A sense of excitement and unity came over the Athabasca Train Station on Nov. 27, as women gathered to discuss the upcoming local performance of the Vagina Monologues.
On Feb. 25, otherwise known as ‘V-Day,’ the internationally renowned feminist play – which addresses everything from sex to domestic violence to hair – will take to the Nancy Appleby Theatre stage.
“I did this 10 years ago when I was in university,” said Jocelyn Saskiw, one of the play’s producers. “Somebody was supposed to do it … a few years ago when I first moved here and I called and I was like, ‘I want to be involved’ but it never happened.”
This year, her and Lori Claerhout decided to revive the effort, to raise funds for the Athabasca and area Prevention of Relationship Abuse Action Committee (PRAAC).
“It has to be exactly the way you have it – you can’t cut pieces or add your own stuff,” Saskiw said. “What I do like about that is there’s some tough topics that I want us to touch. Yeah, I know it’s uncomfortable to talk about, but it flows really nicely. It’s funny. It’s sad and then funny, and then it’s shocking. It’ll be an emotional experience.”
According to Claerhout, at least 40 women and some of their male partners have expressed interest in participating in the play, whether that means taking an onstage role (for women only) or helping with the backstage duties.
“I am so shocked, because all you need technically is five people,” Saskiw said.
Claerhout called the play, “a moment of activism.”
“We need to be having these discussions,” she said. “I think these moments of respect for women, in the broadest sense, have to be talked about because the respect isn’t always happening in relationships.”
A mix of about 15-20 amateur and experienced actresses came out to that first meeting, each with their own reasons for getting involved in the play.
“I’m proactive about women’s wellness,” Janet Zatorski said. “I’m a community person. I think it’s important to start the conversations about wellness, respect, sharing the love, being kind to others. I think it’s kind of a time we need this.”
Nattolie Chilton, who said she had studied trafficking and works as a counsellor, said she wanted to bring a “light to what women go through” by participating in the Vagina Monologues.
“It’s almost like every woman has some experience or some story, some experience that they have been through, just as men do,” she said.
Chilton added that she had her own experiences with domestic violence, and wanted to bring the realities of it centre-stage, while raising money for others who may be going through something similar.
“Us women need to be supported,” she said. “Women who go through that need support, and so these funds will support that and I’m all for that.”
For Lorrill Waschuk, performing the Vagina Monologues is almost like providing a community service.
“I love to build the community, to strengthen the community, and I think the community needs a lot more different kinds of media and cultural things,” she said. “This is also awareness. I know there was a question about, maybe the community isn’t ready for this. This community is always ready to open, to learn, to start a conversation about things. I think there’s never time to wait. The time is always right now to bring issues to the forefront.”
Auditions were held on Dec. 4, but for those who want to get involved, they are welcome to contact [email protected].
“We also have a lot of men who want to support us and who want to do things back stage and upstage for this project,” Claerhout said. “Is it timely? It should have happened 20 years ago. It’s going to be fun.”
