Micayla Cummings

Journalism junior Micayla Cummings connects to The Vagina Monologues because it’s helped her grow.

Cummings was a victim of molestation throughout her childhood. She kept the experience bottled up until she went to a Vagina Monologues performance in 2011. After the show, she realized she could talk about her past experiences and joined the cast this past February as a method of coping with her past.

Cummings returned to the cast this year after loving her experience last year.

“I gained a bunch of sisters who were open and willing to talk,” Cummings said.

Even though Cummings doesn’t have a monologue this year, she still is participating with a segment of telling happy and “not-so-happy” facts to educate women on what they should know and the struggles of other women.

Casey Shipman

Recent graduate Casey Shipman said she joined this year as a way to give a voice to women who don’t have one in the community.

After graduating MSU in 2012, Shipman went on to work at nonprofit organizations with ties to sexual assault and domestic violence victims.

Moved by the empowerment The Vagina Monologues stand for, she came back and is performing the monologue “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy.”

Her character has interesting perspectives on sex and sexuality and is known for loud sexual moans.

Amanda Niven

Even though Amanda Niven is not serving as an actual character in this year’s show, she will serve as a resource to a select part of the audience.

Niven, an Okemos resident, will be a sign language interpreter during each of the monologues for her third consecutive year in the show.

Niven said she enjoys that the show includes a variety of women’s perspectives and voices and how it represents an assortment of age groups and races.

“It’s an important message that doesn’t reach every community,” she said.