Actors broke into tears or shook with emotion as they gave monologues and performed two-person scenes.

"The anniversary of my rape is the axis of my year, more significant than my birthday," said Mary L. Pagones '98, dramatizing "Returns of the Day" from a New York Times article by Nancy V. Raine. "An anniversary that can be only marked by silence, a silence that tastes a lot like shame."

The performance raised the much-disputed question of what constitutes rape.

One scene--performed in several fragments interspersed throughout the show and based on real situations--followed the relationship between Tyler, played by Charles C. O'Toole '97, assistant director, and Rachel, played by Fay M. Ferency '99.

After going on several dates, the two students return from a dance to Tyler's room, both heavily drunk. From this point on, their accounts of the situation differ greatly.

Tyler claims that, while initially saying no to sex, Rachel eventually did not object. According to Tyler, she became distant and rude after they had sex.

Ferency vividly portrayed Rachel's confusion, fear and feelings of conflict.

"I was practically crying, and he didn't even stop," the character said. "I was just lying there being unable to move and waiting for it to be over. I felt dirty."

Over the remainder of the performance, the audience watched Rachel evaluate the incident--her emotions starting with uncertainty and growing to hatred of Tyler and gnawing pain.

Her roommates encourage her to press charges against Tyler, but she worries that the school administration will not believe her.

Last night's performance illustrated the intense fear that victims often feel after rape.

"I can't do what I want to do with my own body because I'm the wrong sex, the wrong age, the wrong color," said Candice L. Ackerman '99, performing a poem entitled "My Rights." "I was wrong to be me."

The group also addressed sexual harassment of men by women through an excerpt from "A...My Name is Alice"--a lighter scene about a woman who responds to a man's flirtatious calls on the street.

Several of the actors have been involved in cases of sexual harassment and said that through Calling It Rape they can help others address similar emotional concerns.

Jones said he was a victim of sexual assault, while Henley-Cohn said in high school two of his close female friends accused two of his male friends of rape.

"They were close friends of mine. Because I believed in [all of] them I didn't know who to believe," Henley-Cohn said.

"I think Calling It Rape has helped me to better deal with [the issues surrounding rape]. It has taught me to recognize some of the issues," he added.

Henley-Cohn performed in a scene taken from a transcript provided by Yale rape response hotline, dramatizing a man's recollection of being raped by another man.

Students at the performance said it was very moving and effective in prompting them to think about acquaintance rape.

"I especially liked the vignette format. It shows that there are many different types of rape," Lye said. "It hits you very quickly that this is a serious subject."