What could be better than a play that uses the word “vagina” at least 100 times?

Nothing.

In celebration of V-Week, which raises awareness about violence against women, a cast of 14 female-identified Stanford students will be performing “The Vagina Monologues” this weekend. “The Vagina Monologues”–which would more appropriately be titled “The Vulva Monologues” for feminist reasons I won’t go into in this review–consists of a series of monologues written by feminist playwright Eve Ensler based on her interviews with more than 200 women about their views on sex, relationships and violence against women. This year, 10 percent of the proceeds of the Stanford performance will benefit an organization dedicated to preventing rape of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I was lucky enough to sit in on part of the dress rehearsal for this weekend’s show. The small, stark Roble dance studio was filled with the echoes of women’s voices telling tales of their relationships with their vaginas. Because one of the requirements for performing “The Vagina Monologues” is that none of the actors can be male-identified, Studio 57 is occupied by 15 women, none of whom look remotely fazed by talk of masturbation or uncomfortable tampons. For them, unlike for the rest of the world, “vagina” is not a dirty word.

From one actor comparing a gynecologist to Nancy Drew to another describing a rape in the former Soviet Union, this play is composed of vignettes both playful and profound. The poetry and prose of these monologues tells a story that manages to capture a wide range of the female experience. Sex, rape, love, menstruation, mutilation, masturbation, nicknames, anatomy, gender bashing, childbirth and orgasms–the play has it all.

Though I only saw a few monologues (all of which were extremely impressive), the highlight had to be senior Kit Garton’s rendition of “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy,” during which she imitates a myriad of different orgasmic moans. My personal favorite was “the Shakira moan,” though I imagine the “Stanford virgin moan” will garner many laughs as well. This hilarious “moan-ologue,” which might seem too frank or vulgar for some audiences, exemplifies what is so great about Ensler’s play. In the play’s world of gynocentric monologues, there is no shame in talking about women’s bodies and sexual pleasure. Though an inherently patriarchal societal force might tell us to shudder at the thought of vaginas and orgasms and clitorises and menstruation, this show confronts that pudendum panic and reminds the audience that female sexuality is most definitely not something to fear, but rather something to celebrate. As one actor implores the crowd to join her in a chant of “cunt, cunt, cunt,” you feel the power that is “The Vagina Monologues.”

Vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina. Can you say it without giggling? No. So go see the show.

“The Vagina Monologues” is playing Saturday, Feb. 20 (8 p.m.) and Sunday, Feb. 21 (2 p.m., 8 p.m.) in the Annenberg Auditorium (Cummings Art Building). Tickets are $10 for Stanford students, $12 for everyone else. You can purchase tickets in White Plaza; a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales go to the V-Day 2010 Spotlight on Women of Democratic Republic of Congo.