Helping to stop the violence

<p>Raising awareness and educating the public in an effort to stop the violence against women and girls is at the heart of V-Day Petaluma's goal as it presents its annual live performances of Eve Ensler's “The Vagina Monologues” on Feb. 17-19 and “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant & a Prayer” on March 4-5.</p><p>The V-Day Petaluma campaign, which stands for “Victory, Valentine and Vagina,” is part of a global V-Day movement dedicated to stopping the violence through hosting benefit productions of Ensler's monologues, starring a cast of local community members.</p><p>Ensler is an off-Broadway playwright who interviewed 250 women about their vaginas with the idea of putting their stories together in a series of monologues. During the first three years of performing the monologues, many women approached her with their own stories; many of them were of abuse. That's when Ensler got the idea that she could do something about it by allowing productions of the monologues to fund-raise in support of women who are being abused — thus founding the V-Day movement.</p><p>Changes to V-Day Petaluma's performances of “The Vagina Monologues” and “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant & a Prayer” include moving the show from the Petaluma Community Center to Pelican Art Gallery, a smaller, more intimate venue.</p><p>“It's a little more personal and the readers and actors will be much closer to the audience than in years past,” said Renee McKenna, spokesperson for V-Day Petaluma. “It's going to add a different feel.”</p><p>While “The Vagina Monologues” was written from the perspective of women, McKenna said that “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant & a Prayer” features the stories and perspectives of both women and men as they pertain to violence against women.</p><p>To date, the V-Day global campaign has raised more than $70 million and funded more than 11,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt and Iraq.</p><p>The global focus of the V-Day movement for 2011 is the women of Haiti, in part because of the devastating earthquake last year, but also because of Ensler's ties to the tragedy.</p><p>“There's a specific monologue added that Ensler wrote about a friend of hers from Haiti,” said McKenna. “This friend took the V-Day movement to Haiti and was an activist there. She was lost in the earthquake. This monologue is in memory of her.”</p><p>“Ten percent of every production done worldwide will go to the women of Haiti this year,” said McKenna. “Another 10 percent goes into the production itself, while the rest goes to benefit organizations in the local community.”</p><p>The monologue performances this year will benefit the Petaluma People Services Center's Girls Circle and the newly founded Petaluma nonprofit, Guided to Safety.</p><p>“We're in the process of forming a board,” said Trisha Almond, one of the founders of Guided to Safety. “Thankfully, V-Day will help us finalize some paperwork, which we need to hire someone to do.”</p><p>Once officially up and running, Guided to Safety will provide domestic violence and sexual assault awareness, resources, prevention and education.</p><p>“We're going to start slow,” said Almond. “Our goal for October, which is domestic violence awareness month, is to get literature out in the form of postcards that describe the signs of domestic violence and what to do if either you or suspect someone you know is experiencing it. The card will include steps you can take and what to say or not say in that situation.”</p><p>PPSC's Girls Circle is a program in which a group of six to eight girls of similar age come together to talk about their concerns and interests. The group is facilitated by a counselor and provides the girls with an opportunity to express themselves through creative and focused activities. Themes discussed in Girls Circle include friendship, body image, dating, decision making, goals and competition.</p><p>Performances of the “The Vagina Monologues” are at 8 p.m. Feb. 17-19. Performances of “A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant & a Prayer” are at 8 p.m. March 4-5.</p><p>Advance tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets for both shows are $35. Advance tickets may be purchased at Viva Cocolat, Curves Eastside and Pelican Art Gallery</p><p>For more information, visit www.vdaypetaluma.org.</p><p>(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@argus courier.com)</p>