My sister is big into Woman’s studies and when she heard that her college is putting on “The Vagina Monolouges”, she jumped at the chance. She got a part and has been practicing all the time.
My dilemma: She wants me to attend a performance. I like theater, I’ve already been to two broadway shows and seen several on video, but frankly…What I’ve heard about the play doesn’t appeal to me at all. Not in the “It’s offensive” way, but rather the “It sounds BORING” way. As such that every time I ask her to explain it and her part, my eyes almost instantly begin glazing over and I can remember very little of what she said afterwards.
So far, I’ve been stalling on buying a ticket, because she’s already told me that it sells out really quickly and I’m actually rather hoping it will sell out so I don’t have to tell her that.
I guess my question is: Should I get a ticket anyway, before it’s too late, even though I really don’t want to go? No doubt I’m being influenced by the last several times I attended something on her behalf, which were incredibly dull and boring, so there’s a small part of me thinking that if nothing else I should have a free pass to skip this one.(And for what it’s worth, I haven’t committed to going to her play etiher.
If she’s in the play, I would go. She is your sister, after all. That said, I think The Vagina Monologues is one of the most boring things ever written and if it wasn’t for the fact that you’ve got a relative in it, I think you’d be okay to skip it.
But hey, it’s only two hours. Bring a book and read when she’s not on stage (which will be most of the time, since every monologue is performed individually, usually by one girl at a time. After your sister does hers she won’t be back on stage).
I’ve discovered a lot of interesting things participating in activites that I would have normally avoided, but went to because my friends/family wanted to go. Vagina Monologues sound boring as death to me to, but if you go you’ll get to experience something you wouldn’t normally and you make your sister happy, so unless its really hard for you to spare the time, I’d suck it up and go.
Of course if you live in a sitcom, you could give her a rudiculous excuse about why you can’t go, then get caught in a hilarious series of ever increasingly implausible lies as you try to cover your original falsehood to spare your sisters feelings. That’d be fun to.
Probably more people attend community and college theater to show support for friends and family than to see the actual play. Go- it’s only two hours of your life and it will mean a lot to her (and if anybody ever mentions TVM in the future you can say “I saw that piece of pretentious crap…” and dissect it through an informed opinion).
But even if she comes onstage, vomits from stagefright and forgets every line, she was still “wonderful” when you see her. The play sucked, but she shone.
Another vote for “you may as well go.” She’s family, and it’s only a few hours out of your time, and from what you’ve said it sounds like this play means a lot to her. (And heck, speaking from experience, it can’t be as bad as sitting through an appallingly bad performance of a play you do like.)
I forgot who it was who said, “If I have to choose between truth and mercy, mercy wins every time.”
It’s two hours of your life – two hours you can easily make up from time you have to waste somewhere down the road. And it matters to her that you’re there.
Keep in mind that I am a (male) theatre person (both recreationally and professionally) but I can assure you that The Vagina Monologues is most certainly not boring. As long as the cast is halfway decent you’ll find it hilarious and somewhat insightful into the female mind. Hell, you may even learn something.
It might be kind of weird to hear your sister use several euphemisms for “vagina”, but it might also be kind of weird to explain to her that you didn’t go because you thought you might be bored.
You should go. It may be boring as hell, but it’s only 2 hours. Your sister worked hard at it and it’s important to her. She’ll likely remember being in it longer than you’ll remember being bored by it anyway.
Let me answer from the perspective of someone who did a whole batch of high school, college and community theater, and as a father who’s seen three (count 'em) children in an unimginably bad series of school concerts.
You go in and work every night for weeks. You’re scared stiff that you’ll make a fool out of yourself. And then a family member or a friend comes back after the production and lies through their teeth, telling you what a great job you did.
Donate two hours of your life to boost your sister’s sef-esteem.
When the off-broadway play, " The Penis Has Landed*" comes (heee) to town and you audition and win a minor part, you can force her to sit through a testerone festival of flatulence, burps and sportstalk.
*This play has not been written yet and is rated ‘IM for immature content’
