Stanford’s twelfth annual benefit performance of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” will open this year’s V-Week in an effort to draw emphasis to the week’s activities and their message of ending violence against women.

“V-Week consists of more than just the show, but ‘The Vagina Monologues’ was more popular than a lot of the V-Week events last year,” said Paz Hilfinger-Pardo ‘08, a cast member in the production. “It’s great that so many people attend the performances, but V-Week is when thinking about and processing the messages of the show occurs.”

The first performance of the three-day run is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Annenberg Auditorium. V-Week activities will then take place from Feb. 12 to 16.

Ensler, the founder of the V-Day movement behind V-Week, based “The Vagina Monologues” on more than 200 interviews she conducted with women about their memories and experiences. Productions of the show are variations on the same script, Hilfinger-Pardo said, adding that this year’s performance would include a new monologue from a transgender perspective.

Also new this year, said Margo Watson ‘09, coordinator of V-Week, is a post-show discussion during a lunch at the Women’s Community Center (WCC) on Feb. 12.

“[The show] is great, and it’s powerful, but it’s not perfect,” Watson said. “It’s important to have a productive discussion about the issues it presents. ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is a way for people to express and release their discomfort, but it’s also a way to draw attention to subjects left unspoken, like sexual assault and genital mutilation.”

Hilfinger-Pardo agreed with these sentiments and emphasized the importance of perspective.

“A lot of different perspectives are presented in this show, and even I don’t agree with some of them,” she said. “But it’s a perspective and a voice that’s out there.”

V-Week is organized by the approximately 30 members of Stanford V-Day, including the self-proclaimed “Vagina Warriors,” who focus on community outreach. All money from donations and ticket sales, which usually adds up to about $11,000, will go to charities. Ninety percent of the money raised will go to the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to affirming sexual freedom; the other 10 percent goes annually to a second charity selected by the national V-Day organization

This year, the V-Day spotlight highlights women in conflict zones.

Amparo Vazquez ‘08, sexual assault program coordinator at the WCC, said that a Feb. 13 panel will focus on sexual assault not only in conflict zones, but at Stanford as well. In addition, a self-defense workshop is planned for the end of V-Week.

“There’s a big stigma attached to self-defense workshops,” she said. “People think that they don’t need to learn about self-defense, or that knowing about it won’t help. But knowing that you can defend yourself is important, and so is the ability to walk with confidence. We’re trying to raise awareness about something negative, sexual assault, but we’re also emphasizing the positivity of sexual freedom.”

More information about V-Week events is available at the V-Day Web site, http://stanfordvday.homestead.

com, and at the WCC Web site, http://wcc.stanford.edu.