Greetings ladies and welcome to the VDAY movement! Whether you are familiar with Eve Ensler’s production or if you are brand new to the script, the stage and the spotlight, I would like to extend an invitation to all of you.
In 2007, when I first got involved with the ASUO Women’s Center, nonprofit management work and The Vagina Monologues, I started an online forum called The Pluma Project. The free and anonymous site is meant to serve as a place where survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse can share their art, poetry and nonfiction without showing their faces, disclosing their identities, or being judged. Growing the site has been slow-going, but recently, I have expanded the topics to include other, more positive works. I think it would particularly special to feature a collection of reflections from Vagina Monologues cast members.
While I have invited cast members from previous years to participate, I think it is harder to reflect for some people than it is to jot down feelings and experiences as you go through them. If writing is one of your means of therapy and/or self-expression, as it is for me, you have everything to gain by participating in the Pluma Project.
With that, I encourage each of you, new and veteran cast, to journal after rehearsals, take note of how you are growing, who you are meeting, how you feel now versus how you feel before you take the stage in April, what your apprehensions are, why you joined in the first place, what you hope to gain, etc.
In my first year producing the Vagina Monologues, starting in 2007, I was humbled by the empowerment, the community, and the growth I watched myself go through. I have never felt anything like it, and I wrote about it. I will be posting my reflection to the site, and one of last year’s members has posted a piece to the blog. Please feel free to read through these and other works on the site!
Remember, you can remain anonymous if you wish…posting to the blog is easy and free. If you want your name attached to your work, that is fine, too. Any length, any type of work is acceptable. If you want to include graphics, feel free. Questions? I am at email@plumaproject.org, and I will make it to most of the rehearsals.
My hope is to document this year’s growth and community-building within the cast and to immortalize it in written word. Your contributions will help the project grow in the future! Thank you for your consideration — have courage! You are embarking on a marvelous journey. I look forward to seeing this year’s show come together.
Salud and VAGINA POWER!
PLUMAPROJECT.ORG
PLUMAPROJECT.WORDPRESS.COM
Lauren L. Zavrel
The Pluma Scribe
www.plumaproject.org
plumaproject@yahoo.com
