Clarksville, TN – “Funny, outrageous, emotionally affecting and occasionally angry” … following a one-year hiatus, Eve Ensler’s wildly popular series of monologues about women and performed by women is back for the nineteenth year with the Roxy Regional Theatre’s presentation of “The Vagina Monologues”, January 7th – January 15th, 2022.
This year, four local ladies will take the stage of theotherspace, the 50-seat black box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy, in readings of these monologues based on interviews Eve Ensler conducted with 200 women about their views on sex, relationships and violence against women:
[1](Clockwise from top left) Emily Rourke, Kimberly Wiggins, Melissa Schaffner and Adriane Wiley-Hatfield star in Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” in the Roxy Regional Theatre’s theotherspace, January 7th – January 15th.
Cast
- Emily Rourke, artistic associate and company member of the Roxy Regional Theatre, whom audiences will remember from countless productions, including The Rocky Horror Show (Columbia), Oklahoma! (Ado Annie), Damn Yankees (Gloria Thorpe) and A Chorus Line (Cassie);
- Melissa Schaffner, chief of the Non-Appropriated Fund Support Division at Fort Campbell MWR and board member of Roxy Productions, Inc., who has been lending her talents to the Roxy’s annual presentation of The Vagina Monologues since 2017;
- Kimberly Wiggins, Montgomery County Trustee and board member of Roxy Productions, Inc., who last graced the stage of theotherspace for The Vagina Monologues in 2018;
- Adriane Wiley-Hatfield, a Clarksville native and Roxy veteran whom audiences will remember from Doubt (Mrs. Muller), Distracted (Vera), A Raisin in the Sun (Beneatha Younger) and Nunsense (Sister Mary Herbert), among many others.
An Obie Award-winning whirlwind tour of a forbidden zone, “The Vagina Monologues” introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices, including a six-year-old girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, a vagina workshop participant, a woman who witnesses the birth of her granddaughter, a Bosnian survivor of rape, and a feminist happy to have found a man who “liked to look at it.”
In an interview with women.com [2], Ensler said that her fascination with vaginas began because of “growing up in a violent society.” “Women’s empowerment is deeply connected to their sexuality.” She also stated, “I’m obsessed with women being violated and raped, and with incest. All of these things are deeply connected to our vaginas.”
Contributions will be collected each night for the Clarksville Sexual Assault Center, which provides counseling and support to children and adult victims of sexual abuse and community education programs to reduce the risk of victimization. To learn more, visit www.sacenter.org [3].
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“The Vagina Monologues” is presented in theotherspace, the 50-seat black-box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy, and plays at 7:00pm for five nights only: January 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th and 15th. Due to language and content, this production is recommended for mature audiences only.
“The Vagina Monologues” is presented through special agreement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York, www.dramatists.com [4].
Tickets are $30.00 and may be reserved online at www.roxyregionaltheatre.org [5], by phone at 931.645.7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9:00am to 2:00pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to curtain).
Health and Safety Precautions
Facial coverings masking the nose and mouth are REQUIRED inside the Roxy Regional Theatre (except when actively eating or drinking) for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. The Roxy Regional Theatre reserves the right to change this COVID-19 policy at any time and will communicate any necessary changes electronically or in person.
About the Roxy Regional Theatre
The Roxy Regional Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre and promoting the arts, with emphasis on education, in Clarksville, Middle Tennessee, and the Southeast. The theatre is located at 100 Franklin Street in Historic Downtown Clarksville.
For more information, visit www.roxyregionaltheatre.org [5]