How much would you dare to bare on stage?

I know we'd all like to do (and indeed I have done) "The Rocky Horror Show", but how about 'real' stuff.

Woking Youth Theatre did a really good production of "Girls Night Out" a couple of years ago - I was impressed how well the boys coped with near-nakedness.

I've done quite a few 'undies' roles - mostly farces.

How about the rest of the actors out there? Go on - prepare to dare to bare!

In Snow White one (male) character is dislodged from the Wicked Queen's wardrobe apparently naked - with his modesty covered only by a small suitcase (or a large suitcase, of course, depending on the size of his modesty). The lad who played this role took it in his stride, but then he is a natural show-off.

Thus far, I've never been put to this particular test, and I can't imagine any director wanting me to!

Nudity or near nudity would depend on the part and the length of time required in that state on stage, but I guess the answer would be yes!

Jane

I never been placed in that situation, and I really don't know what my nswer would be. I guess it depends on a whole range of things.

The only way they'd let me on stage near naked would be to clear the room!!
But seriously, I dont think I could.

You know something!, I think it would take some serious nerve to get up on stage half naked or completely naked.

You have to have a very high level of self confidence to be able to do that.

As I am not someone that actually treads the boards......... I can only pass comment on the likes of Tracy Shaw who certainly gained some publicity!

Maybe this sort of thing would aid in the promotion of amateur theatre?

I know if I was to get up there, the theatre would empty so fast.........................

Don't you think there's a little bit of exhibitionist in all of us? And I've heard in well lit theatres you can't actually see the audience from the stage so isn't it more about how well you know the cast

Maybe this is the way to get more men into Amdram?

Depending how you meant that, it'd probably get more men into the audience

When I was about 8 or 9 years old - I got one of my first paid jobs in Theatre at Newcastle on the 'Follies? - the call system had a major wiring fault & they needed ?Call-boys to relay the calls for the performers - I think Igot the princely sum of 2 bottles of POP & a packet of ?Tudor? crisps per night - obviously overpaid! The Dress rehearsal was chaos, because there were that many different nationalities & it was a problem trying to get past the stagehands hanging around the stairs to the dressing rooms. Plus the ladies didn?t understand our accent. So they devised sign boards for us to carry. Which was great because it covered up our embarrassment. Except the ladies always motioned us to lift the signs higher. Some of the antics they got upto - I was hard pressed to understand - but these were explained latter by one of the older guys - When the show opened my embarrassment gave way to one of "I wish they?d put their clothes on - when they do that!" Since then I have learned to appreciate the fine artistry of such aerobic postures. On stage they were not allowed to move - but off stage it was completely uninhibited. I think we had more local Police watching off stage than at Hendon Police Academy. We could not tell or publicise that we were callboys for the ?Follies? because of what the public might think!
Since then in a real money paid job- during ?Steaming? I was the ?duty tech? & got a call from the Companies SM to attend to some character, who was lurking on the top fly floor. As I was Front of house I got onto a Tech back stage to find out who it was & evict the person - he was nearer & my chips would get soggy & cold, If I went!
I got the message from the Tech "It was the Theatres Manager leering over the rail - what should he do? I said ?kick him out & tell him to get a comp like everyone else & watch out front. At interval this idiot Manager joined the rest of the crew at the 'loading dock' door, who were having a smoke with the 'star' of the show. Who was only wearing a towel & he asked her the most pathetic question ever!!! " Why, when you exit the stage, do you have the props person help you cover up with a towel? To that she indigently said "Because on stage I?m acting a role - off stage I?m Me!!! - So why don?t you ?---- OFF? & get yourself an agent & stop handling yourself?" -
It was the best applause she had all season from the crew! -
So there! -
[?We? techies can be very understanding & sensitive to the needs of 'warm props' - occasionally!
Chookas
Joe

I had to do a scene in my boxers then cover up with a towel and remove the boxers. Then the femme fatale try to remove the towel until she's distracted by a gunshot. Each night she tried harder, each night I hung on for dear life.

Another consideration would be how cold the theatre was, that would have an effect on your 'appearance' I would imagine.

I know I probaly couldn't do it now, but if I gained enough self confidence I possibly could.

I also spent quite a lot of time down the gym for the 4 months prior to the show!

Vain? Me?

I've often appeared in various states of undress - a whore in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Helga in 'Allo 'Allo (she strips down to a basque and swastika knickers), some character whose name I forget in Bedside Manners who appears in only a towel and the list goes on.... the secret is camouflage! I never appear in bare legs - ALWAYS ALWAYS wear my Danskins!

In the Cooney farce, Out of Order/Two into one the nurse and the angry boyfriend strip down to towels. (other characters too but not so much) so who's done those roles?

I haven't. Incidentally, if you know Flying Feathers, Debbie ends up losing clothes as the other girls end up gaining layers.

Plenty of swimsuits and robes in "Toe in the water"

Incidentally, Derek Benfield was in that Hettie Wainthrop thing years ago. Wh'd have thought it of him to write about scantilly dressed ladies and trouser dropping gents.

Errrrmmmm *being sheepish here*

Afraid I've done the lot *blush* It was a hen night, I was running the disco ... on stage in front of about 500 - what's worse I was sober!

But that was a very long time ago, at least I didn't have to do it night after night

Crewed "Rocky Horror" when all the crew were given costumes for the last night of the tour..... wardrobe must have been mistaken as I'm sure our costumes were skimpier than the casts. Hmmmmmmm

Woo woo Martin!

We've often talked about how much fun it would be to do The Full Monty (as a play not the musical) - we can even cast it! But the big debate is.... do they go ALL THE WAY at the end or not! We girlies have it sussed. We say there will be a complete blackout at the end - which there will be - only we will have TORCHES focussing on crucial bits!

