Rachel Miller
Culture & Thought Editor
CANDID, OFTEN EXPLICIT, and replete with sexual humor, “Loyal Daughters and Sons” took the stage in Washington Hall for five nights beginning Monday, November 12. An adaptation of last year’s original work on sexuality and sexual assault at Notre Dame, the play is a series of 29 monologues, skits, and interpretive dances which are based on interviews with students.
“My goals were really quite simple,” said Sarah Van Mill, the play’s writer. “Bring awareness to the diversity of approaches to sexuality, bring awareness to the problem of sexual violence, and most importantly, inspire healing for individuals and our community.” Director Megan O’Donoghue added, “My main goals were to create a piece of theatre that would inspire some sort of change on campus.”
Many of the skits dealt powerfully with incidents of sexual assault on campus. “Touchdown Jesus” terrifyingly recounted the assault of a student by a football player in a library restroom during what was supposed to be an innocent study session. “Fighting Back” depicted the story of a student violently attacked in her own apartment who was able to find healing after her rape, concluding that “I’m a survivor.”
Demonstrating this year’s strengthened emphasis on “Sons” in the production, several monologues touched on the place of men in these issues. Notably, “Never Have I Ever” featured a gossipy conversation that brought about the shocking revelation of a female student’s raping a male student after getting him drunk. “I was doing him a favor,” said the actress, “he was still a virgin. In college! How embarrassing!”
While scenes relating to sexual assault made up a large portion of the show, “Loyal Daughters and Sons” connected that theme with issues pertaining to the broader topic of ‘sexuality’. O’Donoghue explained this connection. “In my opinion, sex in general is simply not talked about on this campus, leading to a notion of sex and sexuality as taboo…if we can’t talk about sexuality, an essential aspect of our humanity, we certainly will not speak of instances of sexual assault.”
“Loyal Daughters and Sons” attempted to portray the varied attitudes that students have towards sexuality, from abstinence and virginity, to the college hook-up culture, to bisexuality and homosexuality. Catholic teaching on human sexuality was included as one of these approaches among many, but was not favored over the others.
One monologue featured a male student recalling how he forgave his girlfriend for her sexual past. “I wouldn’t say that my hopes for marrying another virgin crumbled when she told me…but I prayed, and God said to forgive her, and she will be renewed.” The audience’s quiet attention quickly changed as the actor’s story and tone shifted. “There is such a thing as being a born-again virgin,” he said. “So I took her down to St. Mary’s Lake and poured some water over her head…it was amazing and sacramental.” He had to speak over the raucous laughter of the bemused audience in order to deliver his final lines.
According to Van Mill, “The skit, ‘The Game’ was an effort to show the dialogue, both internal and between couples, about the decision to have sex or not.” The scenario of a ‘sexual positions game’ gives way to a discussion of why two of the students have chosen not to have sex, under the assumption that these are ‘religious’ reasons. In the end, the students’ choice to abstain is respected, but the final word goes to one of the other actors: “My opinion is that the Church puts an ideal out there, but it’s not always attainable.”
Another notable monologue, “The Unicorn,” was performed in the style of Eve Ensler’s play, “The Vagina Monologues.” The monologue presents an actress proclaiming her discomfort at “The Vagina Monologues” because Ensler “didn’t capture my experience, my vagina.” The entire monologue drew laughter and thunderous applause from the audience, as the actress described her fears about her own sexuality: “I’m afraid that my vagina is downright antisocial. My vagina could be the Unabomber!”
The President’s Ad Hoc Committee on gender relation pledged its support for “Loyal Daughters and Sons,” because of the need for addressing sexual assault and sexuality issues “with the resources of both faith and reason and seeking guidance from the Catholic tradition,” according to an email distributed to the entire University community in early November. The degree to which “Loyal Daughters and Sons” does so is a question which both the play’s supporters and detractors wish to address.
Two of the skits in particular, “Logic” and “Rape-Prone,” drew the connection between the University’s Catholic stance on issues of sexuality and the problem of sexual assault on campus. “Logic” used the character of an eccentric philosophy professor to highlight the fact that the university assigns the same penalty of suspension or expulsion to consensual sex as it does to the perpetrators of rape. “Does it follow that rape equals consensual sex? Is this valid?” In “Rape-Prone,” a female actress portrayed a researcher on ‘rape-prone’ college campuses, reporting that Notre Dame “has fallen into the rape-prone category.” She said that “After visiting Notre Dame in 2000, I found that the Catholic stance of the university perpetuates sexual violence.”
Both Van Mill and O’Donoghue believe that “Loyal Daughters and Sons” is completely in keeping with the Catholic mission of the university. “Working to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence on campus, and in the world in general, is completely in line with Catholicism,” commented Van Mill.
Right to Life President Mary Liz Walter, who saw “Loyal Daughters and Sons” on Friday night, agrees, but with reservations. “The general principle of raising awareness of the problem of sexual assault is within the bounds [of the university’s Catholic mission],” she said in an interview with The Rover, “but the play doesn’t achieve that. The play does not succeed well in fulfilling its proposed mission.”
She highlighted the prevalence of humor and sarcasm over seeking solutions in the various skits as taking away from the play’s stated goal. “There were a few skits that were promising, that it seemed like they were going to go somewhere good, but in the end, no solutions were really offered. It was all very open-ended...I went with a friend, and pretty much the way we felt was that it was…exploring ways to be unchaste.”
With the support of the President’s Ad Hoc Committee, and of a large portion of the student body, “Loyal Daughters and Sons” hopes to continue in the future. “I hope that ‘Loyal Daughters and Sons’ will be a campus tradition,” said Van Mill. Whether that tradition is one totally in keeping with the Catholic tradition of the University is a question which will remain to be answered.
Contact Rachel at rmille10@nd.edu.
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