untitled (because everything i thought of had the words 'deep' and 'vagina' in it, thus sounding dirty)

Last year around this time, I wrote a lot of really deep, philosophical things about The Vagina Monologues, and what acting and helping to produce the show for so many years has meant (and continues to mean) to me. And now, as I embark on my fifth year as a part of this incredible production, I'm taking on for the first time the roles of director and producer.

Luckily, I'm not doing it alone -- I've got a fabulously talented co-director/co-producer at my side, and as of last night at our first official team meeting, a brilliantly talented cast of women, as well. I'll save you another run through all the touchy-feely-deep stuff, mostly because I've realized recently that as much as I like to be in touch with myself and all that, not everyone wants to hear it. I realized this mostly because of the disproportionate amount of times I heard the phrase "The universe is really telling me to be here right now" in the space of about a week and felt a little bit of my lunch coming up.

What I will say is this: this blog has always been about experiences. It's been about travels and adventures and lessons learned and explorations made. A good many of them are humorous, and I like it that way. But once in a great while I do enjoy sharing something like The Vagina Monologues with you, because it has been one of my greatest experiences, one of my biggest adventures and has come with dozens, hundreds of lessons learned.

But the most important thing I've gained from all these productions is the friendships of women who I admire, respect and cherish. My best friend Holly and I were discussing just the other day the absolute necessity of female friendships. Indeed, they are the relationships that most sustain me. Like any good Southern girl, of course, I look forward to the day when I manage to find a man who will put up with my shit for more than five minutes, put a ring on it (as Beyonce so eloquently sang) and promise to continue putting up with my shit forever. But no husband could replace my girlfriends -- and I think that's a very Southern thing, too. So, we've got potato salad, barbeque, rock'n'roll, grits, the word "y'all," kudzu, Al Green and strong female friendships. And so far the north has, what exactly? Snow? Pizza? As we say in the south, BFD.

I thought I'd leave you with a bit of a retrospective of my TVM performances; sadly, 2005 is missing. February 2005 was just a teensy bit pre-Facebook and therefore no recorded history of that time actually exists, that historians know of.

The women of V-Day Brunel University 2008, London

Producer Brittany Goodenough (now Ellis) giving me dramatic eyes for V-Day Murray State 2007

My performance of 'The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy', V-Day Murray State 2007

Cast members of V-Day Murray State 2007 at our Vagina Warrior Reception

Awaiting opening night with Randa and Rachel, V-Day Murray State 2006

Cast meeting before curtain time, opening night, V-Day Murray State 2006

The beautiful cast of V-Day Murray State 2006

One month from tomorrow, I'll have some new pictures of V-Day Lower East Side 2009.

cheers,
elizabeth