News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 2/10/05   SOUTHEASTERN STAGES PLAY TO BENEFIT VICTIMS OF ABUSE       HAMMOND – Students and faculty at Southeastern Louisiana University are again joining in the observance of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls, with a performance of the award-winning play, “The Vagina Monologues.”       Southeastern theater instructor Selisa Hue said “The Vagina Monologues” will be staged at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 12, at Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall. The performance will be repeated on March 12 during Women’s History Month.         All V-Day events feature “The Vagina Monologues,” which author and V-Day founder Eve Ensler allows to be performed royalty-free if proceeds are donated to related causes.  Hue said tickets for Southeastern’s production are $15 or $25 per couple and proceeds will go to area organizations assisting victims of child and spousal abuse.       Due to adult content, the play is recommended for mature audiences only.       V-Day is an outgrowth of Ensler's play, a series of poignant soliloquies drawn from Ensler's interviews with hundreds of women of various ages, races and ethnicities. The play, which won a 1997 Obie Award and was nominated for Drama Desk and Helen Hayes awards,  explores themes of identity, sexuality, abuse, and the treatment of women across different cultures. Organizers say that the successful international movement spawned by the play has raised awareness -- and more than $25 million in seven years for grass-roots groups around the world.       Last year’s performances, Hue said, raised approximately $3,000. It also generated some not-unexpected controversy.        “The show is about stopping violence against women,” Hue said. “I think people are often nervous about what they are going to see, because of the title. They also are often happily surprised at how much they enjoy and are moved by the show.”       Southeastern is joining hundreds of other universities across the country that are planning V-Day events including Louisiana institutions such as the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts at Northwestern State University, Tulane University, Louisiana Tech University, Loyola University, and Nicholls State University.