WOMEN FROM VANCOUVER’S Magenta Theater have created a provocative, mostly nude calendar to raise money for the community theater’s building and operational needs. Local resident Elizabeth Mock, of La Center, (front row, far left) is pictured in this promo shot, as well as in the Ladies of the Magenta Theater 2015 Calendar.
There is a memorable scene in the 2003 movie “Calendar Girls” when two of the main characters, Cora and Annie, are discussing their “why not?” reasons for making a nude calendar to raise money for leukemia research.
“Annie, I am 55 years old,” Cora tells her friend, glancing down at her chest. “If I’m not gonna get them out now, when am I?”
It’s a line that Elizabeth Mock, of La Center, takes to heart.
“It’s true!” Mock, 47, says. “I’m going to be 50 soon. I’m never going to look better than I do now. If I don’t get them out now, when will I?”
Posing in a mostly nude calendar is not something most women on the verge of turning 50 have to consider. Then again, Mock isn’t most women — she’s a dedicated member of Vancouver’s Magenta Theater. And deciding to pose nude wasn’t a frivolous idea, it was a way to raise money for the beloved community theater and promote the Magenta’s 2015 season opener, Calendar Girls.
Shot by Vancouver photographer Jeananne Sizemore, the Ladies of the Magenta Theater 2015 Calendar is a provocative look at the women who keep the Magenta Theater going – designing sets, doing hair and makeup, sewing costumes, controlling the lights backstage and acting in the theater’s many productions.
Much like the real-life group of British women who posed nude to raise money for leukemia research and inspired the “Calendar Girls” movie and subsequent play, the ladies of the Magenta Theater aren’t young starlets dropping their clothes for a photoshoot.
“These are women in their 40s through 70s,” says Magenta Theater co-founder and artistic director Jaynie Roberts. “The ladies of Magenta completely embraced the show ‘Calendar Girls,’ which is our 2015 season opener, and they loved the idea of making their own calendar.”
Sizemore shot the calendar over a two-day period in September, and Mock says the models had a blast during the photoshoot.
“The photos are so tasteful and the whole experience felt very freeing and empowering,” says Mock, a mother of two grown children, who has worked behind the scenes at the Magenta Theater since 2009. “I didn’t feel nervous about it, really … I mean, after you’ve had babies and nursed in public and reached a certain age, you just feel comfortable with your body.”
Roberts, who did not pose in the calendar, hopes the Ladies of the Magenta fundraiser will bring in much-needed dollars to build a bathroom in the theater’s basement for actors and other production workers, buy a new sound system and purchase decent tools for the community-run theater.
“We’ve tried to raise money for a bathroom before,” Roberts says. “We have a bathroom for the public, but we need one for the actors. The cost is between $8,000 and $10,000.”
The Magenta Theater staff has done a good job keeping the final photos under wraps. The promo photos for the calendar are provocative but still workplace-friendly. Inside, Roberts says, the photos get a little more risque. The actual calendar photos feature Magenta Theater ladies sans clothing, doing the various tasks that go along with community theater.
For instance, in Mock’s photo, she is wearing a string of pearls and little else. “It’s a shot of my back and I’m reflected in the mirror,” Mock says, not giving away too many details. “It’s the ‘hair and makeup’ shot, because that’s what I’ve done before. I’m not an actor. I help out behind the scenes.”
The limited edition calendar is available for $25 plus a $5 shipping and handling fee on the theater’s ticket website, at www.magentatickets.com/tickets under the “Ladies of the Magenta Theater 2015 Calendar” link on the left side of the page. The calendar also is available for purchase ($25, plus a $1 handling fee) during matinee or evening performances at the theater’s box office, 606 Main St., Vancouver.
The theater’s 2015 season opener, “Calendar Girls”, written by Tim Firth and directed by Janie Roberts, runs Feb. 13 through March 7.
Other plays slated for the 2015 season include “Is He Dead?” based on the Mark Twain play (April 10-25); “Rose Colored Glass” (June 12-27); “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” (Sept. 25 through Oct. 10); and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (Nov. 20 through Dec. 19).
Tickets to Magenta Theater shows cost $18 for VIP seats and $15 for regular seating, when purchased online. Tickets purchased at the box office are $1 more, per ticket. Season tickets for all five main stage shows are available for $80, or purchase a “season sampler” ticket and choose three shows for $50. As an added perk, season ticket holders may choose their seats a week before tickets go on sale to the general public.
For more information about the Magenta Theater, visit www.magentatheater.com, call (360) 635-4358 or visit the theater at 606 Main Street in downtown Vancouver.
