To raise awareness on violence against women and raise money for local agencies that support these women, “The Vagina Monologues” will show at Mississippi State University. 
Program assistant and instructor Ashley Baker said the show is one of many events promoted by V-Day. 
V-Day is an activist movement that seeks to end violence against women and girls. According to Baker, the performance of the “Vagina Monologues” brings attention to violence against women and celebrates women’s strength and sexuality. “This will be the seventh production of the “Vagina Monologues” here at MSU.  
Last year at MSU, the show raised over $800 to donate to Safe Haven, Inc., a domestic violence shelter in Columbus, Miss., and to the V-day spotlight campaign, One Billion Rising.  One Billion Rising is meant to bring awareness to the community that one out of three women will experience violence in their lifetime, meaning that over one billion women  will be impacted by violence,” Baker said. 
The “Vagina Monologues” is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler. Baker said Ensler interviewed over 200 women to compile the monologues shared in this show. The actors in this show include undergraduate students, graduate students and MSU alumni.
The original “Vagina Monologues” show ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at HERE Arts Center, both of which are in New York City, in 1996. Since then, the play has been staged internationally. In 1998, Ensler and others, including Willa Shalit, a producer of the Westside Theatre production, launched V-Day, a global non-profit movement that has raised over $75 million for women’s anti-violence groups through benefits from “The Vagina Monologues.”
Baker said the event is sponsored by MSU Gender Studies Program, Delta Omega Lambda and Spectrum.  It will be held in McCool Hall Rogers Auditorium on Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m.  Donations are requested. All proceeds will be donated to Safe Haven and One Billion Rising.
Baker said some of the issues that V-day and the “Vagina Monologues” seek to shed light on include rape, incest, battery, female genital mutilation and human trafficking.
“Students will hear both terrifying and hilarious stories about women’s sexuality and strength.  They will learn about different issues facing women and girls around the world.  The hope is that the “Vagina Monologues” will empower the MSU community to stand up and demand an end to violence against women and girls,” Baker said. 
Many students have seen the show in the previous years. Andre Mouring, senior communication major, said the performance is insightful to many different groups of people. He said he thinks anyone who sees the show could take something from it. 
“I saw the ‘Vagina Monologues’ about three years ago. Originally, I went as an extra credit assignment for my sociology class, but after the show I was very glad that I went. The show portrayed the horrors of rape and abuse in a way that essentially put the audience in a woman’s shoes. It wasn’t all sad, though. There were comedic skits, too, which were pretty funny but still informative. Overall, this show makes people think about the things in a way that they normally wouldn’t,” Mouring said. 
Senior student Quita Macklin said she gained a lot from working backstage on set of the “Vagina Monologues.” 
“I absolutely loved the show. It was so enlightening in the way that it gives perspective to not only the audience, but also the cast and crew. Working on this show was a great experience, and I encourage anyone who has not seen it to do so,” Quita said.