VDAY Performances Addressing Gender and Domestic Violence to Raise Funds for Local Shelter

The University of Findlay’s annual VDAY event, which is part of a global activist movement to end violence against all women and girls, will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16. Individual performances will start at 6 p.m. in Old Main’s Ritz Auditorium. Admission will be $5 or a toiletry donation for Open Arms Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center in Findlay.

This year’s event will feature locally-created monologues rather than those provided by VDAY organizers. Poems, short stories and lists will encompass topics on gender identity and expression, connections between feminism and ending violence against women, being a member of the LGBTQIA community and experiences with domestic violence.

VDAY is sponsored by UNITED, UF’s gay/straight alliance. The event evolved from previous presentations of The Vagina Monologues and the staging of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, the latter of which included representation from all genders. UNITED4VDAY adds to the conversation by including more fluidity and queer representation in performances.

For more information, contact Elkie Burnside, Ph.D., assistant professor of English and director of the Master of Arts in Professional Communication Program at burnside@findlay.edu or at 419-434-5572.