The production will take place on Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 pm and on Sunday, February 7 at 2 pm at the Rohovec Fine Arts Center. Admission is $5, and advance tickets are available at The Blue Stone and COPE. Tickets will also be available at the Rohovec box office before each performance.

Ensler’s script is both provocative and touching, amusing and sad; a play for men as well as for women. Ensler began her playwriting process by interviewing over 200 women, asking them to share their sexual histories, experiences, and attitudes. Many women spoke of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Others spoke of sensual celebration and acceptance of their bodies. From their responses, Ensler crafted her monologues.

V-Day 2010 at NMSU-A is enthusiastically endorsed by campus administration.

According to Dr. Cheri Jimeno, President of NMSU-A, “‘The Vagina Monologues’ uses pointed commentaries, tragic testimonials and some humor to educate individuals about sexual abuse and domestic violence. As an educational institution, it is important that NMSU-A sponsors venues that inspire women and men to end abuse. The show provides an avenue to help carry this very important message.”

Because NMSU-A is a key sponsor of V-Day 2010, it was important to director Connie Breding to encourage college students to be involved with the V-Day project.

“When I knew I was going to be directing the show, I started telling the students in my theatre classes that they needed to audition. Many of them weren’t sure they wanted to participate, but when auditions were held, I was pleased to see many of them there. In fact, we also had some of our college faculty and staff audition.”

In all, there are over a dozen NMSU-A students, staff, and former students involved in “The Vagina Monologues.” Students who are performing in the show include Tammy Dodson, Lissa Forrest, Cari del Palacio, Dawn Perez, and LaShanna Weeks

Dodson, who serves as the show’s MC who introduces the monologues, had a good friend who told her what the V-Day monologues were about, and as a result, she accompanied her friend to auditions.

“I believe that we need to get out the word in the community that violence of any kind will not be tolerated, and that each and every one of us has a responsibility to do our part in putting an end to violence in our society,” said Dodson.

Like Dodson, Lissa Forrest wanted to be involved with the show because she strongly felt that awareness about violence and sexual abuse of women needed to be brought not only to Alamogordo but also to the whole world.

“Since I do feel so strongly about this subject, I felt that I could bring out something ‘extra and touching’ by participating in V-Day,” said Forrest. Forrest performs the 2010 Spotlight Monologue which focuses on women and girls of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cari del Palacio, who performs the monologue My Angry Vagina, was excited when she learned “The Vagina Monologues” was to be produced. She said, “I auditioned for the play because I think it is a wonderful statement that helps women especially, but people in general, to understand how beautiful and important women are in our society and that they should not be taken advantage of.”

Furthermore, del Palacio realizes firsthand how devastating it can be for a woman to be in an abusive relationship because she has been in one.

Cari explains, “I know how hard it can be to get away from that, and how isolated you feel when you are in the relationship. It kills me that people live in those situations, especially when friends, family, and neighbors know what is happening and do nothing. We so rarely reach out to those who are abused. We close our eyes when we should be letting those people know they have support and that it is possible to get out of that relationship and move on to happy, healthy lives. For me, participating in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is a way of standing up and saying, ‘I made it. You don’t have to stay. You don’t have to take the abuse. I’m living proof that there is life on the other side. It can be done.’”

Dawn Perez auditioned for “The Vagina Monologues” because she believes the show is a good venue to help open the eyes of the community. “Sexual abuse can happen to anyone, anywhere,” Perez comments. “It isn’t just a certain class of people that is affected by the violence.”

Perez adds, “Being involved in the production is a healing process for me, because I am a victim of sexual violence. The violence is not going to go away until we all stand together and say we will not tolerate it anymore! I am proud to be in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ because it has connected me with so many women who have themselves gone through the same torment that I have. We need to raise our voices together, as one, to be heard.”

LaShanna Weeks had many reasons for auditioning for “The Vagina Monologues.”

Weeks reveals, “When I first showed up at the auditions, I was terrified and confused. I thought to myself, ‘Am I really strong enough to do this? Am I ready to confront these things head on?’ Then, as I listened to the other women at the auditions, as I heard them tell their stories, I realized that I was in the right place.”

Like many performers in the show, Weeks had been in many situations where violence was the key factor of the relationship. “At first I thought this was something that was normal, that violence is something that happened in all relationships.”

Weeks poignantly admits that she has drawn great strength from her mother, who also experienced violence in her relationships. “My mother was shot by her significant other when I was a child. I watched it happen. She had the strength to overcome his abuse and get away. As I grew older and started dating, I noticed a trend. I was attracted to the same kind of men. It took time to learn I was in a downward spiral and that abuse is not OK. I wanted to be a part of this cast and to help open the eyes of other women who have been hurt or are hurting and let them know there are options. I had my mother to help me become a strong woman, and now I wish to be that woman and help others.”

