By Megan Hurt

Santana Berry wants you to love your vagina — if you have one, of course.

Berry, a social work junior, directed this year’s UK production of “The Vagina Monologues,” which was performed Saturday and Sunday at Worsham Theater in the Student Center.

“The message is to not be shy, to not be afraid to be a woman and to talk about it,” Berry said.

The Vagina Monologues is a popular play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler, an activist and playwright. Ensler wrote the script consisting of various monologues after conducting over 200 interviews with women about their sexuality, according to Ensler’s Web site, (www.v-day.org).

While the language and themes used can be shocking, including female prostitution, rape and discovering your first orgasm, the message of empowering women is clear throughout the performance.

“The first time I saw it, I was shocked,” said Amy Herberg, a middle school education junior. “But the message is to not be a prude, to not be scared to embrace your vagina.”

The show, which consisted of 17 monologues and one video, proclaimed, “Let’s start with the word vagina.” The actors then began to list all the slang terms and nicknames associated with the female body part.

From there, the play explored topics including female mutilation in Third World countries, developing female sexuality with the help of another woman and a new monologue on how women had to cope living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, titled “Hey Miss Pat.”

Also added to this year’s production was a video depicting women in the African Congo dealing with the aftermath of being raped by soldiers as a war tactic.

“I really liked the video. It was a really good addition to this year’s show. It was a sobering touch,” Herberg said.

The video was added in between comedic, light-hearted moments in the show. The monologue titled “My Angry Vagina,” had actor Lindsay Wheatley addressing women’s issues like tampons and thongs.

While the show was about female empowerment, it was not an anti-male show, and included the monologue

“Because He Liked to Look At It,” which explored the concept of a man helping a woman learn to love her vagina.

Berry directed this year’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” after seeing it three years ago and liking the message it sent to women. After the show was not shown on campus two years ago, Berry took over the production to ensure it would be on campus the last two years.

“I thought the show was amazing (when I first saw it). I was really shy, so I couldn’t see myself doing that, but I am really proud of the cast,” Berry said.

This year’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” is part of a broader, global celebration of female activism orchestrated by Ensler called V-Day, where the “V” stands for victory, valentine and vagina. The celebrations, which include the individual productions of “The Vagina Monologues” throughout the world has helped raise money for issues including violence against women, according to www.v-day.org.

The money raised from ticket sales at UK’s production went to support UK’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center.

At the start of the event on Saturday, Berry said she was really nervous, but by the end of the performance she was proud of the message “The Vagina Monologues” sent to the audience.

“It was a lot of work, but way worth it,” she said.