'Decompression'
workshop offered in conjunction with 'The Vagina Monologues'
February 17, 2005 | LOGAN — In conjunction with
the performance of "The Vagina Monologues,"
a writing workshop will be held Thursday, Feb. 17, from
7 to 9 p.m. in RWEST 214. The workshop is designed to
help attendees of "The Vagina Monologues"
"decompress" from the performance by using
writing as a way of healing.
"A number of women are likely to come away from
the production feeling both terrified and empowered
to speak of their own experiences," said Star Coulbrooke,
creative writing instructor and assistant director of
the English Department Writing Center. "We want
to provide the means for their voices to be heard."
Coulbrooke is founder of the annual
Writing and Healing workshop series sponsored by the
Women's Center in conjunction the Clothesline Project
each October. She lauded "The Vagina Monologues"
and its creator, Eve Ensler, for raising world-wide
awareness about the spiraling effects of violence against
women. Proceeds of the play, which has been performed
at more than 300 colleges, go toward raising money and
consciousness for local groups that work to stop violence
toward women.
The Post-TVM Decompression Writing
Workshop is one of myriads of events surrounding the
play's production nationwide. A non-profit organization,
called V-Day, for Valentine's Day when the play is most
usually performed, has raised and donated more than
$1 million to organizations that work to ensure the
safety of women everywhere. To learn more about other
events, activities and workshops, go to www.vday.org.
Coulbrooke will conduct the post-TVM
workshop along with Anne Shifrer, associate professor
in the English department, who teaches feminist theory
and co-directs the Women and Gender Studies Program,
and Shanan Ballam, English department lecturer and assistant
director of Intermediate Writing, who also conducts
writing workshops in the community.
Coulbrooke, Shifrer and Ballam will
use a series of mapping exercises and other prompts
to help participants discover how writing honestly about
painful experiences in their lives can promote healing.
The workshop is free and open to all who have attended
the production.
For more information on the workshop, contact Coulbrooke
at (435) 797-2726.
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