A critic of Fort Lewis College's, "The Vagina Monologues".
I"m not sure what else to say about "The Vagina Monologues". Fort Lewis College's rendition of the nationwide play that present's stories about women and issues affecting women was amazing. I didn't really know what to expect, maybe some feminist man hating orgy, or perhaps a politically pitched pro-lesbian piece, or I dunno, a giant talking vagina. Any of those wouldn't have surprised me, but instead I witnessed a professional, exciting, entertaining and moving play that opened my mind and made me proud of those girls with the guts, skill, and bravery to do what they did last Saturday night.
The Vagina Monologues is made up of about 15 or so short plays, with most based on some woman or girl's story and each running about 5 minutes long. The pace is moderately fast, but I found it easy to get involved in each act before the next one started. .
The lighting involved in the play was very subtle, mostly being limited to changes in intensity and some spotlighting. This worked well and centering my attention solely on the performance of the actress currently on stage. In one piece there was a variation in the style of lighting, and I think that ultimately it detracted from the performance. The setup was in having a bright red light pointed directly at the audience and the actress sitting directly in front of the light. Unfortunately, anyone not sitting directly in front of the actress was overcome by this intensely bright light shining in their eyes. I looked around a saw many people holding up their hands to block the light, and after a few seconds of trying to concentrate on the actress I had to lower my eyes away from the light. I don't know if this was their intent, but all I remember from that piece was the ungodly light.
The props, like the lighting, were also very minimal and limited to a stool and a cane. This was just fine, as there was no need for elaborate props in these short acts.