Ensler conceived the idea for V-Day in 1998; this year Ukiah's performance was one of 800 worldwide productions of "The Vagina Monologues" in more than thirty countries. We had the enormous honor to be chosen as one of the twelve communities to be included in a documentary that V-Day is making for HBO about this international phenomenon. Cecile Lipworth and Abby Epstein, co-directors of the worldwide V-Day campaign, were intrigued by Ukiah's plans for V-Day: a multicultural cast that included 39 women ages 8 to 93, a cellist onstage for the entire performance, a dozen "vagina quilts" on display in downtown store windows, and plans for follow-up workshops in which women and teenage girls will craft their own stories about being female for performance at Ukiah Playhouse in late April.

For two days a New York film crew descended on our little town, interviewing cast members, quilters, store owners, shoppers, the County Sheriff and Under Sheriff, Judy Albert at Project Sanctuary, and many others. At the performance they filmed some of the monologues, as well as the audience response and post-show discussion. Cecile and Abby accompanied the film crew to see for themselves what was going on in Ukiah, California. They weren't disappointed. In fact, they were effusive in their appreciation for the energy and artistry that fueled our community effort.

When I arrived at the Masonic Auditorium, the women who greeted me all said, "Oh, you're Jade from Ukiah!" Ukiah was mentioned a lot throughout the day. The stage was covered in a plush red carpet and there were three red velvet couches on it. My co-performers included Jill Eikenberry, Kathy Najimy, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Gloria Steinem, Rita Moreno, Ronnie Gilbert, Julia Butterfly Hill and many others. Eve Ensler hugged and kissed me and said how fun it was that I was there. She gave me a good look up and down, I might add. I met the producers and their assistants and the assistants' assistants. They all had cell phones that kept ringing. It was all very high tech and amusing to me. The staff was all women, very kind and loving and welcoming. I really stopped being nervous as soon as I walked into this glowing red cave of busy vaginas running about. When I finally got to rehearse with Eve, I practiced on the microphone and read the piece. Eve gave me one note about pacing and then told me to really just enjoy myself. She didn't just mean to have fun, but to really enjoy me, my body, to love being the woman and the body under that short skirt. It was helpful. That's exactly what I did when I got out there. I could also tell that Eve just loves women and she appreciated me. I could see how she could get hundreds of women to talk about their vaginas. She makes you feel like a unique flower.

What impressed me most about V-Day San Francisco was the size and power of the event. Sitting on that stage, looking at the women around me, feeling the vibrations of the audience, everyone buzzing, really exploding with the desire, the visceral need, to end all violence against women and children. It was tremendous. It was a force. This is what activism can create, how changes can be made.

More than one-half million dollars was raised that night to benefit the twenty-five collaborating organizations who helped produce V-Day San Francisco. These are organizations which help women help themselves. In the midst of that event, I clearly understood the power of V-Day's intentions: in order to made the violence stop, change must take place. As women, we cannot change the men, or whoever is perpetrating the abuse, but we can change ourselves. We can say "No!" as a collective force of women around the world. At the end of the show, Eve asked anyone who had ever been raped or abused to stand up. A least a third of the audience stood. Then she asked anyone who had ever known someone who had been raped or abused to stand. Almost all the rest of the audience stood. Finally, she asked those who would make sure that this violence against women and girls would stop to stand. The few remaining stood.

The feeling in that room was too profound for words to describe. The emphasis at V-Day San Francisco was clearly on stopping violence. In Ukiah, our V-Day focused more on celebrating vaginas and becoming comfortable talking about them, literally, just being able to say the word "vagina." Eve, Cecile and Abby made a point of telling me how extraordinary they thought Ukiah was. Ukiah is definitely on the international V-Day map. They told me how lucky I was to be from such a community, and I sure am. Our production was exactly what they had hoped V-Day would be: a community effort. They loved how we were so supported by our County Sheriff. They couldn't praise the quilts enough. At the top of the San Francisco performance, Eve told that audience about the incredible V-Day that had just taken place in our town, and then she called out, "Stand up, Ukiah!" and ten or so proud Ukiah women in the audience rose to their feet.

What I especially loved about Eve and V-Day San Francisco was the clear appreciation of all women's voices. I think that's partly why I was invited; although I am not famous, I share the experience of being a woman, and I felt the words in my monologue as much as Rosie Perez or any women in the audience. This helped me feel that I had a right to be up on that stage with all the other accomplished, beautiful performers. The women of V-Day are excited to see women becoming empowered, breaking the silence, saying "vagina." And, staggering as it was to be sharing a dressing room with Gloria Steinem, etc., I realized that they are just people, too, women who have undergone many of the same experiences as the women in Ukiah.

All in all, it was a transformative opportunity for me. I was so impressed by the incredible amount of work done by the women who organized this event. To me, they are the true warrriors: brave, strong and beautiful. They/we are going to win this war on violence, not with guns and hate but with love and unity.

Jade Power grew up in Redwood Valley, trained with Ukiah Players Theatre, SPACE, Mendodino College, and a variety of regional theatres before receiving her degree in Theatre from UC Santa Cruz; she's currently teaching and performing in Ukiah.