The Missouri Southern theatre department will host The Vagina Monologues next week, and it’s not just for the ladies.

“It’s not a male-bashing, women power, uterus above all kind of show,” Kayla Curran, senior theatre  major, said.

“There are monologues that talk about how men have made women feel beautiful, you know, play into that power.”

Curran, who will direct and star in the production, said this play is designed to empower women through their struggles.

This is Curran’s second time directing the play as she also directed last year’s edition at Southern.

The play, written and updated by Eve Ensler since 1996, is a collection of monologues about issues directly affecting women, including many types of abuse, sexual repression and child birth.

Sydney Holtzman, freshman undecided major, will perform a monologue called “The Coochie Snorcher.”

“It’s about how she [the character] goes from memory starting with age nine, then she works to age 16, and it’s about her vagina has been taken from such a bad place and how bad things have happened to it, and it gets raised into sort of a happy place,” she said.

Some of the monologues are intended to have at least some humor in them, but a majority of the material deals with more serious issues.

Despite the heavy nature of some of the subjects, each of the monologues is intended to encourage women to overcome some of the issues faced in womanhood, such as rising above sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.

Because of this, the play can sometimes be an quite an emotional experience for those who see it, and the theatre department generally has counselors on hand to assist with those who may want to talk after seeing the production.

“Last year, a lot of people told me, ‘These were so funny, but I also cried, and I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now,’” Curran said.

Furthermore, all proceeds from the play will go to charity, with 90 percent of funds going to the LaFayette House and the remaining 10 percent going to the V-Day organization, a group dedicated to ending violence against women and girls.

The V-Day organization, through performances of The Vagina Monologues and other efforts, has raised over $75 million for women’s anti-violence groups.

“It’s not only performed for charity, it was written for charity,” Curran said. “This is something that was written to help people, so if it is a little bit out there, if it does seem a little extreme, if there are moments where you’re not sure, there’s a reason behind it. Because life is like that. We encounter people who make us unsure and a little bit nauseous sometimes every day, but those are the people who stick with us. Those are the people who save our lives.”

The play will run on February 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Taylor Auditorium.