"It's never just fluff," said fourth-year student Megan Ross, the director of this year's production of "The Vagina Monologues," with regard to the content of Spectrum Theater shows.
Ross said the group has produced such shows as "The Bad Seed" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" on stage in the past and strives to create socially challenging and provocative drama for its audiences, as opposed to "just fluff," or something simple and straightforward such as sheer comedy.
"We want it to be interesting and to make people think," Ross said.
The cast of ten actors for "The Vagina Monologues" was chosen at auditions held last weekend.
Ross said she helped with "Monologues" during the first semester of her second year and got a part in the group's production of "Arcadia" that spring. Then she co-produced "The Vagina Monologues" during her third year and is back this year as the production's lead director.
Ross said she thinks Spectrum Theater is an important, different theater group at the University because it takes a more laid back approach to productions than other theater venues on Grounds, such as the drama department.
Departmental shows "can be very demanding and hard to get into," Ross said. "Spectrum Theater is important because it casts a wider net and grabs people who don't have the time for departmental shows."
Ross also said Spectrum Theater is unique in that it gives students the chance to direct shows, a rare occurrence in the drama department.
Spectrum Theater produces "The Vagina Monologues" every year as part of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day was started by the playwright of "The Vagina Monologues," Eve Ensler, and a group of female supporters from New York City in 1998.
Spectrum Theater is the medium by which the University takes part in the V-Day movement. Ross said the bulk of the proceeds from the group's annual production of "Monologues" goes to organizations in the Charlottesville community that are dedicated to the curtailment of violence against females. A small percentage of the proceeds goes to the national V-Day campaign.
Each year, "Monologues" consists of ten to 12 standard monologues in addition to two or three new ones that Ensler has written based on world events that occurred during a certain year. Ross referred to these few monologues as "spotlight monologues" because they draw attention to issues of contemporary interest.
This year, the "spotlight monologue" is called "Reclaiming the Peace," Ross said. The monologue is based on the experiences of women in conflict zones and war-torn countries.
"It shows the aftermath and effects of war and what women go through," Ross said. "It shows that women need safety not only in foreign countries but in their homes and here, too."
Ross said for last year's and this year's castings, she and the other directors of "Monologues" focused on selecting a diverse group of actors for the show. They welcomed all kinds and levels of acting experience.
Ross said the directors also tailored their advertisements to recruit students of diverse cultural backgrounds. There was a large increase in the number of women who tried out for the show, from 39 last year to 54 this year.
"This year, our goal is to make sure people don't think it's just about sex," Ross said. "There's a lot about sexuality, and you can't ignore that"
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