Monday, June 28, 2010


Continuing on my sporty theme of Summer 2010, I present Andy Roddick who is currently ranked eighth at Wimbeldon. As I did my research of Mr. Roddick, I noticed that he seems to play tennis without a shirt quite a bit. Thank you, Mr. Roddick, for leading the way in tennis. I will admit to feeling a little bit nostalgic for the days when everyone wore white on the tennis court, but as you know, I am willing to put aside my nostalgia for the sake of the cause.

This is the first year in many that I have not been in NYC for Pride, and I will say that I was sorry to miss perhaps the best weekend for shirtlessness in the city. I don't go to the parade, because parades are not fun for short people, but I have always enjoyed the shirtlessness in the streets that spontaneously happens on Pride weekend. I did, however, go to one of the many gorges in the Ithaca environs to check out the shirtlessness of the locals. It was not quite as exciting as I hoped, but the summer is still young. In any case, I was sorry to miss demonstrating my pride in my fabulous gay friends in person and send them all a shout out from upstate New York!

Summer sports continue to provide what the gorges cannot. I head into tech this evening, and will have little time for shirtlessness of any kind. But brave IMS members, please know that the cause is always in my mind. I leave you...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, June 25, 2010

Birthday Shirtlessness

Yesterday was my birthday, and in honor of myself, I'm posting my touchstone, George Clooney. I know that the US is doing well in the World Cup, and True Blood has not disappointed on the shirtless front, but when push comes to shove, I will always take gorgeous George over everyone else. I'm sure he feels the same about me!

In spite of the fact that I experienced no shirtlessness yesterday, I still had a pretty fantastic birthday. There was cake, fine dining, wine, friends, music, laughter. Really good male shirtlessness was the only thing that was missing! I am going to see a show tonight, however, in which some of my La Mancha cast mates will remove their shirts, and given how many push-ups said cast mates have been doing in rehearsal, I suspect that the shirtlessness will be very good. In some ways, my birthday will just go on and on!

In the next year, I hope to continue the hard but groundbreaking work on behalf of the cause. Maybe next year, I'll have a shirtless birthday party. A girl can dream! Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, June 21, 2010

True Shirtlessness

It's really wonderful to have a VP and a Secretary to help me when other things take over and distract me from good male shirtlessness. As I rehearse for "Man of La Mancha" upstate, the IMS Board continues to look for good male shirtlessness everywhere. They have informed me that "True Blood" has begun on HBO and continues the tradition of excellent male shirtlessness as demonstrated above by Alexander Skarsgard in a publicity shot for the show. Pictures like this make me wish that vampires existed just a little bit.

The show is going well, for those of you who are wondering. I had my costume fitting on Saturday and was reacquainted with the idea that when you are baring your stomach to a bunch of people who have paid to see you, that stomach should be flat. I feel a kinship with the IMS Poster boys because of course, good shirtlessness is hard work. I do sit ups in rehearsal whenever I'm not in the scene, inspired by both my costume and my fellow castmates who like to do sit ups and puch ups whenever they can. There are a few candidates for IMS in my cast, but out of respect to their processes, I won't post any pictures. Yet.

In any case, it is wonderful to be out of the city and enjoying a new pace of life. I understand that there are watering holes where the locals take their shirts off, and I intend to check those out in the coming weeks. Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Thank you, Madame Secretary!

Recently, one member of the IMS community has really been taking an active part in our advocacy mission and alerted me to several important developments on the male shirtlessness front, like Christiano Ronaldo posing for Armani underwear ads as pictured above. I'll admit that while I am in rehearsals for "Man of La Mancha" upstate, I am having a hard time staying focused on the cause and even missed posting yesterday, and it is in times like these, that it is important to have an active and motivated community. In reward for her hard work on behalf of good maleshirtlessness everywhere, I'd like to announce that the position of Secretary on the IMS board has been filled. While I'm sure she will not join the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits any time soon because she is just too fabulous to be caught in a pantsuit, I hope that this elevation in status will bring some joy into her life. Welcome, and thank you!

