Valentine?s Day in Bel Air will mean more than just flowers and sweet nothings this year, as the fifth annual V-Day performance of “The Vagina Monologues” raises money for organizations helping to stop violence against women and girls.
Harford Community College finally accepted the annual performance of Eve Ensler?s show about self-image, female anatomy and the relationship between them, said Jane Howe, the performance?s publicist.
“Harford County has a hard time with things that are a little bit controversial,” Howe said. “But now, nobody thinks we?re weird anymore.”
What began as a one-performance community-group project has blossomed into an event fully sponsored by HCC student groups, hosted in the college’s Chesapeake Theater and sold through the college box office, Howe said.
Started nine years ago by Ensler, the V-Day project is a global initiative that encourages performances of “The Vagina Monologues” in communities and on college campuses as a way to empower women and raise money for organizations that protect them.
“It?s about encouraging women to take control of their bodies and be comfortable talking about them,” said Director Stacie Beard, who will helm Harford?s production for the fourth consecutive year. “When women think of their bodies as their own, they?re less likely to let some one else control them.”
Nineteen performers ? students, staff and teachers ranging in age from college freshmen to the elderly ? will read parts of Ensler?s play for three showings this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Other women have helped behind the scenes, Beard said.
Money raised by the local production will go toward The Family Tree, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect, and Family and Children Services of Central Maryland, where the funds will be marked for domestic violence-awareness programs or helping victims of violence, Beard said. Since beginning five years ago, they have raised approximately $24,500, she said.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for students and are available at the Chesapeake Theater’s ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by calling 410-836-4211. Tickets will also be available at the theater the day of the show. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