Isn't this rather a lot of fuss to make over such a little thing?




(I speak for myself, of course.)

Directed "Best Little Whorehouse" a few years back, and introduced what was affectionately known as the 'bonking scene' - you can imagine it.

Well, one guy actually had his back to the audience, a girl's legs wrapped around him and was wearing nothing but flesh coloured briefs and his trousers round his ankles, and the lights flashed on only briefly.

And HOW many people in the audience came up in the interval to ask if he really was naked?!!!

I probably would, though I think I'd be more embarrassed by the presence of the cast than anyone else...

I'm not expecting the situation to arise anyway...we're unlikely to do "Hair" and if we did - well the age of most of the members - I think I'd be sick!

Didn't they ask about becoming members, so to speak, Anne-Marie?

We just finished this one... My wife and another girl were in undies for the parts... didn';t seem to bother them that much...

However we had record breaking audiences so it is nice to know what the audience wants

Mmm... got "South Pacific" coming up in March 2003. Starting to go to they gym three times a week now - and that's only me baring my top half!

regards,
/alan (male)

Our group is producing a western-style calendar. We did all the decent photographs last Sunday at the Smith & Western restaurant. And the nudie pics are going to be done this weekend, but they only wanted me clothed! So I was in bodice and bloomers - nothing revealed.

Claire

My first professional job was in the touring production of Ladies Night. I was ASM, understudying 3 parts.

I never had to go on stage (the actors never got sick), but if I'd had to I wouldn't have hesitated about taking off my clothes. I wouldn't do it now, as the 7 years that have passed since have taken their toll on my waistline!

I directed my wife in "Move Over Mrs Markham" a few years ago and she had to strip down to lacy underwear.

I did 'Cat on the Fiddle' a few years back which required me to take my dress off on stage. I offered to do it in basque and stockings but the director demurred - only because it was a church hall I hasten to add! So I wore a camisole and french knickers but you can hear my Mum shriek on the video of the perofrmance! She told me afterwards that she hadn't brought her daughter up to behave like that - good job I censor the holiday snaps! I agree that your level of comfort with the rest of the group is more significant than the audience, but as we don't have dressing rooms we're all quite acustomed to stripping off in front of each other.

I had to take nearly everything off a few years back. Just to make sure I'd be ok, I stripped off at rehearsals as well. We had the church hall for rehearsals, with the bridge club in the adjoining room. I've never seen so many men deciding they needed the loo every five minutes, and walking through our rehearsal area!

Saw excellent photo in local paper yesterday for one of local group's forthcoming performance of "Tiptoe Through the tombstones" . Man on sofa being molested by the vamp, shirt ripped open with another character looking on aghast. Very good publicity and if any of that group are reading this, I hope it goes well for you.

JFTR, on topic: clothing being removed on stage, linked to baring flesh.

LL

saw a college production recently where the entire cast was naked at one point or another. Clearly not as big a deal for them as for us...

I'd have to lose the beer belly before I was happy getting my kit off... which means I'd have to give up beer... damn that would have to be a good production....

I agree, I was down the gym for 3 months solid prior to one role where is was down to my boxer shorts. It's all gone to pot again now though!

What fun! ...film is OK...but I don't think I could handle stage nudity...it's all in the context..

resurrecting this cause i like nudity and i'm bored, and its annoying me in the play im doing at the moment.

Personally i have no problem with it. Did bra and pants for cabaret, and our kickline cossies werent much more (our emcee did too . . . ) and done a nude photo shoot. if the script calls for it, go for it.

Am currently doing 'one flew over the cuckoos nest' and the script calls for mcmurphy to appear in a towel and nothing else (boxers underneath) its a really really funny scene, but seems to be causing isses with the director . . . grrrrrrr

im a great believer in if it calls for it, do it, regardless. be it nudity, kissing, fondling, hitting etc etc etc

but then thats just me . . .

I can't believe Pamela has only just found this one!!

i know . . . . .i'm nothing if not predictable, i was bound to stumble across it eventually . . .

I'd agreee with Pamela....

Directors sometimes ahve "funny" ideas and tend to push their own "morals" into the script..

A good example of this is when I did "Anything Goes" and the Director CUT 8 pages of gags because they refelected mental health issues and "wasn't funny"....

It was when they "shave the dog".... (Now THAT's Nudity....)

*shaking head*

Personally you'd have to drag me kicking screaming and biting to take my clothes off on stage, but then I wouldn't audition for a part where it was necessary!

Lads..... Get the ropes.....

That might be hugely entertaining in it's own right

I managed accidental nudity....

Tell us more

I was wearing a suit jacket and notta lot else. I'm sure I mentioned this before...

I'm sure you have - but it certainly bears (bares?) repeating

Did I tell you all about the time that I was stark naked on stage?

Please don't...............

I'm begging...

I think I may have already told the story in another thread some time ago but I can't remember which one now

This is something I have wanted to do. I often said to friends, that as I can't sing or dance and I am really self consenious ? about it, I would fel more comfortable taking my clothes off than doing a solo song and dance.

Luckily no-one has asked me to do either

You're too modest - I'm sure your singing and dancing isn't that bad

I Wouldn't bank on it. My singing danicing is best viewd with smoke and light.

Lots of one and very little of the other

Well I loved my skimpy costume as "Slave of the Ring" in Aladdin, but I don't fancy going any barer than that.

I too have gone as far as undies on stage. Mind you, we're quite an intimate venue - in terms of size, you understand! - so I'm not sure our audiences would much appreciate any of us showing our wobbly bits....

Not a good choice of words in one sentence.....

*smirk*