For every yin there's a yang. For every peak there's a valley. And in Happy Valley, for every vagina, there's a penis. Monologues, that is.

Two weeks ago, a few dozen female Penn State students collaborated to perform The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler's one-woman show that has grown into an international phenomenon in the past 10 years.

Tonight, 15 male Penn State students will perform The Penis Monologues, a series of comedic monologues about the male genitalia first written by 2003 graduate Jason Cassidy and performed as part of Penn State's underground Outlaws Playwrights' Workshop in Spring 2001.

"I've never seen it as a satire," Cassidy said. "What inspired me to write it was not so much a satirization of The Vagina Monologues, but the way I've seen them presented with increasing amounts of seriousness to the point of absurdity.

"[The Vagina Monologues] is a valid show and a very good show," he added. "I don't doubt there's a lot of social merit to it, but it's almost become a religion in and of itself, so initially I wanted to skew on that a little bit, but all in the spirit of fun."

Cassidy's Monologues certainly won't be accused of being too serious. The play's 15 monologues are designed to elicit laughs without foraying into dramatic, socially relevant topics like its counterpart.

This year's director, Natalie McCabe (sophomore-theatre), said she found The Penis Monologues humorous when she saw it performed in the Pavilion Theatre a year ago.

"I thought it was a riot," McCabe said. "It was new and different, especially coming from a Catholic school background like I did."

McCabe and assistant director Jackie DeForge (senior-theatre) comprise the fifth straight pair of female students who have been tapped to direct The Penis Monologues.

"I think I work better with penises," said DeForge, who co-directed the 2003 performance. "That's why Natalie requested my services. They won't let me do the vaginas."

Although the cast of the show is all-male, The Penis Monologues consistently draws as many women as men.

"I think the appeal [for women] is that it's pretty self-deprecating from a male standpoint," Cassidy said. "I think girls like to see guys make fun of themselves. We spend so much time talking up our sexual prowess. It's pretty rare to see guys admit they are ridiculous creatures when it comes to these kinds of things."

The self-ridicule comes in all forms during the 15-monologue performance. For his monologue, Mark Schroeder (freshman-theater) will discuss the male orgasm, while gradually demonstrating the phenomenon for the audience with his voice inflection.

"I'm trying to have an orgasm with my words and induce orgasms in the viewer ... verbal ejaculation, I call it," Schroeder said. He added that he has appreciated the time he spent acting with the rest of The Penis Monologues ensemble, but found the experience especially interesting for an unexpected reason.

"The other guys boost your performance," he said, "because ironically the male instinct kicks in and it does become a competition. When you see the other actors do their monologues and they make it really big and funny, it drives your performance."

Although the performance has drawn crowds that meet and exceed room capacity for the last five years, Cassidy said not everyone is a fan of the show.

"I don't mind being criticized," Cassidy said, regarding a February 2004 article in which The Vagina Monologues cast spoke disparagingly about his show. "I've never pretended to make [The Penis Monologues] something that everyone's going to get behind." But, he added, people ought to "at least see it first before [they] make a judgment."

DeForge said she thinks the play probably will not offend anyone in a college atmosphere and encouraged male students to bring their significant others.

"It's a good thing to bring your sweethearts to," she assured, "so she can understand your penis better."