On Feb. 20, the Women’s Empowerment Initiative will be performing their first annual monologue-based production, this year titled “Coming from the Beast.” Seniors Rachel Maddox and Juliette Verrengia spoke to the Voice about the recent history and changes in the show, and their goals for this year’s performance.
Maddox is the artistic director for the show and Verrengia is the producer and head of Women’s Empowerment (W.E.) Initiative. Both, throughout their almost four years at Conn, have been a part of the W.E. Initiative, formerly known as As Told by Vaginas and The Vagina Monologues, which is production staged on numerous campuses across the country.
There is no question, according to Maddox and Verrengia, that the show, whether it goes by The Vagina Monologues, As Told by Vaginas, or the WE initiative, and no matter the changes it has undergone, has been successful on campus. It has consistently given women the ability and the “space to speak apologetically about what it means to be a woman on this campus and in this country,” Maddox said. It is a special and unique community space that not a lot of people have experienced unless they’ve been a part of a similar organization.
So what exactly is the WE Initiative and what is its purpose and intention on campus? Said Verrengia, “We are a club on campus that does events for the community on intersectional feminism, and womenhood in general, and what it means to own that identity. The production itself is a fundraiser for Safe Futures, an organization rooted out of New London that provides services to survivors of domestic violence all throughout SouthEastern Connecticut. We’ve had a partnership with them for a really long time (Darcie Folsom [Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy] used to work there). So one of the main goals of the show is to give a platform to these voices through the monologues and for the women to perform in it and kind of figure themselves out in a way. In addition though, we want to raise a lot of money for safe futures. So there is the educational component for the community about feminism in addition to a kind of personal identity piece for people in the show including the connections they make and the ways that they challenge each other, but also of great importance is the ability to raise a lot of money for safe futures.”
The pair also went on to talk about the fact that Conn has been a great place to have a club such as this because of the number of people that embrace, make themselves aware and participate in educating others about issues of feminism, domestic violence and women’s rights. Maddox cited events such as the Green Dot hockey game and the Green Dot program in itself as examples of the ways in which Connecticut College is making an effort to put these issues out in the open and make taking steps to solve them a part of our everyday lives. One of the unique features which she pointed out (specifically about Green Dot) is the fact that it’s a way of life. It is an attitude and an awareness that in the best way has become ingrained in our community and continues to be championed by student leaders and faculty members alike.
Maddox and Verrengia have bbeen through so much with the club, including its numerous form changes, responses to criticism and further improvements. “It’s been an interesting little journey,” Maddox said when I asked how she felt about her personal experience in the program. She talked about how her first couple of years were an incredible experience, participating in the club, getting to know people and being part of something really special. Both took on leadership positions last year, when Maddox said they started to have the difficult yet important conversations surrounding criticisms about the heteronormativity and a lack of diversity in the club.
These issues led to some of the changes in the name of the club and also actively challenged members to not just acknowledge that there things needed to be fixed, but to put in the work to better the club. Maddox mentioned that what has made this year’s production especially gratifying is that even with differences of opinion on how the club should be defined or what direction it should go in, everybody has been doing the work and putting in the effort to make this show a success.
“I think it’s always really inspiring to see a hundred women owning themselves and taking up space and being loud and doing it, doing the damn thing for lack of a better term in our space and I’m always thankful for Connecticut College for being a place where people can do that to a certain extent,” said Verrengia when asked what we should be looking forward to in this year’s performance. This is a space where women can support, empower, build relationships and share a common identity and an intense sense of solidarity. And in the process, raise money for a great cause as well as taking the opportunity to inspire and teach the greater community.
The show will open at 2 p.m. in Evans Hall in Cummings, and will be performed again that evening at 7 p.m.
