearances by NJ-based politicians and celebrities, and a few surprises along the way that make you laugh, cry, and feel all the feels!
More information about the event, including ticket sales and audition information, is available at
vdaymontclair.com. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 10, 2020 and start at $25.
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If you would like more information about this topic, please email the producers at
harperstageproductions@gmail.com or visit
vdaymontclair.com today!
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