The Vagina Monologues: Sitting Down with Director Julia Charette Poole

Interview by: Taylor Meachum (' 27), Treasurer

Note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity

Taylor Meachum: I want to start by asking what inspired you to take on the role as the director of The Vagina Monologues, and how did you know you were ready?

Julia Poole: It was definitely a hard decision. When the faculty approached me, it was after I had already assistant-directed for Julia Matthews in the fall for The Glass Menagerie. So, I knew the space. I also knew that I could rely on the faculty members. I've been meeting consistently with Julia Matthews and Jeffrey Lentz this semester, sharing what we've been working on and my concepts, and they have listened and talked with me. So, I knew that even if I hadn't done it before, I was surrounded by the support of people that I needed. My experience in rehearsal rooms my entire life allowed me to feel like I could really put myself out there and try something new. I'm really proud of the work that we've created here so far.

TM: That’s amazing. After this show, would you direct another one?

JP: Absolutely. I always say my one true love is performing. The next show I'm in is Night Music so that's what I'm gearing up for right after this. Something I like to say about myself is I want to create a career for myself in the theatre arts world, whether that's costuming, production work, working in the booth, being a director, or being a performer. If I'm working and creating in a theatre space, I will be fulfilled as an artist, which is why I wanted to go to a liberal arts school in the first place. So absolutely, I could see myself doing it again in the future.

TM: Well, as you said, you're no stranger to theatre at Albright alone. Does your experience in theatre play a big role in your directing style?

JP: Yes. When I came into this directing space, what I had to rely on was my skill as an actor. I had to think of directing moments, good and bad, throughout my entire middle school, high school, and college directing experience. I'm very thankful that in my acting studio classes both Julia Matthews and Jeffrey Lentz sprinkle a little bit of directing in. Also, it's good to be able to see things from different perspectives. I think, honestly, what really helped me as a director most was all of the backstage and pre-production work that I've done. I was able to take my experiences as an actor and see, okay, this is what my actors need, and I was able to apply that. It was like, what do I need as an actor? Okay, how do I deliver that for my actors?

My work as a dramaturg really drove a lot of my creative process for this. Jocelyn McLaughlin did our dramaturgy work for this show, which was incredible. We rooted a lot of the inspiration and design elements of the 1970s feminist art movement and the second wave of feminism. Digging into that historical research was really important to me. It's important that we remember what's happened, or else it's going to happen again. Jenna Shallop created a beautiful projection design for the show, which has historical elements of newspapers and moments in time.

TM: Awesome. How has directing this production challenged you and changed you as an artist and an individual?

JP: I have had to prioritize time management in ways I've never had to before, especially being a full-time student. I have a job on campus, I'm in the choir, and I do this. Plus rehearsing—you know—my own music. So being able to rely on my team around me was very important.

I was so grateful to have the most incredible cast of actors who memorized their stuff in an incredibly fast amount of time. These are no short monologues. These are feats of monologues. I'm very proud of them. My stage management team all were able to really work together. These student designers put on an entirely student-designed and student-run production with help from the faculty.

One of the greatest things was also Angel Alvarado, our scenic designer. When we wanted another assistant stage manager—we were a little late in the process to get one—to be able to help our actors run lines. Angel was like, “Let me come in, let me be your rehearsal ASM. I'll be able to see my scenic design in action.” And he came in and was an incredible addition to the team. So truly, the biggest thing for me is learning to rely on the people around you because you can micromanage everything, but I have an incredible team here and I couldn't have done any of this without the people that I had.

TM: That's amazing. What was your directorial vision for this year's production, and how did you bring it to life?

JP: From middle school on, I've always been the feminist in the class. When we were learning about history, I was always really fascinated and angered by women's history. When this show was introduced to me, I was like, this is everything I love and more. A collection of theatrical feminist monologues? Sign me up 7,000 times.

I really wanted to root my research in the feminist art movement of the 1970s. I was looking at women's history, relying on women's rights movements and trans rights activists like Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and Gloria Steinem. I was drawn to the conversations of prominent feminists in the feminist art movement in the 1970s. Particularly, I was drawn to the work of Lucy Lippard. I read an article featuring her and other prominent female architects, designers, and poets discussing female imagery. That was the first thing I sent to my designers.

