March 30th and 31st, The Vagina Monologues returns to Chatham with students Jacqueline Wills and Maggie Yankovich at the helm. “Maggie Yankovich was given the head position within the drama club, as the club was forming,” says Director Wills, “and I reached out to her and asked if I could help because I knew that it would probably be their responsibility to get the show rolling. Then, we became a team!”
For Wills, working behind-the-scenes has definitely been rewarding. “My favorite part is preparation and rehearsal because rehearsal is a time of play,” she says. “It is really a safe place to explore, and move around within a character and scene. In addition, I love researching and developing elements within a show on my private time. I think there is so much to be said about the actor, dancer, director, artist that takes alone time to experiment, research, and mold him or herself. However, directing a show is very different than being in it. I love directing because there are wonderful moments in rehearsal when the actor connects with you and their work and there is like this perfect harmony. All those little magic moments just get you excited within the process.”
Wills is new to directing, but she’s certainly comfortable in front of an audience. “I have been involved with theater for twelve years,” she says. “I have danced for about half that amount of time as well, and also had voice lessons. I love it and have a huge passion for the stage.” A big part of her passion developed from early exposure. “Growing up in the DC area I was privileged enough to be in a place of art and theatre, and for that I am very appreciative. My mother always made sure to expose me to theater and dance, so I have been a stage kid since I was very young. I have been in many shows, ranging from Alice in Wonderland as the White Rabbit to Guys and Dolls as Adelaide. Further, I have trained with Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, and performed at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.” She credits time onstage as a learning experience: “Theatre has taught me so much about myself and how to handle emotions, carry myself around others, how to talk in front of a crowd. I love it and it has become such a part of my personality now and really influences the things I view are important.”
Her theatrical education is still going strong while she’s taking a turn in the director’s chair. “The biggest thing I have learned from working on the show is that Chatham really has some amazing talent when it comes to the arts,” says Wills, “and it is something I truly believe Chatham should showcase more. The great actresses in the show have proven that Chatham really should concentrate on integrating theatre back into campus life.” Throughout the production process, the women involved have become a sort of family. “My favorite part of working on this show is the female bonding that goes on,” Wills says. “We are really a sisterhood and creative team when in that theatre, throwing out suggestions and learning to be vulnerable in front of one another. Further, since we are at Chatham, the women in the show truly believe in the messages we are trying to send and are very professional and dedicated.”
The messages behind The Vagina Monologues are critical and powerful. “Audience members can expect humor, lots of humor, as well as some very moving pieces that will really get them thinking about violence against women.”The Vagina Monologues has the benefit of being riveting and, Wills says, educational. “I hope students will take away a sense of empowerment, and an overall sense of unity realizing that it doesn’t matter what race, sexual orientation, gender, age, religion, origin, background you are from, everyone at a community level and global level can stop the violence of the female body that is perpetually justified within our world. Further, I hope that the female students leave with a sense of pride, knowing that sex and the vagina is not something that needs to be pushed under the table or hushed in conversation, but discussed and argued. I hope students are pushed out of their comfort zones; understanding that our vaginas are our best friends, and our tools, and the language associated with them needs to be changed.”
The Vagina Monologues is just one way that Wills is using her time at Chatham to make a difference: something the Cultural Studies and Social Work double-major feels strongly about. “I chose Social Work because I have always wanted to do something that would help others,” she says. “I know that’s cliché, but it’s the truth.” Wills wants to lead an impactful life, but she’s flexible in the way she gets there. “I don’t really know if I have a dream job,” she says. “Helping people and using theatre to do so is the closest I have figured out so far about what I want to do. I have been looking into drama therapy, which works a lot like dance or music therapy, using the creative arts in order to help people practice different behaviors and experiment within the arts to grow as a person.” No matter what, Wills won’t be far from the theater once The Vagina Monologues wraps. “I hope to always have theater in my life, whether through drama therapy, or performing, writing, or directing. I really would like to publish a play eventually. As long as I am within theater in some capacity I will be happy. That is the one thing I am sure of.”
You can see The Vagina Monologues in the Eddy Theatre on Friday, March 30th at 7PM and Saturday, March 31st at 7PM. The performances are free, but they’ll collect monetary donations for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and feminine products for the On the Spot campaign at the door.
After the Friday performance, enjoy a silent auction and mingle with Chatham community members at the free Divas and Desserts After Party in the Welker Room of Laughlin Music Hall from 8:30PM to 10:00PM.