The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2006 - 3 'Monologues' looks for an all-minority cast Producers hope new method will remedy play's inherent tbiases Nov. 14, 2005 By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter have probably re or participating l This lack of di lack of distributio tional e-mails tar But many othe vious shows said from the play beca minorities negativ Calling all women of color. A major prob "The Vagina Monologues" wants you. that many of th That's the message students have heard in the withsexual viole past weeks, as the annual show has opted to bring And because women of color center stage, while planning to for the show, leave many white women behind the curtains. these more trau Late last month, producers and directors of the dealing with m show announced their intention to push for an all- liberation and minority cast. Some students have deemed the new members. Wom casting policy reverse discrimi- nation, but supporters of the show say they view the change wh as a way to rectify biases of the I often wonder y show and reignite interest among an vaginas can't the student hody. anr4 aia a' "The Vagina Monologues" is be white and happy a play written by playwright Eve Ensler that attempts to address vaginas can't be topics relating to violence against women. The play is part Asian." of the V-Day College Campaign - Co-director - a political movement to stop Lauren Whitehead violence against women. University alum Carol Gray, who directed the famous play last year, said that the majority of women who show this schoo audition for past monologues have been white. its attempt to gi' "By seeing white people in the show, (women seems to give c of color) come to think they're not welcome or often wonder wh not part of the community," Gray said. "People and happy vagin efrained from purchasing tickets because of this feeling." iversity, she said, is the result of a n of audition notices and informa- geting minorities. r students who participated in pre- women of color have stayed away ause they believe the script portrays 'ely. lem with the script for some is e roles for women of color deal ence. few women of color audition minorities generally assume matic roles, while monologues nore positive subjects such as beauty are filled by white cast en of color are thus portrayed as only constant victims of sexual violence and never in a positive light, the produc- ers and directors said. Because the national V-Day organization prohihits groups from modifying the script, pro- ducers of this year's show said the only way to remedy the bias of the show was to push for an all-minority cast. "We can't change the words of the script, hut we can change the way the words are presented," said Lauren Whitehead, director of the 1 year. "The script is flawed in ve all women a voice because it ertain women certain voices. I ty angry vaginas can't be white as can't be Asian," she said. FUTONS STARTING @ $199 Includes Frame & Mattress Futon Frames From $99 to $499 Futon Mattresses From $99 to $249 Fold-A-Cot $249 Makes into a Cot and a Recliner Fold-A-Couch $299 Makes into a Couch, a Cot and a Recliner MATTRESSES IN EVERY STYLE & SIZE Firm - Plush Pillow Top - Tempur PostureVisco Foam - Latex GREAT DEALS ON FURNITURE TOO Beds - Headboards Bedroom Sets - Motorized Adjustable Beds Day Beds -Trundle Beds - Bunk Beds - Accessories MSA loses on rap show Student government loses more than $20,000 due to poor ticket sales, unexpectedly high cost Nov. 17, 2005 By Ashlea Surles Daily Staff Reporter There were about 400 vacant seats at this month's Ludacris concert, hosted by the Michigan Student Assembly, University Activities Center and Hillel earlier this month. While Hillel was spared by an agreement that it had made with MSA guaranteeing the full reim- bursement of the $15,000 it had fronted for the event, UAC and MSA felt the financial hit of unsold tickets and an unexpectedly high event cost. In July, Andrew Bilinsky, vice president of UAC subsidiary Big Ticket Productions said that the esti- mated cost of the concert was somewhere between $85,000 and $90,000, but at $115,000, the actual cost of the event was significantly more than Bilin- sky's midsummer projections. Bilinsky also said in July that he believed the concert would generate a profit for all the spon- sors involved. But in reality, the event grossed a disappointing total of $70,074, resulting in a major deficit that was hence shouldered by the two main sponsors of the concert. UAC, the primary sponsor of the concert, con- tributed $60,000 and ended up losing $24,556 in total. MSA invested $40,000 dollars in the event, losing a total of $20,370. MSA President Jesse Levine said that MSA "is not a business but a programming board" and therefore never planned to make money. Levine said the goal of the concert was to bring together as many students as possible from a variety of different backgrounds. Prior to the concert, organizers had said the reason they had chosen to bring acclaimed rap star Ludacris to campus instead of the alternative rock musicians that the groups have brought in past years was chiefly because of his "massive crossover appeal." Another main justification for choosing Ludac- ris was his recent activism concerning social-jus- tice issues, including his role in 2004's critically acclaimed film "Crash." In addition to performing, MSA officials had voiced hopes that Ludacris would participate in addi- tional events concerning diversity and other social issues when he visited the campus. After this failed to happen, Levine explained that MSA "didn't really expect him to (stay), but had hoped that he would do some sort of dialogue during the concert" Although the rapper did not seem to participate in any particularly valuable dialogue - "U of M girls give me U of M head," was his most notable quote of the night - Levine said he is satisfied with the outcome of the concert. "Never before has an event brought so many people with so many differ- ent backgrounds together," he said. LSA senior Alana Frankfort, who attended the concert, confirmed the diversity of the crowd. "It was worth the money to see the social dynamics of the audience," she said. Order Now & Take Delivery On Your Move-In Date!