The Vagina Monologues at Springfield College: A Photographer’s Perspective

February 19, 2026 · Springfield College Event Photography · The Vagina Monologues

Arriving at the event

Walking up to the Fuller Arts Center on the chilly evening of Thursday, February 19th, I felt a quiet sense of familiarity mixed with purpose. After saying hello to Jocelyn in the quiet lobby and buying my ticket, I found my way to the bags of love dedicated to the students participating in the play. The bags lined the wall to the left as you entered the foyer and served as a place to drop kind words written on index cards at a nearby station. Before even stepping into the auditorium, it was clear that this evening was about more than a performance. It was about community, reflection, and support.

I dropped my camera bag in a corner and pulled out my camera. At events centered around theatre performances, I like to document not only what happens during the show but the moments before and after as well. I want to tell a story that those who experience the event can look back on fondly. I then set out to photograph the foyer, capturing visitors writing on index cards, people lining up to buy tickets, and audience members finding their seats and passing the time chatting with friends. I managed to capture a photo of a group of four students with two more joining in afterward for another photo, and upon further inspection I realized another group of three students posed for the camera in the background as well. Unfortunately I didn’t notice them until I was editing, so they weren’t in focus because of the shallow depth of field.

Before I made my way into the auditorium to wait for the show to start, Damon Markiewicz appeared holding several bags, dropping them on a nearby windowsill and mentioning that it might have been a good idea to drop some of them off earlier. I laughed and agreed that it probably would have been. My relationship with Damon is interesting. I first met him working an event roughly two years ago for marketing, though I can’t remember which one exactly. Since then, we’ve often run into each other at events like this, and now that I work as a graduate assistant in his office, I see him more regularly. Damon has become both a friend and a mentor. I’ve learned a great deal from him, especially about how events on campus unfold, who the key individuals are, and how to navigate events in a professional manner.

Damon serves as the Associate Director for Institutional Advancement Communications and is often seen documenting events across campus, gathering images and details to write stories for the college. He and Judith “Judy” Kelliher write and shape many of the articles that appear on the college’s website.

Damon mentioned that he has been using manual mode on his Sony mirrorless camera more frequently and is feeling more confident in his photography skills. When I first met him, he was using auto mode on an older Canon DSLR, so it’s been great to see his progress.

Later during intermission, he showed me some of his images. I noticed he was shooting around 1/80 shutter speed, which isn’t ideal for faster movement, though this performance didn’t involve much rapid motion so the results looked solid. I suggested he could open his aperture closer to f/2.8 to allow for a faster shutter speed without sacrificing exposure, allowing him to capture sharper images.

What is The Vagina Monologues

This was my second time experiencing The Vagina Monologues. The first time, I went in with very little understanding of what the performance would be like. Up until last year, I had never experienced a theatrical performance, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Was it a concert? A play? I knew it would involve monologues centered around the female experience, but beyond that, I was stepping into unfamiliar territory.

The Vagina Monologues is a play written by V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, based on interviews with more than 200 women about their experiences with sex, relationships, and violence. The play premiered at the HERE Arts Center in New York City on October 3, 1996, and was extended due to its success. Originally intended to “celebrate the vagina,” it evolved in 1998 into a broader movement aimed at ending violence against women. New monologues have been added over the years to highlight issues affecting women globally, including Under the Burqa in 2003 and They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy… Or So They Tried in 2004.

2026 marks the 19th year that The Vagina Monologues has been performed at Springfield College.

Here are the monologues that are featured in the play:

Hair

Wear and Say

The Flood

The Vagina Workshop

Vagina Happy Fact

Because He Liked to Look At It

I Was 12. My Mother Slapped Me.

Not-So-Happy Fact

My Angry Vagina

My Vagina Was My Village

The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could

Smell

Reclaiming Cunt

A six-year-old girl was asked...The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy

I Was There In the Room

OPTIONAL MONOLOGUES:

The Memory of Her Face

My Short Skirt

Under the Burqa

Crooked Braid

They Beat the Girl out of my Boy... or so they tried

Say It, for the Comfort Women

Selections may vary slightly by production.

My experience capturing and attending the play

As the lights go out and the theater settles into a quiet hush, the play begins with a bit with the "Bobs" of the performers, the three directors of the play offering an introduction, and then the performers storming the stage from both sides through the main entrances. Initially I stood on the left side near the double doors, hearing the steps of the performers run through the doorway and down the aisle toward the stage in near darkness, with only the red glow of the stage and brief flickers of light from the lobby illuminating the room. I aimed my camera toward the stage, attempting to capture the performers creating gestures with their partners.

I was surprised that there was an event like this that is so open and explicit about the female experience. Over my 31 years, I have been exposed to many of the themes and have heard similar stories through media, conversations, and experiences shared by family and friends. Regardless of my awareness, I will never know the true plights of those whose stories are reflected in the play because I am not in their shoes. At best, I can only understand pieces.

From a photography perspective, covering the event presents unique challenges. Because it is a live performance with an audience, I can’t move freely around the auditorium without causing disruption, so I remain toward the back using my 70–200mm f/2.8 lens on my R5 Mark II. While it isn’t long enough to capture extremely tight portraits, it allows me to document expressions, gestures, and moments that still convey the emotional weight of the performance. Thankfully, with the camera’s 45 megapixels I can crop in and still get relatively clear images, especially when using Lightroom’s denoise feature. I tend to use only about 20 percent denoise to avoid making images look overly polished, since I like to preserve texture.

The most difficult part of covering an event like this is standing, holding your camera for extended periods, and staying attentive to key moments. It’s important to be ready because moments can be easy to miss. This particular event isn’t as physically demanding as a dance concert since the pacing is slower, and you can often capture what you need fairly quickly because many pieces involve performers standing and presenting their monologues. However, one piece in particular where four performers sit on a couch describing various moans, I believe it’s The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy, was the most energetic and required staying alert to catch the right moments.

Closing Remarks

As the play closes, I capture all the performers on stage pointing toward the sky with one finger on their right hands as the curtain closes from the left and right. The crowd erupts in applause as the bright house lights fill the room. I lower my camera, gather my gear, and head toward the lobby to photograph performers reconnecting with family and friends. This is often my favorite part of theatre events. The energy in the lobby feels electric and full of warmth.

Beyond my perspective as a photographer, I value this event because it shares stories that need to be told and heard. It resonates with me even though I am not a woman. I think about the women in my family who have lived through experiences like those described in the play, how their lives have been shaped by them. Documenting and witnessing The Vagina Monologues feels like one small way of standing in support of those stories.

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