Wanda Wakkinen, faculty member and Communication instructor, is an ardent supporter of women’s rights and in “The Vagina Monologues,” she performs “A Vagina Happy Fact.”

“I’ve worked with victims of sexual abuse and violence as a psychiatric occupational therapist, and I know how vital it is to bring about awareness and stop the cycle of trauma and drama. Along with the Take Back the Night march and rally, I feel that participating in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ meets both of these goals: to have a small speaking part on stage and promote awareness about this very important social problem in our community and beyond,” states Wakkinen.

Other NMSU-A folks performing in or working on “The Vagina Monologues” include Jennifer Hunt-Fountain, adjunct professor of theatre, Will Bartlett, adjunct professor of theatre, Lynette Wedig, Brenda Purvis, Dona Sennett, Christina Stubbs, Jimmie Turner, Greg Fultz, Brian Fitzsimmons, Hollie Eye, and Pita Quitana.

Community members involved in the show include Samantha Krause, Tina Godby-Ware, Denise Lang, Jennifer Rupe, Stacy Weaver, Ann Bagby, Lori Lamphere-Stewart, Pamela K. McNett, Kristina Marzano, Sue Medina, Gayan Moore, Pilar Murray, Liane Ryan, Kobi Weaver, Sky Yates, Marion Ruppert, and Charles Franks.

“The Vagina Monologues” contains graphic language and adult content.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

The final weekend showing of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK are November 20 & 21 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 PM at the Rohovec Fine Arts Center on the NMSU-A campus. Doors open one hour before the show.

Tickets are $8 for adults and high school students and $4 for children and may be purchased at the door. Tickets for NMSU-A students with a current ID are $2 at the door only. Children 8 years of age and older should understand the play. There is no profanity or other objectionable material in the show. For more information, call 439-3670.

Advance Tickets are available at the following locations:

• The Blue Stone on White Sands Boulevard
• TLC Portraits at the White Sands Mall

The show is underway for the New Mexico State University Alamogordo’s Theatre on the Hill production of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, a dramatization of Anne Frank’s original diary by playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

One of the most valuable and informative artifacts of the Holocaust, Anne’s diary focuses on her daily life and the world around her. In July of 1942, fearing deportation to Auschwitz, the Franks go into hiding in a “secret annex” in the attic of Mr. Frank’s former business. Soon after, they are joined by the Van Daan family and a dentist named Mr. Dussel.

For over two years, Anne recorded what life was like in the annex–the fear, tension, frustration–and even boredom–of a life lived under very compromised conditions. Much of the diary centers on Anne’s difficult, if typically adolescent, relationship with her mother as well as her interest in the Van Daan’s teenage son, Peter. Anne also shares her hopes for her life after the war–and her dream of becoming a writer. In this way, the diary introduces readers to a very typical teenage girl–a girl whose thoughts and emotions put a human face on the almost incomprehensible horror of the Holocaust.

Playing the title role of Anne is Andrea Bond, a seventh grade student at Chaparral Middle School. The daughter of Gary and Colleen Bond, Andrea has been active in theatre since she started performing in 2003 with the Missoula Children’s Theatre traveling productions. At NMSU-A, Andrea danced the role of Blue Fish in SEUSSICAL, THE MUSICAL and most recently played Rowdie in THE BIG DOG’S CLUB.

According to director Connie Breding, finding “the right” Anne was very challenging. “We had many talented young gals who turned in impressive auditions, but I kept coming back to Andrea because she captured the exuberance and energy that was needed for Anne. Hiding in the Secret Annex, Anne is restricted to living in a small, cramped space, yet she always keeps an inquisitive nature and a love of life. Andrea was able to connect with that important part of Anne’s personality.”

Victoria Crosby, a student at NMSU-A, plays Margot, Anne’s older, more studious sister. Active in NMSU-A Theatre since 2006, Crosby plans to make acting her career.

Tasked with bringing Mr. and Mrs. Frank to life on the stage are Aaron Adkison and Lori Lamphere-Stewart. While Mr. Frank is Adkison’s first major role, Lamphere-Stewart is well-known to Ruidoso audiences for her many performances with Lincoln County Community Theatre.

The Van Daan family, who shares the Secret Annex, is played by Rod Barnes as Mr. Van Daan, Cari del Palacio as Mrs. Van Daan, and Jeremy Colbert as Peter. Rounding out the cast are Cliff Reisig as Mr. Dussell, Robert Trowbridge as Mr. Kraler, and Larisa Hoke as Miep.

Christina Stubbs and Cherece Laperuta, both NMSU-A students, are the Assistant Directors, while the set is designed by NMSU-A adjunct theatre faculty member Will Bartlett, who is assisted by Greg Fultz, and the members of the Stagecraft class and the Running Crew class. Leif Jones and Joe Busick will be operating the light board and the sound console, Lissa Forrest is heading the prop crew, while Stubbs also handles the duties of Makeup and Costume Designer.