For some students on a Jesuit, Catholic campus such as Saint Louis University, it feels as if there is no chance to talk about relevant issues relating to one’s identity, including issues of sexuality. In a response to this void, the student organization Una is coordinating the third annual SLU Monologues.
“At SLU we don’t offer a lot of opportunities for students to talk positively or negatively about sexual experiences,” Caitlin Bancroft, the coordinator of SLU Monologues, said. “It’s a good opportunity for people to share their stories.”
Although students perform the monologues, staff, faculty, alumni and students have the opportunity to write monologues based on gender, sexuality, body image and anything else that encompasses one’s identity. Once written submissions have been collected, performers will be able to audition to read monologues — either theirs or another’s — for performances on Feb. 24 and 25, 2012.
“Whether these stories are joyful, sorrowful, terrifying or hilarious, these stories are a part of the person,” Kayla Dougherty, a member of Una’s core team, said. “Members of our community are subject to daily reminders that certain beliefs or actions are taboo, but the monologues give individuals the chance to tell their stories, hear others and see that the events and actions of one’s life don’t necessarily make them a good or bad person. Instead, those events are indicative of one’s humanness.”
Una is currently accepting submissions for this year’s production of the SLU Monologues until this Sunday, Nov. 6. Last year Una had approximately 40 submissions for the SLU Monologues, but, this year, as of Nov. 1, the feminist organization had just nine submissions on the Tuesday before the final deadline for the 2012 production.
“We are looking for a wide spectrum of stories and participants,” Bancroft said. “We’ve reached out to communities who generally do participate in Una events, including Greek Life organizations.”
Theresa Meinert, a member of Una’s core team, echoed Bancroft and Dougherty’s sentiments.
“So often, members of the SLU community find themselves voiceless,” Meinert said. “The SLU monologues provide an opportunity for individuals to share the stories that have made them who they are.”
This year’s production of SLU Monologues is the largest event on Una’s calendar. In the past, Una has produced Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” as part of their celebrations of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women. In the past three years, Una was prohibited from performing “The Vagina Monologues” on-campus, and instead produced the show at an off-campus venue, The Sheldon Concert Hall.
As a part of last year’s Student Government Association’s annual funding reviews, Una was denied monetary support for an off-campus performance of “The Vagina Monolgues” in 2012, due to a problem with how the past year’s event had been promoted. There was contention at the time about exactly whether or not Una had broken financial guidelines. At the time, Una claimed that the event was free for students, while SGA claimed that the event was promoted as requiring payment for entry.
According to the Una Core Team, this year’s production of the SLU Monologues is that much more important for SLU because of the omission of “The Vagina Monologues.”
“We want to provide the space for [students to submit a monologue] if they choose to,” Meinert said. “If an individual feels called to share an experience they have had with the greater community, this is a safe space for it. People need to know that there is a community of others out there, and as cliché as it sounds, that they are not alone.”
Dougherty said she encourages students to submit a monologue because people have stories that need to be told, and this provides a outlet for them to do so.
“People need to hear that there are other people out there who have gotten hurt, who have had crazy sex, who have never had sex, who have fallen in love, who have fallen out of love, who have been to hell and back, and that all of them have survived and come out stronger in the end,” Dougherty said.
Submissions for this year’s production of the SLU Monologues can be made online at bit.ly/slumons2012. All submissions can be made anonymously, if so desired, but must be made by Sunday, Nov. 6.
