Armed with charcoal pencils and paintbrushes, a select group of high school students crossed the threshold of the UCLA Broad Art Center, ready to get a taste of a college arts education.

Pink bubble wrap, plastic water bottles, empty cereal boxes and the staff shirt of a Facilities Management employee were strewn across the lawn as students gathered around a UCLA garbage bin.

Don’t be afraid to be dangerous. This was the most memorable lesson theater director and UCLA alumnus Michael Peretzian learned during his time at the university.

The stage was set for the final run-through, with old photographs laid out neatly in the spotlight and the whisper of a Super 8 projector in the background. With a vintage film clip playing on the backdrop, the dancers prepared to tell the story of the choreographer, one of two graduate students who are showcasing their work this week.

Women are stealing the spotlight this weekend in the UCLA production of Tony Award-winning writer Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.”

For Eve Ensler, the Tony Award-winning writer of the provocative “The Vagina Monologues,” and many students at UCLA, Valentine’s Day is about a lot more than heart-shaped candies and oversized teddy bears. It’s about giving a voice to women across the world by offering them an opportunity to stand together and speak out against gender inequality.