Meet the women behind The Vagina Monologues – Part two

The Vagina Monologues is based on a series of interviews conducted by Eve Ensler as an attempt to raise awareness about the issues women face on a daily basis all over the world. The show addresses issues of sexual assault, abuse, pregnancy, sexuality, etc. while opening up a dialog about feminism and creating an opportunity for women from various backgrounds to have their story told.

 Monica Bi,  second year Global Studies Major, Bay Area, CA

Monica is pat of the Adventure Programs and she is planning on going abroad next year! She is planning to go to Chile for an entire year to understand the cultural differences. She has lived abroad for most of her life and wants to learn about the exposure in South America.

Monica is performing in “Wear & Say” this year and her vagina would wear: “oh god, let’s see, I would wear nothing. I’d be fucking naked, I would wear with no clothes” and it would say “cum at meee!” Monica believes that, “This show means exploring what feminism means to me and pushing my boundaries and letting other women encourage me and support me through my journey of self-exploration”.

Natalie, fourth year Global Studies, South Sacramento, CA

 Natalie is a Resident Assistant in Santa Ynez apartments connecting transfer & International students to UCSB campus resources.  She’s in a duo piece called “my vagina was my village”  about one womxn’s description of her vagina before and after the war in Yugoslavia.  Natalie said: “She is one of the hundreds of thousands of Bosnian womxn refugees who were raped during this war. Her story lives on through this monologue. This monologue is important to me because rape is one the most disgusting, demoralizing acts any being can do to another, yet  it happens oh so often. I know too many people who are survivors of this horrendous act and being able to tell the story of this one womxn who underwent this tragedy is just a small way I can highlight the realness and trauma of this act.”

Nicole Van Noy, fourth year Psychology and Feminist Studies major, San Diego, CA

Nicole is involved with the Planned Parenthood Generation Action club, which focuses on university outreach and raising awareness on issues involving reproductive justice. She plans to go back to school for nursing and midwifery to deliver babies, seeking to empower women to believe in their bodies and deliver naturally as her mother did with her. This is her first year performing in The Vagina Monologues & Herstories. She is performing a piece with four other women called “My Revolution Begins in the Body.” This performance is especially important to Nicole because she comes from a conservative background, so this space is empowering as she seeks to claim her sexuality and speak openly about her feminist values.

Olivia Nathan, first year theatre major, Exeter, NH

Olivia is involved in Greek Life, the theatre department, works as a Desk Attendant at San Miguel and is currently in the Graduated Directed One Acts which will be performed next weekend! She will be making a guest appearance as Columbia in the improv group “Sketch N’ Sniff”’s shadow cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show. She enjoys spending time outside, running, hiking, and going to the beach (thank god for UCSB and it’s prime location, am I right?).

She is performing the piece “Hair”. A piece special place in her heart, because it screams to her, as well it should to you, that you must love all of a woman in order to really love her. This show is important, and to her it means an open space for amazing and diverse women to express themselves and share stories that strike the core of all of us in different ways. We have created a space for it to be okay to express sexuality and celebrate womanhood.

Rachel Gregory, second year Theatre and Religious Studies double major, Dublin, CA

Rachel is overwhelmingly passionate about anything having to do with performing arts, the empowerment of youth and women, working with children, eating food, or education. This is her second year in The Vagina Monologues and she is beyond ecstatic to be working with four other beautiful ladies in the final piece of the show, entitled “My Revolution Begins in the Body.” Rachel believes that this piece speaks to the core message of the show: Every single womxn deserves her own intrinsic revolutionary experience, no matter what it looks like, sounds like, seems like, each one is of equal importance, beauty, and worthy of recognition and celebration.

Rosina Saeed, fourth year Environmental Studies Major and Feminist Studies Minor, Sacramento, CA

Rosina is involved with the Persian Student Group, the Isla Vista Food Co-Op, ECOallition, and organizes within the local community towards climate justice and sustainability. This will be her third year performing in the Vagina Monologues & Herstories with “Because He Liked to Look at It”. Rosina believes the importance of the Vagina Monologues & Herstories is that it is a unique experience and space by women for women that gives a voice to an institution that prioritizes men.

Sarah Broad, second year Psychology Major, Naperville, Illinois

Sarah is involved with the Orientation Program as a Student Coordinator, Greek Life, and works at the SRB Front Desk or a.k.a the SRBaes. This is Sarah’s 1st year being involved with the Vagina Monologues & Herstories cast. This year she is performing “Wear & Say”, a piece about what your vagina would wear and say. And hers “would wear—high-waisted denim shorts” and would say “Fuck yeah!” Her final performance will also consist of a student written piece by Selene Betancourt about conversations with drunk men: “I came into this wanting to be involved and I came out a feminist, which I did not expect”

Selena Saad, second year Psychology major with a minor in Black Studies, San Francisco, CA

Selena is involved in Planned Parenthood Generation Action which is a club (stemming from the political branch of the Planned Parenthood Organization) whose main focus is reproductive justice and education. She also volunteers sometimes with Life of The Party at UCSB which is a non-abstinence based organization associated with the Alcohol and Drug Program that promotes safe partying and alternative events in Isla Vista.

This is her second year doing the Vagina Monologues, and it really means a lot to her to be “surrounded by supportive, strong, wonderful intersectional feminist women who want nothing more than to lift each other up and fight the patriarchy together!”

Selene Betancourt , fourth year Theater Major with a Minor in Applied Psychology, El Paso, Texas

Selene is currently in the process of devising a senior honors project where she will write and direct a play based on the experiences of sexual assault survivors at UCSB and the journeys they take to heal. The Vagina Monologues and Herstories combines her passion for theater and social justice and she has had the most amazing time directing these beautiful, wonderful, and talented women. She is performing The Women Who Liked To Make Vaginas Happy, which has challenged her to find the confident and sexy parts of herself.

Starr Sanford, second year Black studies and film & media double major, Lancaster, CA

Starr brought back a Black women’s support group called “Akanke” in hopes to uplift and empower women on campus. She hopes to start a non-profit organization building art centers in underprivileged neighborhoods with the intention to allow the youth to express themselves through art. This is her first year in The Vagina Monologues & Herstories. She is the emcee for the show who hopes to raise the energy of the crowd in a fun and positive manner.

Shay Mehr, fourth year Zoology and Biopsychology major, Orange County, California

Shay is the Promotions Director at KCSB FM, which is a non-commercial, free-form, community radio station representing the under-represented in media. This is her first year performing in The Vagina Monologues & Herstories. She is performing the introduction with two other beautiful women. This performance is important to Shay because she believes in the power of discussion with sexual health, and that America’s got some talking to do.

You can purchase tickets at Campbell Hall, the day of the show or you can buy your ticket at the A.S Ticket Office, the show is running today and tomorrow