American University’s Women’s Initiative presented The Vagina Monologues on February 6th, 7th and 8th celebrating sexuality, empowerment and, of course, vaginas. The event, which included 22 cast members of current students, recent graduates and PhD students, sold out all 200 seats in the University Club on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Vagina Monologues, originally started by Eve Ensler in 1996, are based off of interviews that Ensler conducted with hundreds of women ranging from children to seasoned sex workers on topics such as sex, masturbation, sexual assault, pleasure, menstruation and feminism. The V-Day Foundation, also started by Ensler, controls the rights to the script and changes which monologues are used from year to year, so the play is never the same twice.

“I thought it was very empowering,” says Steffi Badanes, a sophomore who interns at EMILY’s List, a political action committee dedicated to electing pro-choice women into public office. “It made me proud to be a woman and it reminded me why I am pursuing my career path.”

The women dug into their monologues with verve and passion. Brianna Curran and Kristen Pellizzi moved the audience to tears in the monologue “My Vagina Was My Village”, which described the horrors of rape as a tactic of the war in Yugoslavia. Dani Sklarz screamed at the audience in “The Angry Vagina” describing the indignities the vagina has to go through such as gynecologist exams, shaving and irritating powders and sprays to keep it “fresh.” Emily Ellis played the role of a sex worker who moaned, writhed and even pounded her hands on the stage, mimicking women during orgasm.

“I actually didn’t feel any reluctance or embarrassment,” says Taylor Moore when asked about her monologue ‘Reclaiming Cunt’ in which she dropped the c-word multiple times and even had the audience chant it. “The audience always gets really into it,” she added.

The show closed with the announcement of an event called One Billion Rising, which is dedicated to bringing attention to and stopping the sexual assault of women will be held on Friday, February 14th.

“It’s important to see The Vagina Monologues because they are a collection of stories that actually happened, and continue to happen to college age women and women all over the world,” says Maris Feeley, who preformed the final monologue. “It’s really reassuring that people came to the show because it demonstrates that there truly is a community of supporters and survivors here at AU.”