Diversity and Difference

Office of Multicultural Affairs Recognizes Women's History Month 2013

A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer (MMRP)

MSPP is proud to present its fourth V-Day production: A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer (MMRP), a series of hand-picked monologues about violence against women around the world.

V-Day is a project initiated by Eve Ensler to raise awareness about, and generate funding to support programming to address, violence against women globally. Our production will be comprised of short pieces written by victims of violence, witnesses of violence, and authors/advocates moved by a desire to contribute to the end to violence against women worldwide.

This year's performance will raise funds for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center www.barcc.org.

MMRP Co-Director Erika Updegrove

Erika Updegrove is currently a third year Clinical PsyD student. Additionally, Erika is Co-Chair of the Student Government Committee and Co-Founder and representative of the Neuropsychology Group. Currently, Erika is an intern at the Bedford VA where she conducts neuropsychological testing and provides therapeutic support to veterans. Additionally, Erika manages her own business aiding children in overcoming emotional and behavioral barriers to academic success. Erika performed in the MMRP for the last two years and is now co-directing the performance. Erika explains the importance of this production for MSPP:

"The strength of a woman is silenced in our culture. Many of us have become powerful from our struggles, but we are shamed into believing that our victories are unceremonious. Every year the MSPP community produces the MMRP, we send the message that violence and the systematic oppression of women (and others) is intolerable and should not be kept secret. I would like to honor the uncelebrated victories of every woman this month."

MMRP Co-Director Suzanne Mosaliganti

Suzanne Mosaliganti is currently a third year Clinical PsyD student. Additionally, Suzanne is a Co-Founder and representative of the Gender Equality Committee (GEC). Currently, Suzanne is an intern at Wheelock College, working with a predominately female population. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Suzanne will represent the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center at Wheelock's Domestic Violence Awareness week. She also serves as Peer Supervisor for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center's Medical Advocacy program and served as a Medical Advocate for sexual assault survivors in Boston area emergency rooms among other advocacy and clinical roles that she has maintained over the years.

Suzanne wanted to become a part of the MMRP because "it challenges our culture's misconceptions of women that ultimately reinforce the gender-based power dynamics that perpetuate sexual violence." Suzanne explains the relevance of this performance for her:

"In our culture, we tend to notice the 'big,' explicit manifestations of prejudice, failing to recognize the 'small,' implicit prejudicial messages - they remain camouflaged, disguised as innocuous every-day words, behaviors, structures, assumptions. These 'small things' quietly add up to reinforce stereotypes and pressures that ultimately reinforce the bigger issues like sexual violence against girls and women. I believe that by recognizing the incremental impact of these daily transgressions, we may be able to address the more global issues they eventually cause.'"

Contact Information

If you would like to be included in future profiles on this site, please contact Gretchen Nash at gretchen_nash@mspp.edu.

Updated 3/13/13