Disrobing in front of an audience is one thing, but six middle-aged women who are revealing their nearly naked bodies 12 months of the year are feeling both excited and nervous.
The Dewdney Players Group Theatre’s upcoming production Calendar Girls in October tells the story of a women’s group that raises money for a local hospital by posing almost nude for a calendar.
Groups that put on the play are required to create a calendar featuring the six women who disrobe in the photography scene to raise money for a local charity.
“I’m on the board of Dewdney so I knew right from the start if I was going to audition for the play that I was going to be part of (the calendar),” said Calendar Girls actress Nicola Payton. “The more I thought about it the more scared I was because we have to sort of take our clothes off on the stage, but in the calendar it’s there in print forever.”
The calendar will be unveiled with the six ladies dressed in their best black dresses and pearls at various locations in Okotoks on Sept. 12.
Payton said she’s excited for the release and recalls the initial nervousness felt the day of the photo shoot.
The session began with some group shots of the six ladies dressed in black dresses and hats with sunflowers and then the women disrobed for a group shot with their backs to the camera.
“Sherene (Schmidtler), who did the photographs, was so fabulous,” said Payton. “She showed us the pictures every time she shot one. She made sure everything was covered up.”
Crew members assisted with the make-up and props and Schmidtler photographed the women in groups and individually.
“By the time we got to our individual ones we were all so comfortable with the whole situation it was like whatever,” said Payton.
Payton’s individual image features her posed with a strategically-placed flower arrangement.
“I’ve seen some of the pictures and they’re really beautiful,” she said. “It’s really classy. There’s a line in the show where I say, ‘Celebrating the glory of the mature human form without any indecency’ and that’s basically what we’re doing.”
Schmidtler, who is also the play’s director, said she is excited to hear the public’s response to the calendar, adding there’s been some buzz after the ladies handed out flyers advertising the play at various community events this summer.
“It’s out in the community,” she said. “Anytime we mention the calendar the first thing people ask is, ‘Can we see it?’ It’s that sense of how far did they go with the pictures.”
Schmidtler had the easy job of being on the other side of the camera, she said she spent a lot of time researching past productions and looking at other calendars to not only make sure the ladies were properly covered up, but to ensure the final product was tasteful.
“It was about being classy,” she said. “I wanted to honour their natural beauty.”
Producer Matt Seder said he was surprised with how well the calendar turned out.
“Some of these ladies are my mother’s age and seeing them in burlesque-style shots I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said. “It’s a very classy, very well put together calendar. When (Schmidtler) showed me the samples I got goose bumps.”
Once the calendars are available for sale Payton plans to buy one for herself and another for her mom in the United Kingdom - all for a good cause.
“I’m really proud that we can do a charity calendar for the Foothills Country Hospice,” she said. “That’s the most important thing of doing the calendar is the charity.”
About $17 of the $20 calendars will go towards the Foothills Country Hospice Society.
Visit dewdneyplayers.com and on Twitter to learn where you can buy a Calendar Girls calendar when it is released Sept. 12.
