A special performance is being held to raise money and awareness for REACH – Jackson County on Friday, March 12, 2010, at 7 p.m. at the Alpine Theatre.

The event is being held for V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

Started in 1998, V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

As part of V-Day a staging of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler will take place. The play, first performed in 1996 is based on interviews Ensler conducted with more than 200 women. After being met with more stories of women who had experienced and survived abuse, rape, or other violence, she began to see her work not just as a play about violence, but as one that could be used to help end violence.

A performance of The Vagina Monologues became the centerpiece of the first V-Day event and has remained so throughout the years.

The Ripley V-Day is being organized by Caitlin Stout, who is also directing the local performance of the play. The idea to stage a V-Day locally came after Stout herself appeared in a performance of The Vagina Monologues at WVU-P. “It was one of the most uplifting and positive experiences of my life,” Stout said. “I was dying to get the chance to be a part of it again, but I didn’t see it happening.”

Stout said she thought the Alpine Theatre was a perfect venue for the show and decided to take a chance and create an opportunity. “I decided it was worth a shot; the worst anyone could tell me was ‘no,’” she said. “I spoke to Erica Lehew, Victim Advocate for REACH-Jackson County here in Ripley, and she shared my excitement and offered her support in organizing the event.”

From there, Stout contacted the Jackson County Players, a group she has been active in since its inception in 2007, and Main Street Ripley for use of the theater. All agreed to lend their support for the event. “It’s been a group effort, as it should be,” Stout added.

The play features a series of short monologues about real women and their experiences, both good and bad, of being a woman. Some of the monologues are funny, others are touching, some are very blunt and abrasive. Some include language and subject matter many are not used to hearing on a live stage. But they all express a real emotion and capture real experiences of women. And though Stout said she knows the play is somewhat controversial and does not appeal to everyone, she said it is an important event for the community, nonetheless.

“I know ‘vagina’ is a scary word that people don’t like to say, let alone have an entire conversation over, but that’s what this play and the V-Day movement is all about,” she explained. “In order to stop the violence that women face on a daily basis all over the world, and yes, even here in Jackson County, we have to be able to talk about it. Things like rape and domestic battery aren’t going to stop if we just close our eyes and pretend they don’t exist.”

In fact, Jackson County had 57 victims of sexual violence in 2008, as reported to law enforcement or rape crisis center. And the FBI estimates that as many as 60 percent of all sexual assaults go unreported. Lehew said this number indicates that most Americans know someone who is a sexual assault survivor.

Most women who are the victims of assault or rape know their assailant. In West Virginia, 88 percent of sexual assault victims were related to or otherwise knew their offender. That is higher than the national average of 75 percent. “REACH wants the residents of Jackson County to realize that most rapist are not ‘the stranger jumping out of the bushes at night;’ they are someone you know, and just because you are on a date with someone, if they force you to have sex, it is rape,” Lehew added.

Lehew said V-Day is important for spreading the message that violence against women is not acceptable and for letting people know there is help available if they become the victim of such a crime.

“I am so thrilled that Caitlin has put forth her time and effort to bring V-Day to Ripley. Sexual assault is not only the most underreported crime, but one of the only crimes where the victim is embarrassed, and often blamed for the violence committed against her. The Vagina Monologues will not only bring awareness to Jackson County about sexual violence against women, but also to REACH (Rape Education, Awareness, Counseling and Healing) and the services we can provide victims. I just want to express my sincere appreciation to Caitlin, The Jackson County Players, and Main Street Ripley for their role in bringing this awareness to Jackson County and raising money for victims of sexual violence,” Lehew said.

The doors will open at 6:30. Tickets are being sold at the door. All money raised from ticket sales and donations from the performance will go to REACH-Jackson County, an organization that provides help to those who are victims of abuse or sexual assault in our county. The show will start at 7 p.m.