Working with Hannah Martin, our costume designer, she really heard that and ran with it. I went to Angel and said, “I want chairs and a box of props.” And he went, “Okay, let's make it work.” And he made it work. He created this beautiful space of chairs with different heights and textures. We have this dark wood table, which created this beautiful texture for the actors to play in. Daniel Lior, who is our props designer, worked with the actors directly as they were doing their monologues. Certain actors have props that they work with throughout the scene that are relevant to what they're talking about. They created this beautiful space of the props on the table that we see. Everyone worked together in this really beautiful way to allow everything to flow together nicely. I'm so, so thankful for the team we have here.

TM: Right. So there are a lot of fairly new actors in the show. How did you create a safe and supportive environment for the performers to not only feel comfortable on stage, but explore such personal and powerful topics?

JP: So, these monologues are conversations and stories. These are open and honest dialogues both between the actor and the audience, but also between the actor and the monologue itself. When I first stepped into the process I gave the actors their monologues. I asked everyone to read over—to start memorizing as much as they could. I started to rely on if something makes you uncomfortable, highlight it so we can talk about why.

The first week and a half to two weeks of rehearsals were closed. What that means is it's just me as a director, the actor or actors that are in the scene, and then a stage manager or two. These were the first times we touched on the monologues in the space and I wanted the actors to feel safe. We also emphasize checking in. The actors do check-ins for physicality. If on Monday you say yes, you can touch my shoulder, it may not be how you're going to be on Tuesday. That's totally fine. And it can change within the minute or the hour. These are real conversations and—as I'm sure many people who come to see the show will feel—these aspects of this text will affect each person in a different way. That's the beauty of it. It’s important to allow everyone to feel how they need to.

TM: That’s amazing. The Vagina Monologues has been performed worldwide and since 1996. Why do you think it remains relevant today?

JP: Well, it's been performed in all 50 states in 130 countries worldwide, which says enough. We still have a lot of work to do. There's a lot of fight to keep fighting. Something I keep coming back to is the biggest defense in times of discomfort—unbridled, unbroken and openly shared joy. We have to laugh together. We have to be together. We have to have these uncomfortable conversations together. If we don't start to think about why we feel the way we do and why the interactions with people make us feel a certain way, then we can't go forward.

TM: Right. What do you have to say to or about the people that may feel uncomfortable about the critical themes of the play?

JP: That discomfort is the first step, that means you're thinking about it. I encourage, if you saw that bright purple sign that said The Vagina Monologues, and you were like, oh, I know I'm not going to see this show, I think that that urges the conversation to come see it even more. Curiosity, I feel, tops all at the end of the day. And even if you come in and you're like, this was not for me, the fact that you and your perspective were in these seats is what matters most. I'm just thrilled for there to be an audience of people to share their energy with us in this space.

TM: That was beautifully said. Did you incorporate any new elements or adaptations to make the show more inclusive or relevant?

JP: Absolutely. We emphasize that this is a show about vaginas, not a show about women because there's so many people in the world who have vaginas who are not women. So really emphasizing pronouns and allowing space for conversation about that, knowing that these conversations are not just women's conversations is important. V, the author of this play, said that one of the most impactful and influential productions of this play was an entirely transgender cast. People were so upset. It got horrible reviews. V was like, you missed the point. They got it. So, trying to keep the perspectives of the actors and the people in the cast is really what helped keep this production as open as we could have it.

TM: Is there anything else that I didn't ask that you'd like to cover?

JP: You're good at your job. No, I just think that it's really important right now to support all aspects of the arts. I think that protecting, valuing, and engaging in the arts and the sciences is more important than ever. So, I'm just going to say go to the Freedman Gallery, go to Improv, go to Lion Records, go support Club Vogue, go support the choir. Support arts because that is what's going to keep us going. We can fight all day, but we have to dance at night if we're going to continue to thrive as humans, as activists, and as people.

TM: That was amazing. Thank you so much for sitting down with me.

JP: Thank you so much for having me.