My stroll down Memory Lane with my youthful and naked future husband has stoked my erotic juices, but it didn't provide me with an explanation as to why a nude man was so much more dramatic than a nude woman. Still, I needed to push on, hoping that an answer would come down the line.
The basic concept of the performance was now firmly rooted in my mind. The contrast would be between both the nude woman and the nude man but also between the clothed man and the nude man. I would highlight the exposed nature of male nudity and the concealed nature of female nudity. The play back and forth between the cloth and nude males would reveal how much more suggestive full nudity was over the infamous fig-leaf. I want it to be highly erotic but not pornographic. I would not be able to work out this last point until I got my dancers on-stage for rehearsal.
The next problem I had to tackle was casting, and it presented some difficulties. My company had never done anything close to this risqué. I didn't quite know how to introduce the idea that one of them was going to perform in the buff and another almost in the buff. Moreover, I knew right away who I wanted to be the lead nude man, but I didn't know how to get him to volunteer. Problems, problems, problems!
I need to find somewhere to start, and once again, it seems that I was only in control of me. It was a scary thought because I had no interesting in putting my "stuff" out there for all to see. But honestly, this was exactly what I was asking them to do. The only way to do it was to do it. I decided to call a company meeting and walk into the meeting naked.
I also wanted to communicate that we were all going to have to work hard, to overcome daunting challenges on a personal and professional level, and, most of all, to take risks. I knew that I was going to have to lose the five pounds that I had put on over the winter. I could hide these unwanted bulges under clothing but could not hide them on stage wearing nothing.
A rather quirky idea then came to mind. I wanted to make clear that there could be no holding back and that each of us would be laying it all on the table. We had to embrace the idea that we were vulnerable and exposing ourselves completely. I decided to shave my bush. Pubic hair adds cover for the female sex, and I wanted to present my body fully to my crew because, for God's sake, I was certainly asking a man to put his stuff on full display. I would causally announce that besides needing to lose five pounds, I would also need to let my bush grow out because I wanted to play off the concealing nature of the female anatomy with regard to my sex organs. The choreography required a full bush. It would also indicate that I too would be making changes.
Even more, my decision to shave might give me some insight into my unanswered question about the dramatic nature of male nudity. I would be presenting myself as fully as I could, given the female anatomy. I knew from art classes that when a female model opened her legs to her audience, it was brave and, yes, dramatic step. If she did it with shaved pubic hair, it was more so. What the dramatic nature of male nudity related to the full and complete presentation of the male sex organ? Probably so, but was another element that was beyond my grasp. Still, these thoughts represented progress.
The day came, and the company assembled. I walked in to audible gasps. Before the shock wore off, I took command. I announce the theme of the next performance and outlined the script and briefly commented on the choreography. It seemed that everyone was breathless. I asked for volunteers for the lead male role and indicated that he would also be performing nude. No one moved. I waited. Still no one stepped forward. I waited some more. Nothing. I asked them to think about it and closed the meeting but said that I would hang around for questions. I wasn't keen about hanging out in the buff, but it didn't matter because no one stayed.
It was now time for Plan B, but I had no Plan B. I decided that I would sent out an email stating that there would be a meeting on the following Monday and that attendance was required if you wish to remain a member of the company. By coming to the meeting, each dancer was indicating a willingness to perform the part assigned by me, the director. I wanted to push the point that we were professionals and as professionals we were required to take on difficult and challenging parts. Half of the company resigned. Fortunately, my choice for lead did not.
When Monday came around, I walked into the meeting, this time, fully clothed. I wanted to see how my lead man responded to being nude in front of a clothed and female observer. I asked them to form a circle with their chairs. My choice for lead was Malcolm; I asked him stand and remove his clothes. He did, and my mouth dropped. There was a problem I hadn't thought about. Malcolm's penis was ... well, too large, so large that all eyes would be on "it" and not where I wanted them. No one would pay any attention to the other man or me, for that matter; at least no woman would.
Every woman knows that penises hang in all kind of different ways -- or at least they should because their eyes always follow the shaft. Some stick out at an angle. Some dangle almost straight down. Some of my favorites bend down after starting out at a more or less 45 degree angle. Moreover, women tend to view their chosen object by following the shaft with their eyes. It helps if the shaft is thick and substantial. In Malcolm's case, his had a good size bend and it kept going far beyond where I thought it might have stopped. Equally impressive was the large cap at the end. His foreskin peeled back to give me a good and glorious view.
