let's start with the vagina monologues. you decided... you started talking to somebody about menopause. >> right. >> hinojosa: a woman. >> yep. >> hinojosa: and that led you to just start talking to a lot of women about their vaginas... >> yeah. >> hinojosa: ...and then you put it together in a play that had an extraordinary outpouring. it... how many countries has it played in now? >> 130. >> hinojosa: and it's still... where is it... is it... >> oh, it's running... this year on v-day there were 5,000 productions of it. i mean, it's running all over the world. it's been running in paris and mexico city for ten years. >> hinojosa: i know, i was like, "really?" >> i know. >> hinojosa: non-stop. >> yeah. >> hinojosa: so after... after the vagina monologues, you said one of the things that happened was that you had a lot of women coming and talking to you not about feeling empowered about their sexuality; they were actually coming to you and sharing stories of abuse... >> mm-hmm. >> hinojosa: ...of sadness. and so then what did

♪she rose to fame with "the vagina monologues," a theaterpiece about women and their experiences withelationships, and violence. she herself suffered violenceand sexual abuse as a child. yet, she says the anger she feltfor her father made her stronger.ms. ensler: i bless my rage, because that rage kept me fromkilling myself. you know, i became suicidallater on, but at the time of my childhood i was just defiant.i did everything the opposite if he told me to do.told me not to go out, i went out.he told me not to smoke pot, i smoked pot.told me not to -- everything he did. but you know what?that kept me alive. reporter: now she draws herstrength from her friends, tony montenieri and susan swan.they're her family, and the three work closely together.in 1998, ensler founded the women's organization v-day.active worldwide, v-day supports of gender violence in the democratic republic ofcongo. ♪ this evening she's on her way toa women's film festival, where she'll be receiving an award.she stops for photographs on the red carpet with her stepson,actor dylan mcdermott. they've very close.mr.