Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

Vangie Ricasata on the Liberating and Profound 2006 V-Monologues in Shenzhen

"During the 'Comfort Women' monologue, the Chinese in the audience were very quiet – they cried."

Throughout Asia, women have organized three kinds of V-Monologues performances – ex-pat, domestic or ex-pat-local hybrid productions. All are remarkable in their impacts, reflecting how V-Day, a transnational social movement hiting a global nerve, has intersected with local cultures.


VM Girls Shenzhen, L-R:Nicky Messner, Kate Rowan,Mel Taylor, Vangie Ricasata, Patty Wheelan, Claire Adams

The Shenzhen ex-pat community initiated The Vagina Monologues performance this year in this international conclave in China. A multicultural group of women, mirroring the international community, made up the cast.

Vangie Ricasata, the organizer, shared her thoughts about this year's performances.

How did V-Day in Shenzhen get started?

I am a Drama teacher in Shekou International School, in Shenzhen. One parent came to me and asked me if I would be interested to do adult drama because being a member of the Shekou Women's International Club, she and some other members would like to try to do something new and
different. I couldn't say no because the woman looked really eager. So, I said yes on the condition that if she got five people who wanted to do it, then I'd have a drama class.

The next day she came to me with a list of names of people who were interested. She asked me what my plan was. I didn't have a plan because I never thought she'd take it seriously.

And so, because I had no plan whatsoever, I said, as if in a trance, "Vagina Monologues!"

I read about it somewhere, never knew anything, I just knew it's a production people raved about. Besides, the title is so catchy.

We met the day after, two Americans, one Peruvian, two Brits, and one Filipina (me). No one had stage experience, except for me, a long time ago. We introduced ourselves, planned, and assigned tasks for each one, planned.

After downloading the script, we read it together and one of the cast members backed out because she just thought her husband wouldn't allow her to continue. We felt sorry for her that she didn't have the courage to stand up for herself.

We looked for replacements and we found them – daring women!

None of us had seen the VM before and we didn't have a clue how to do it. Everyone researched, pitched in ideas, and the group just bonded! We decided that rehearsals be done in my classroom after school and I would be director of the show. However we need more performers, so I had to perform as well.

The first day of rehearsals was a disaster! There were students playing basketball at the court next to my room and so we couldn't say the word "vagina" out loud. We talked in whispers and
mouthed the word "vagina"instead.

So then we all agreed that the very first thing we had to do was to shed out our inhibitions in using the word "vagina" and to do our rehearsals in the evenings when all students were already home. Our
rehearsals were fun and we enjoyed them a lot. We laughed a lot. We critiqued each other, gave
moral support to each other, because as the performance days were nearing, we all got so nervous that some of us were chickening out.

We had fears about the Chinese government not letting us perform and so we decided to not to publicize the event. To make matters worse, there was an article in the Shenzhen Daily warning that "misbehaving expats would be deported." Who wants to get in trouble?

Did any highlights of the process or performances especially move you?

We had limited seats for two dinner shows, February 25 and March 3, 2006. The first night we were nervous how the audience would react but surprise, surprise, they chanted with me.

We were well received, and The Vagina Monologues Shenzhen became the talk of the town. It spread like wild fire in the expat community. On the second night, we were once again packed and had to refuse admission to people who had been to the first night who wanted to see it again.

The audience was awesome. One lady couldn't help blurting out her own line when we did "If your vagina can talk, what would it say?" She raised her hand and gave her own answers to questions... talk about audience participation!

There were many men in the audience and there was a deafening silence when we did "Comfort Women" and the Bosnia and Kosovo Rape Victims monologues. We saw many men in the audience cry. We were moved that the V Monologues made a great impact on them. After the show, many men came to us to say that they were enlightened by the V Monologues.

We were happy we made a difference and we were now all very committed to helping and pushing the cause that V Monologues stand for. We are not alone. We have the entire community to help and support us. I can personally say that it brought the community together and we did
something worthwhile and beneficial. It was all worth the time and effort, sweat and tears that we put in the production.

How large is the expat community in Shenzhen? Were local people involved or part of the audience? How about the comfort women theme and associated theme of sexual trafficking – did they resonate in Shenzhen since so many Chinese women were abused in this way during the war?

There is a very large expat community in Shekou alone. There many foreign companies here. I just don't know the figures but we have two international schools here.The "Comfort Women" theme made an impact on the Chinese who came to watch. They didn't say anything. They were just very quiet. They cried.

There were Filipinos in the audience, too. We know the story because it happened in my country and until now there are still surviving "comfort women" survivors awaiting for apology from the Japanese government. Their stories were shocking. In the Philippines, there was a movie about the true story of a comfort woman. It was very sad.The movie was based on the book Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny by Maria Rosa Henson. I was deeply moved by her courage to tell her story
and greatly disappointed at the lack of remorse by the Japanese government. Indeed, "sorry" is not enough.

Was this experience in the crimes of war ever written in the history books?

No one dared expose it until Maria Rosa Henson and other "ìmilitary sex slaves", to put it bluntly, as opposed to the euphemistic "comfort women," came out in the open to tell about their nightmare.

Which charity benefitted from Shenzhen V-Monologues?

We raised about 40,000 RMB which is about US$5,000 for Shenzhen Women's Union! It was held in a restaurant and you could just imagine we had to haul in a makeshift stage. It's about 3m X 5m. We had to plan and do everything ourselves, a company of six.

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