V-Day Annual Report 2018 | Page 43

FRUIT TRILOGY In this pivotal moment when women around the world have risen up to tell their stories and stand up against violence, Eve’s timely Fruit Trilogy is three short plays that give a voice to defiant, ordinary women: Pomegranate — two women for sale, another morning on the shelf; Avocado — a young woman on her chaotic, shocking journey toward freedom; and Coconut — from the bliss of her bathroom, a woman connects with the one thing she has never fully owned ... her body. Woven together with dark humor and heightened theatricality, Fruit Trilogy explores the humanity behind the headlines. CRITICS CALLED THE PLAY - “SPELLBINDING,” “FEROCIOUS,” “MIRACULOUS” and “FEARLESS” TALKBACKS PRODUCED BY V-DAY V-Day was thrilled to host a talkback series after select performances, led by activists, artists, and thinkers; participating in discussions surrounding the play’s central themes on the commodification and ownership of women’s bodies along with returning to and learning to love the body. Talkbacks featured: Jennifer Buffett, Novo Foundation Co-President and V-Day Board Member, along with Eve Ensler, Playwright (The Vagina Monologues, Fruit Trilogy) and Founder of V-Day and One Billion Rising. Liz Mikel, film/TV/theater actor, singer and one of the stars of Fruit Trilogy, on her role in the play, art and activism, and Jennifer Baumgardner, Feminist writer, filmmaker, activist, and Executive Director/Publisher of the Feminist Press. Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, moderated a conversation with representatives from Sanctuary (Lori Cohen) and GEMS (Rachel Lloyd) - all leaders on the front lines in the fight to end sex trafficking, and who serve and support survivors every day. Jerin Arifa, activist who spearheaded the sexual assault policy for the third largest university in the U.S., while undocumented, and Regena Thomashauer, teacher and author and founder of Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts, on the themes of the body, ownership, and of loving one’s body raised in the play. And for the closing night, Eve did a talkback with director Mark Rosenblatt!