Let's also hear it for Mr. Ronaldo and his excellent underwear ads. This ad has made me rethink the shorts that they wear in soccer, but alas, I digress from our primary mission. Yesterday in rehearsal, one actor brought his laptop in order to follow the World Cup on our breaks. For a bunch of theater people, I was impressed by the interest around the room. We're a multifaceted group in this La Mancha cast. I'm looking forward to more antics ahead. Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, June 14, 2010

Football Fever

World Cup madness has taken over in a way that I don't recall in past years. I realize that I am not a sporty person and don't follow much, but this year, I feel like I can barely get anyone to return a phone call because the games are so engrossing. I think also that this year, the games are actually on at times when people can easily watch them unlike past years when some of my friends would watch in the middle of the night. I'm not exactly sure how this works, since the Cup is being played in South Africa, but I'm glad that people everywhere are enjoying some exuberant shirtlessness as demonstrated above by Yuri Zhirkov of Russia celebrating Russia's victory over Finland at the qualifiers.

In the meantime, I have just started rehearsals for "Man of La Mancha" at the Hangar Theatre. I am staying on the Ithaca College campus and have been happy to discover that men play tennis shirtless here in Ithaca. Every time I walk to the rehearsal room, I'm delighted to discover some good shirtlessness on display. In the words of that beloved musical "Annie," I think I'm gonna like it here.

Rehearsal period is fast and furious, and so my posts will have to be brief. I do look forward to finding out what they else they do shirtless when the weather clears up. I will be sure to let you all know. Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, June 11, 2010

How It Is Done



For the beginning of the World Cup, I thought I would offer a video of Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast team who demonstrates excellent technique in ripping off his shirt when he scores a goal. I know that World Cup fever is spreading, and I might be compelled to watch a sport other than swimming since there appears to be so much shirtlessness. Whoo hoo!

Last night I had a reading of my Jane Austen play which featured no shirtlessness but lots of verbal banter. It seemed to go well, and after an amazing amount of drama which included one actor contracting a stomach flu, I was just so grateful to have my play live a little bit. People are asking me what comes next, and I have to say that I have no idea. I just keep putting it out there and hoping that, like good male shirtlessness, someone will start to appreciate it.

Finally, I am getting myself ready to go to Ithaca for the summer where I will be performing in a production of "Man of La Mancha." I just found out that our housing does not include televisions. I think that I am about to discover Hulu. If anyone has any bright suggestions for what to watch online (shirtless content only, please) feel free to post! Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, June 7, 2010

More Soccer Shirtlessness

I thought I would continue with the World Cup series. I know close to nothing about soccer, but I do know that players like to rip off their shirts upon making a goal. This seems like a sport that IMS can rally behind! So toady, I give you Carlton Cole from the UK team who apparently created quite a stir by posing for this photo. He was both shirtless and pantsless in it, but you all know how I feel about pantslessness. Given this photo, I certainly do hope he scores a goal sometime soon.

I returned from my high school reunion pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. I don't think that I would really care to see any of my classmates shirtless at this point, but I will say that I was impressed with how fit and happy my class seemed. It was really a fun weekend of catching up and reminiscing, and I was so happy to be reminded of how much fun I actually had way back then.

Now that I'm back in New York, I am stressing about the upcoming workshop of my Jane Austen play which does not feature any shirtlessness but will feature me for the first time. After working and working on something for so long, it's almost terrifying to have the thing that I have been working for some to fruition. Am I ready? It's almost like imagining what would happen if good male shirtlessness became the norm. Am I ready to handle it? I guess these existential questions and others will be answered on Thursday evening. Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, June 4, 2010

World Shirtlessness

For those IMS members who are getting excited about the World Cup (and I know you are out there!), here is a shirtless Chistiano Ronaldo to get your party started. He has clearly just ripped his shirt off in this shot and is now flexing and screaming. I'm hoping that there will be a lot of that during the World Cup this year. It will make for a fantastic summer!

My short play "Rule of Engagement" opened at the Gene Frankel Theater last night. I realized that this play is the pre-cursor to my shirtless play since the male character alludes to his buff physique at the end of the play, and now I think I need to write a play in which the male character starts out shirtless at the top of the play and stays that way for the whole thing. Then I could have an evening of short plays about shirtlessness! But seriously, it is always a joy to see a play come to life on stage, and I am exceptionally grateful to my actors for their hard work on making my words sing.

I'm off to my high school reunion this weekend. I am filled with both curiosity and dread. We all end up re-living high school for the rest of our lives anyway, and sometimes being faced with our own narratives can be scary. Hopefully there will be some fun surprises to distract me! Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS