'Vagina Monologues' for men and women

For the past few days, the word "vagina" has been poking its little head out of the woodwork. Not in the usual form of Kinsey reports, hushed chats between friends, or a new herbal drug trend. "Vagina" has been splashed on flyers, ads, and billboards for all to see across Bloomington and the IU campus to promote "The Vagina Monolo-gues," a play by Eve Ensler which is sliding through Bloomington this week as part of its national tour. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., and runs through Sunday. \n"The Vagina Monologues" attempts to compromise all self-conscious barriers and delve into the broad spectrum of womanhood in all its glory. Celebrating every aspect of female sexuality, the show is based on interviews with more than 200 women describing their personal experiences and opinions about sexuality. These accounts, consolidated into about 17 separate monologues, are meant to inspire, confuse, surprise, and challenge every thought, pretense and stereotype associated with the vagina. \nWhile "The Vagina Monologues" has enjoyed considerable success in respect to the entertainment business, winning an Obie award, it has also served as the springboard for V-Day -- a movement to stop violence against women.\nIn fact, "The Vagina Monologues" has become such a success that celebrities everywhere have taken part in the event, including Calista Flockhart, Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet. \nThe show comes to Bloomington as part of a national tour, sponsored by The Roberts Group and The Theatre Counsel. \n"The show's an enormous hit across the country," said Tim Roberts, booker for The Roberts Group. "That's why we booked it. It tends to do very well in college settings." \nAdam Epstein, an IU graduate and promoter for The Theatre Counsel, worked with Roberts to secure the performances in Bloomington. \n"Adam really wanted the show to come here and work on his home turf again," Roberts said.\nThe performance here in Bloomington is scheduled to feature Amy Stiller, sister of actor and director Ben Stiller, along with Lisa Tharps and Geneva Carr. \n"The show gets to the essence of what theater is about in terms of connection with humanity," Amy Stiller said. "The intimacy of the show is what attracted me to it. It feels like you're in a room, at a party, with three friends, just hanging out."\nThe show's frank attitude has made for some hesitant male spectators. But Bob Tevyaw, company manager for the tour, said that the percent of males in the audience has been higher recently than in previous audiences. \n"The show is very empowering for women," he said. "Usually the audience includes about 10 percent men. But here, there's been considerably more."\nStiller thinks that anyone should be able to enjoy the show -- male or female.\n"It's not like it's some kind of self-indulgent performance art," Stiller said. "It's about self-acceptance, integrity, and truth. The show is about healing all of our hurt and shame. We all have places where we're hurting and this play brings that to the surface. And that's not gender-specific"