​​​​​​​4thU Artivists to Present Farewell Production THE GOOD BODY at UWS Church

4thU Artivists, a New York City-based charitable performance group is celebrating their fifteenth anniversary & farewell production. They will present V's (formerly Eve Ensler's) brilliant The Good Body. With The Good Body, V, author of the iconic & award-wining The Vagina Monologues, turns her unique eye to the rest of the female form in an examination of the various ways in which women view their bodies based on society's view of what makes a good body. Proceeds will go to organizations that support women and girls locally and globally.

Founded in 2009 to support V's global V-Day movement to end gender-based violence, 4thU Artivists produced "The Vagina Monologues" as their first show, and have since collaborated with the playwright. Since then the group has produced new plays, concerts, dance performances, art exhibits, and even a comedy show. Nancy Robillard, who directed the first performance in 2009, and often provides her dramaturgical wisdom to 4thU Artivists, returns to co-direct The Good Body along with 4thU Artivists' Creative Director Erin Bigelow Umar.

Founder & Managing Director Deborah Roth affirms, "Returning to one of V's powerful shows on our fifteenth anniversary affirms 4thU Artivists' bedrock mission and values - to raise awareness and funds to end gender-based violence and systemic oppression through creative projects (theater and dance productions, concerts, and art shows). For a number of reasons, we've determined that this will be our last production as a theater group, and we're excited to bring back The Good Body which we presented in 2014 on our 10th anniversary."

Erin Bigelow-Umar, creative director of 4thU Artivists, reveals, "V-Day is a movement that grew out of the untold stories of women. We believe women. We believe in their right to tell their stories and we believe their stories need to be heard-nothing is more powerful. The compelling personal accounts in The Good Body, as in The Vagina Monologues, change lives and heal."

To date, 4thU Artivists has raised almost $200,000 for organizations dedicated to ending gender violence and systemic oppression. Net proceeds from this event will support the work of two beneficiaries: Women Deliver and VDay's City of Joy. Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, in all their intersecting identities. City of Joy, in conjunction with VDay Congo, is a transformational leadership community for women survivors of violence located in Bukavu, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tickets are available now on a donation basis, from $5-$500, with a suggested donation of $25. Tickets purchased at a donation amount of $50 or more per seat will include premium seating, complimentary drink, and chocolate. Show time is 8pm and doors open at 7:30 for a pre-show party with food, wine, crafts, and an auction. The shows will take place in the sanctuary of the Fourth Universalist Society, a landmarked Gothic church at 160 Central Park West.

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