Hers, Theirs, Ours is happening this weekend
‘We will speak now and demand that you listen’
In a Willow Street apartment in the midst of the sweaty heat that is New Orleans in mid-June, a group of Tulane students gathered around platters of cheese and pasta to discuss the future of the school’s Vagina Monologues production, a long-running tradition for female members of the Tulane community.
Headed by three Tulane students affectionately referred to as the TITs, Tova Steele, Ivanka Reksono, and Teryn Yazdani began the meeting by asking what we wanted the production to be. This is where Hers, Theirs, Ours started, based solely on the writing, ideas, and struggles of actual Tulane students.
The lovely TITs (PC: Ashley Easterly)
At this point, it had already been decided that the name, and thus Eve Ensler’s famous monologues, had to go.
“Genitalia does not equal gender. The Vagina Monologues was an important space and it was incredible for some women when it came out, namely cis white women. But it was incredibly dismissive of others,” Ivanka Reksono stated when asked about the change in the production’s title and content.
“Cis women of color, trans people, Agender people, and non-binary people were all left out of the conversation. Vaginas are still stigmatized but it’s not the most important part of a person’s identity. We wanted to create a space for those who feel silenced by gender-based oppression on Tulane’s campus and that’s not just people with vaginas.”
(PC: Ashley Easterly)
With this change came the pressure of writing an entire show, as well as the coordination of a group of nearly 200 students to write it. “We wanted the show to be a good mix of topics,” said Teryn Yazdani, “because the experiences of Tulane students are so varied.”
To do so, the team took submissions from all students who wished to contribute, set up writing workshops for all interested, and even set up anonymous Google surveys for certain topics, such as sexual violence, in order to ensure all voices were heard.
(PC: Ashley Easterly)
In all, the production received over thirty monologue submissions, twenty-two of which are featured in the show, with topics ranging from experiences with lackluster sex education, mental illness, racism, and even creepy tinder pick-up lines. By far, the most popular subject of the monologues received was sexual assault.
“We’re a One Billion Rising production, the name of which comes from the statistic that one in three women will face gender based violence in their lifetime. Gender based violence isn’t just sexual assault though– it’s oppression and not feeling empowered or like you’re able to speak out,” Reksono explained to The Tab.
“All proceeds from the show go to STAR: Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response and members of STAR and SAPHE will be standing by to support audience members who are triggered by the content of the monologues.”
(PC: Ashley Easterly)
Using anonymous submissions from the student body, Tova Steele created a monologue entitled “Survivors,” one of the most empowering in the show.
“I didn’t realize how many people on our campus had experienced sexual assault and violence until Vag Mons bonding last year,” Steele stated. “Students on Tulane’s campus have been through these world-shattering things that they’re dealing with every day and they have nowhere to talk about what they’ve dealt with. A lot of these people have never even been able to say what happened to them out loud. Hers, Theirs, Ours gives them a safe and supportive space to do so.”
The production features more than just heartbreaking pieces, however. “It’s about an even mix of comedic and dramatic monologues,” Yazdani said. Members of Cat Mafia Comedy (formerly known as Etch-a-Sketch Comedy) and the Vignette have been involved in both the writing and production of the show, which features more light-hearted subjects such as thongs and the strange link between sex noises and capitalism.
Hers, Theirs, Ours will be performed in Kendall Cram this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8 PM. Given the 120 members of the cast, you probably know someone performing.
(PC: Ashley Easterly)