| | Published October 9th, 2024
| "The Menopause Monologues" at Town Hall breaks culture of silence
| | | By Elaine Borden Chandler |  | | The cast of "The Menopause Monologues" at their all-cast read-through party on Sept. 27. Photos provided |
"The seed was my dying ovaries," drawled Carrie Vanhouten with ironic relish when asked what the seed for "The Menopause Monologues" was, to the visible amusement of Lisa Anne Morrison and Lulu Braunstein. These three women - Vanhouten, the creator; Morrison, the director; and Braunstein, the producer - are the driving forces behind the new play at Lafayette's Town Hall Theatre.
"The Menopause Monologues" is a collaborative play with fifteen different vignettes on menopause, ranging from traditional monologues to poetry to dance to live painting to puppetry. It follows the format of "The Vagina Monologues," the groundbreaking 1996 play by Eve Ensler that opened up discussions about a previously unmentionable subject.
Morrison, Braunstein, and Vanhouten have the same goal with "The Menopause Monologues." They were inspired by their own and others' experiences - sleep loss, irritability, hot flashes, brain fog, memory difficulties, struggling with getting medical treatment - all of which were hidden and associated with shame.
"For me, it's about sharing it and taking away the taboo," said Braunstein. "Everybody has a story of their own or of a family member, and so many stories really needed to come out."
Menopause, the time when people with uteruses permanently stop having periods, is rarely acknowledged publicly beyond jokes about hot flashes. So when Vanhouten entered perimenopause, the years long process leading up to menopause, she was unprepared for it. She was soon frustrated by how stories about menopause, so common and so central to life, were never discussed beyond small groups of friends.
"I wanted to create a place where we could share our stories, get them in the everyday vocabulary of human existence, and break the generational silence," she said.
Vanhouten contacted Morrison and Braunstein and asked them what they thought about doing a "The Vagina Monologues" style play about menopause; they responded enthusiastically. They started brainstorming together and established that they wanted more than a play - they wanted a movement.
They were soon in full gear: sending out a call for submissions and receiving dozens; hosting a lively workshop where suggestions and laughter bounced back and forth; doing interviews, including three older women whose stories reshaped the play's structure; and editing, rearranging, and honing the chosen monologues.
At last, they had the final play, something they were proud of and excited to share. They chose to end it with a Q&A on menopause with Dr. Chiruba Prabakar. In the process they had learned and shared so much, and they wanted the play to kick off discussion and acceptance in the audience -perhaps even empowerment and joy.
"For years and years, I thought this was going to be the time of life where I felt like I'm not going to be worth anything anymore," said Morrison. "And it has proven to be totally the opposite. I feel more strength and more license to take care of myself and put myself first than I have in my entire life."
"The Menopause Monologues" is currently sold out. Contact Lulu Braunstein at lulubraunstein@me.com to be put on a ticket waitlist. |
 | | Three of the puppets featured in "The Menopause Monologues." Photos provided | | | | | | | | | | | |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA