Goshen Monologues celebrated their 13th year with the annual monologues performance on March 8, International Women’s Day. The performance was held in the Church-Chapel, with scarves hung around the perimeter. 

The monologues committee this year is comprised of Lindsey Graber, a senior English major; Eliza Alemán, a senior sustainability and history double major; Rosemary Baer, a junior art and secondary education double major; Marin Kauffman Smith, a sophomore environmental science major; and Alina Bergstresser, a sophomore psychology major. 

Originally based on Eve Ensler’s play “The Vagina Monologues,” Graber said Goshen Monologues platforms voices and experiences that are often devalued or overlooked. “I think that it’s really important to maintain monologues as a space where we uplift voices that some people are  trying to tear down or trying to silence, and so I think that’s what monologues exists for.” 

This year, the committee received a smaller amount of anonymous submissions and had a smaller group of performers than they have had in the past. Graber said that they had to do more shoulder tapping to get people to participate. 

Alemán said, “I’m so proud of everyone. This year was a little bit different in sense of preparation and rehearsals — just because there were so many people who had conflicts but just committed to monologue.

“We kind of had to trust that people were learning it on their own, and so I’m really proud of everyone for just showing up and for trying in that way and doing these authors justice.”

Leah Hochstetler, a first-year writing major, joined the monologues cast as a way of improving her stage presence and getting involved in the community of monologues. “It’s really meaningful to be entrusted with someone else’s story like that, and its  been a good exercise in empathy for me,” Hochstetler said. 

“I really enjoyed it. It’s always nice to have an audience. It really felt like this project came to life once we had an audience there.”

One of the people in the audience was Egypt Boyd, a sophomore film production major. She said she heard a range of opinions from monologues last year and wanted to try it out herself. “I was excited. I had a friend go up there and perform, so I was really excited to see her perform,” Boyd said. “I think they are doing great work. I do think sometimes, the meaning behind it gets a little blurred and confused because it’s such a broad thing, but I think at the core of it, they just want to provide a safe space for people to express their true selves.”

Henry Meyer, a senior biology major, went to monologues to support his peers. “I’m thankful to everybody who submitted a monologue and thankful to those who performed,” Meyer said. 

Both Graber and Alemán said they loved the final monologue featured, titled “Knitted Together.” Graber said, “It gave us a chance to all be on stage, and I always like those pieces that speak to [the] shared experience of being a woman.”

Alemán also said she loved the piece she performed called “Older Sister.” “I read and I was like, ‘I want that one.’ And normally, I don’t call them until everyone takes them, and I was like, ‘I relate to this and I’m glad someone else wrote about that experience.’” 

Because of the small cast, they were able to incorporate more movement into some of the monologues. Graber said, “I think that we were able to make the monologues a little bit more impactful because of the way we were moving on stage.

“[Monologues] is a project that’s always been really special to me, and I hope that in the coming years, even after I leave, that it continues to be special to other people.”