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March 10, 2009
FMLA’s Production of The Vagina Monologues Raises $3,000+ for the Women’s Refugee Commission
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CONTACTS:
Megan Youngblood, Communications Specialist, myoungblood@mmm.edu; 212) 517-0658
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Cast of MMC's production of The Vagina Monologues
| | (New York, NY) The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) and the 2009 V-Day College Campaign presented a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues in support of New York City's Women’s Refugee Commission. After one weekend of performances, FMLA raised a total of $3,110.40, the largest amount raised by The Vagina Monologues program at Marymount Manhattan in more than four years.
“We knew that raising money this year (nonetheless, attempting to surpass last year’s profits of $2,400) would be a struggle given the circumstances of the economy,” FMLA President and acting major Melissa McNerney ’09 said. “What we encouraged the cast to do as they worked on our advertising and sponsorship campaign was to remind the people in the community that if times are hard for us in the United States, imagine how difficult it must be for those who rely on the generosity of humanity to help their struggling communities.”
Through the performances, FMLA’s goal was also to educate people about the V-Day 2009 Spotlight: Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a new global campaign to call attention to the wide-scale atrocities committed against women and girls in Eastern DRC and demand an end to the impunity with which these crimes are committed.
“For the first time at Marymount Manhattan, we used media in our production of TVM, which included a six-minute photojournalistic video provided by V-Day filled with images of the women and girls at shelters and hospitals in the Congo,” McNerney said. “These provocative images, along with the words of three poems written by Eve Ensler provided our audience with a visceral glimpse of the horror and pain that has infected the lives of countless women and girls in the DRC, but it also provided an important display of the courage and strength the women of the Congo possess.”
After both performances, FMLA brought onto the stage representatives from Women’s Refugee Commission to speak briefly to the audience about the organization, the work they do, and how to get involved.
McNerney also said that she, the directors and the cast continue to receive emails and praise about this year’s production.
“One of the most moving responses came from MMC Theatre Arts professor Dana Edell,” McNearney said. “Dana works with a group of young women at an organization called ViBE, who we invited to the February 15th performance. Their reactions to Eve’s play and our message about the Congo left them wondering if they should laugh or cry. They used the inspiration they felt from The Vagina Monologues to construct their own one-woman shows at ViBE.”
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse population by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.
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