Ready to empower and inspire, a group of performers will hit the stage at the University of Guelph this weekend.
One of these performers, Katrina Stephany, will be joining the cast for the first time for the annual production of The Vagina Monologues put on by V-Day Guelph.
“There’s some really tough material. Some of it can trigger people, but there’s also a certain joy, an affirmation and reclamation of space,” Stephany says.
“It’s not just a group of people performing at you. It’s an opportunity to be there and participate in something bigger than yourself.”
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written in 1994 by Eve Ensler. The play explores consensual and non-consensual sexual experiences, body image, reproduction, vaginal care, menstrual periods, sex work and other topics important to women of various ages, races, sexualities and other differences.
“It provides an opportunity for anyone from any category to have their voices heard,” Stephany says.
For Stephany, it’s an opportunity to help empower women, to help them feel better and stronger after seeing the performance.
And today, she too has found new strength, but not without having overcome her own personal struggles.
“If you spoke with me just over a year ago, I was a completely different person before I came out,” Stephany said.
The conflict between being who society expected her to be and who she really was led to years of depression.
That weight had been lifted off her shoulders since coming out as transgender.
And her brilliant smile and light-hearted nature say it all.
“I spent so much time trying to prove myself to others but now I realize that it really doesn’t matter. I know that I’m a woman and I’m happy. I’ve never felt better in my life,” Stephany said.
“I remember after coming out, all I wanted to do was dance.”
With a master’s degree in geography, Stephany decided to pursue her life-long passion and is currently an honours student studying theatre and creative writing at the U of G.
“Theatre is something I’ve always wanted to do. So, at 53, here I am, and the happiness shows,” she said.
The opportunity to perform in The Vagina Monologues was one Stephany did not want to pass up.
“One of the cast members in my theatre class encouraged me to try out. I was hesitant at first being a transgender woman and I wasn’t sure how I would be received but I’ve been accepted so fully. It has just sold me on the entire thing,” Stephany said.
Stephany will be performing an extremely powerful piece in the play called "They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy" and as with all of the pieces in The Vagina Monologues, it is based on true stories that were told to Eve Ensler as she interviewed over 200 women about their experiences.
The piece highlights the stories of transgender women.
“As a trans woman, it’s been empowering and affirming that I’ve been accepted as a woman into the group from day one. It really gives me confidence that the more we bring women together like this, we can face our issues. It helps us understand that we are all in this together. At the end of the day, we are all people,” Stephany said.
“And It’s all about being treated like people. This is the benefit and empowerment of V-Day.”
The Vagina Monologues is the cornerstone of the V-Day movement, an organization that works to stop violence against girls and women. Participants stage benefit performances of the show and host related events in their communities which take place each year between February and April.
V-Day encourages renditions of the Vagina Monologues to include as many diverse actors as possible.
Performances benefit rape crisis centers and shelters for women as well as similar resource centers for women and girls experiencing violence.
Every year, V-Day Guelph produces The Vagina Monologues and the group says it is always seeking to represent the voices of trans women, women of colour, queer women, women with disabilities and other marginalised groups within the community.
The Vagina Monologues will be performed in Massey Hall at the University of Guelph on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 starting at 7 p.m.
“We have about 12 performers along with those helping with tech. Students as well as community members are in the cast and some of their poetry and prose will be included as well,” Stephany says.
All proceeds support Guelph Women in Crisis.
“I’m really honoured to be a part of this, to be accepted as part of this incredible group of people. And for me personally, it’s been empowering. It has allowed me to claim my spot. It’s a form of resistance. It normalizes me,” Stephany said.
“This is also a form of activism. I’m saying I’m here. I have emotions and feelings and I’m just like everyone else. And I have a right to be here.”
Go here for ticket information.
