The third performance of the Michiana Monologues this past Saturday marks the second and final year of my participation in this wonderful show. I plan to graduate in December, and after graduation my plans will hopefully take me far away, rendering me unable to help out again.
First as secretary to the IUSB V-Club, then as treasurer, it has been a rare treat to see what happens behind the scenes. All who attended the three performances on campus and all who will attend the remaining performances, both at the Elkhart campus and at Goshen College will see an amazing show.
However, in this article you are not going to read a show synopsis from me. The energy sparks of the Monologues are unable to be captured, rendering even their wonderfully produced DVDs a lesser experience, and putting that spark into words would unbearably kill it. To me, the show is not the most important part.
What is most important is how the Monologues bring together such a wonderful and diverse set of women. This year’s cast and crew is made up of women from the Michiana community, women who teach at IUSB, women who learn at IUSB. It matters not if you are a freshman student, a respected professor, an accomplished dean, or an alumnus who has moved on with her life, all are equal and all work hard to organize, produce, and lend the emotional support to the Monologues.
The numbers will not be tallied for a few days, however, for the past two years the production has earned over $10,000 profit for the benefit of local women’s shelters, and this year’s production I am sure has done the same.
While in our hearts and minds the women who benefit from the show’s profit are the point of the performance, I would be remiss if I did not mention the women who hold positions that are almost between the scenes. In no particular order, it has been my pleasure to come to know Kris Cravens-Hutton, Katie Krieder, Courtney Hardman, Dr. Becky Torstrick, Dr. April Lidinsky, Zorina Jerome, Aleah Wilburn, and scores of others in the Monologues cast and crew.
This is the beauty of our university. This diversity of spirit and opinion that comes together to work toward a worthwhile goal, this ability to create an event that becomes Gestalt, larger, greater, more beautiful than the sum of its parts.
As the campus moves through the year and my days left here become limited, I think about the things and the people I will miss. I will miss being a part, however tangential, of the Michiana Monologues.
A reflection on the Monologues
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Updated: Sunday, February 28, 2010
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