Street: Where are you guys from?
Tamara Shakarchi: I’m originally Middle Eastern--I’m originally from Lebanon--and I grew up in Switzerland.
Rayne Harris: Are you trying to gauge her accent? I’m actually from Mississippi, from the South. I don’t know if Vagina Monologues has ever been...it probably has. My grandmother goes, “Rayne, when are the uterus dialogues?” That is Mississippi in a nutshell. Just kidding.
Street: What are your thoughts about VagMons on Valentines Day?
TS: The first ever Vagina Monologues was set on Valentine’s Day. We personally did not necessarily want it on that day, but Irvine decided otherwise, so …we’re making the whole thing like why spend Valentine’s Day alone or with one significant other, when you can spend it with--
RH: 57 girls on stage! You can spend it with all these wonderful vaginas instead. People are bringing their significant others.
TS: And I’m bringing Rayne!
Street: Have you guys ever performed in the Vagina Monologues?
RH: I have, last year. I was in an ensemble piece called “Say It.”
TS: I’ve auditioned every year and never gotten it. Since my freshman year.
Street: So tell us exactly what you do as a producer.
TS: People usually just know about the show, and our movement is so much more than just a show. We say it’s the climax. We have all these different initiatives like fundraising and publicity, so my job is to make sure that everything’s on track.
RH: In short, for producer, I think she produces the movement. And she’s kick ass at doing it.
Street: What made you guys first get involved?
RH: Sophomore year I saw it, and I remember sitting there being SO freakin’ uncomfortable. And that making me uncomfortable made me want to start doing something about it. I sat for the rest of the show, I laughed, I cried, I went through all of the emotions. And I just couldn’t help it, but I wanted to be part of it.
TS: At the end there is a call to stand, and it was just such a moving experience. And then I was like, I have to get involved. It’s just amazing, you have a community of women on this campus that’s so engaging and so lovely and beautiful and inspiring that you just want to be part of it.
Street: How do you guys deal with people being ignorant or negative about the movement?
RH: Ignorant about the movement, we try to educate them. Negative about the movement, we try to educate them.
TS: It’s really a discussion.
Street: If the Vagina Monologues had a mascot, who would it be?
TS: Well we definitely have our vagina suit.
RH: If I could vote, it would be Beyonce.
Street: What’s your favorite piece of Vagina Monologues merch?
TS: The Pussy Pops.
RH: I like the little buttons. What was my favorite one…
TS: “Chilling with my clit”? The best are the “c*nt” ones. But they sell out so quickly. The “c*nts” are the first to go!
Street: Give us one sentence that will convince everyone to come see the show.
RH: Even if you don’t have a vagina, everyone came out of one. You know a woman! That’s a good enough reason.
Street: If you are what you eat, what would you be?
TS: Pussy pops. Actually!
RH: All of the pasta…. I’d just be a big ol’ lump of pasta. Sounds gross, but that’s what I’d be!
Street: What is your spirit animal?
RH: Beyonce.
TS: I would be such a good dog.
RH: You would be a good dog! She’d be the most loyal dog.
Street: Which TV characters do you most identify with?
RH: Olivia Pope.
TS: Somebody that’s very clumsy, who’s really clumsy? I broke so many things on my body, like, just by falling. So many times. Like, my two teeth are fake. Broke my arm.
RH: No comment.
TS: That’s probably why I wasn’t cast! I would fall on stage.
RH: Why do you keep bringing that up?!
Street: Finish the sentence, My Penn card looks like…
TS: A pageant queen.
RH: Faded. It’s just gone. It’s the third one, you just can’t see shit!
Street: Which romantic comedy best describes your life?
TS: My life is a comedy, it’s not a romantic..
RH: Is there a romantic comedy where it just doesn’t work at the end? Because it’s that one.
Street: Tell us about your first kiss?
RH: It was awful! I didn’t know it was happening. I didn’t know if it was over. I’m not sure if it’s still going on.. It was disgusting. I was 15, I was not having it. I mean, I wanted to kiss. But, like, it was bad.
TS: I definitely don’t kiss and tell.
Street: What’s your guilty pleasure?
TS: Oh, chocolate. Pussy pops.
RH: I’m not guilty about my pleasures. That’s the true answer. I’m really not.
Check out our interview with the Vagina Monologue's education director Nicole Grabowski!
