They are exposing themselves for art.
As a fundraiser and tie-in to their “Calendar Girls” play premiering in February, women involved with Vancouver’s Magenta Theater Company stripped down for a mostly nude calendar they hope will bring in money for improvements to their theater at 606 Main St.
While she’s used to baring her soul on stage as an actor, Francine Raften never predicted that at age 58 she’d be baring her body as well.
o Pre-order a copy of Magenta Theater’s nude calendar, inspired by their “Calendar Girls” production — which opens Feb. 13 — for $30 at Magenta’s website.
o Proceeds will go to building improvements and other costs of the Vancouver theater group, including updating their sound system and improving an area for building sets.
“We’re in our 40s, 50s and 60s,” Raften said. “Who would have thought at this stage in our life we’d be posing for a nude calendar?”
Considering the subject matter of “Calendar Girls,” the name of the movie and play that were based on the true story of a group of middle-aged English women who became media sensations after creating a nude calendar for charity in 1999, Magenta members felt it was only natural to pose au naturel.
Each of the calendar’s months, whether featuring one woman or a few, chronicles the process of putting on a theater production, from set building to opening night.
In the photo for the April page of the calendar, Raften, who stars as Chris in “Calendar Girls” and also does sound work for the theater, is seated naked in the sound booth working the equipment, with only a script book strategically placed to slightly cover herself.
She said it was liberating.
“Women were laughing and happy and almost naked around each other,” Raften said. “And it was a joyous celebration.”
During the two-day shoot in October, photographer Jeananne Sizemore said it was her goal to soothe the nerves of the amateur models.
“I wanted the women to feel as comfortable as possible and see the beauty that I was seeing in them,” Sizemore said. “They were so easygoing.”
Magenta Theater Artistic Director Jaynie Roberts, who chose to not pose for the calendar, said the women-only photo shoot was a blast.
“We just dove right in. The fact that the photographer was so skilled at putting people at ease was hugely helpful,” Roberts said. “Because it was a group of real women it made it easy, because no one was judging anybody else. We were all equal.
“It was nerve-racking, I won’t lie about it. But everybody had fun.”
Though many of the women were able to get into the groove once the clothes finally went flying, there were some apprehensions when the project was taking shape. “Everybody said, ‘Just how naked are we going to be?’ The original calendar from England was really pretty racy. There was a lot more showing in that calendar than we have showing in ours,” Roberts said. “Ours is provocative. We are going to show you just enough and leave the rest to your imagination.”
Though Raften said the theater group is “pushing the envelope” a bit with the calendar, it’s meant to be tasteful titillation.
“I would not be embarrassed to show it to my children and anybody else,” she said.
Raften’s family supported her decision to disrobe, though her son said he could do without checking out his mom in the buff.
“My son has said, ‘That’s OK, I don’t need to see it,’ ” Raften laughed about her 27-year-old son’s reaction. “But my daughter is 22 and when I showed her the picture she just loved it and thought it was fabulous.”
Raften’s husband, Marty, as might be expected, was super supportive.
“There was a big grin on his face,” she said. “He thought it was beautiful. He loved it.”
