Saturday, April 28, 2012

Shirtlessness IRL (In Real Life)

Perhaps William Levy is getting old for some of you, but I assure you, he has worked some kind of magic spell on my mom.  So in anticipation of Mothers' Day, I repost Mr. Levy giving us a little bit of Zac Ephron action with his shirtwork.  I think he is just adorable and have been enjoying his dances on Dancing with the Stars - not as much as his partner Cheryl Burke or my mother, but enjoying him nonetheless.

My posting schedule has been totally thrown off this week due to some real life shirtlessness, namely the show that I have been working on for 2g Theater called "Fifteen."  It is 15 short pieces created in one week around the theme "Coming of Age," and all of you know that phrase means "old enough to take off your shirt" to me.  In the piece that I co-wrote, one character is shirtless for almost the entire 8-minute play, and in the one that I directed, one of my actors has his shirt stolen on stage.  The director of the piece I wrote has fully embraced the shirtless aesthetic, in fact, encouraging the actor to rub himself with lotion, do push ups, and towel off on stage.  It's been a good time.  And anyone who doubts the sexiness of the Asian male should check out the show - there is a lot of hotness going on.  For tickets, go to http://intheworks.2g.org/.  Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Eye of the Beholder

I have admired Tim Kang on "The Mentalist" for some time, and though I am not a regular devotee of the series, I often tune in with the hopes that Mr. Kang will get a chance to take his shirt off. He looks like he is about to burst out of his shirt at any moment, and yet, he never does. Admittedly, I have not caught the show in a while, and so perhaps I missed it. I just can't help but notice that there is innuendo between many of the other characters, but Mr. Kang's character often seems outside the realm of romance. I wonder why...

Recently, a fellow theater person told me about reading a review of a show that one of our friends was in and becoming enraged by its assumptions about who can portray a leader and who cannot. The review noted that our friend seemed miscast in his role as a "charismatic leader" because he looked more like a "Buddhist monk." I can only imagine that this characterization was based on the fact that our friend is of Asian descent. It is a strange commentary to suggest that a Buddhist monk cannot be a charismatic leader; one of the most charismatic and well-respected leaders of today is the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist Monk.

This weekend, I will be performing in an extremely cut-down version of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" with Leviathan Lab and am looking forward to sharing our all-Asian romantic comedy with an audience. I'm looking forward to playing a romantic lead myself. And though there is no shirtlessness (believe me, I tried), I think that it will be really fun to challenge the prevalent attitude of what an Asian-American performer can portray. Until Monday, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, April 16, 2012

Coming and Going

I am still getting over the use of shirtlessness as a fundraising tool (sheer brilliance!) and so I had to repost the savvy Chris Doi from a different angle to examine his true commitment to his cause of Asian theater and inadvertently our cause of good male shirtlessness. Given that I work with several theater companies on a regular basis and have already used male shirtlessness once to help raise money for my writers' lab to buy a new copier, I think shirtlessness might take on a more immediate role in my life. At least, a girl can hope!

As it turns out, I have been asked to write a short play with another fellow playwright for a short play series called "Fifteen" at the Walkerspace in SoHo next weekend. We created a scenario in which it would be perfectly natural for one of our actors to be shirtless for the entire play. I am also directing another play in the series, and when the writer realized that she was working with me, she immediately asked the actors if they were comfortable being shirtless. While many writers and directors take years to discover their aesthetic, I think I have finally figured out what mine is: shirtlessness. It seems that people have come to expect male shirtlessness from me. I can't disappoint, and so I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, April 13, 2012

O Happy Day!




Today on my way home from yoga class, I stopped in the drugstore to pick up some paper towels and found that my new show boyfriend, William Levy, was on the cover of People magazine. How I wished that I was flying somewhere so that I could justify it! I'm trying to keep my gossip magazine habit down to only those times when I really need it (like when I'm flying in an airplane and use the gossip magazine to calm my nerves during turbulence). So I admired his adorable smile in the checkout line and then came home to look him up online and see how he is.

People.com currently has an article posted which includes video of him from his shirtless photo shoot (does he do any other kind?) and an interview in which he discusses being on DWTS. Apparently dancing is much harder than he thought, but he continues to be humble even as he cha-cha's his way to the top. My mom officially has thrown over Derek Hough for him as her dream dance partner, a day which I honestly thought would never come. While I still can't get over my adoration of Gilles from his stint of DWTS, I do hope Mr. Levy will go all the way to winning the Mirror Ball Trophy.

Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, April 9, 2012

Sweet Charity

Chris Doi is my hero. He combined two of my favorite things - male shirtlessness and theater - for good times on a Saturday morning with all the proceeds going to Leviathan Lab. So Leviathan Lab is literally benefiting from Chris' good shirtlessness. As I reported on Friday, Leviathan participated in the 10K Scotland Run over the weekend to raise money for the year's programming which will include a new works festival in the fall for their Asian American Women Writers' Workshop (otherwise known as AAWWW!), their Film Lab which will produce three short films this summer, and another as yet unannounced initiative. As I entreated the male teams to consider running shirtless, Chris Doi took my suggestion and added a twist - selling space on his body to advertisers. As you can see, people are willing to pay top dollar to advertise their love, their mastery over another person, or their identity on Chris's torso. Kudos to Mr. Doi for using his shirtlessness for good and helping Leviathan make their goal of $12,000.

Also, I must point out that three runners told me they would run shirtless, but only Chris Doi did it. One of the others tried to take off his shirt as he was running past my cheering station, but taking off one's shirt while running is a very difficult proposition. The other non-shirtless runner was too busy making the best time in the group even to care about his shirtless status. Mr. Doi not only ran shirtless for the entire 10K in 40 degree weather, but he upheld the two point standard of Fitness and Seeing the Sun. So thank you, Chris for bringing live shirtlessness back - just in time for spring!

If only all fundraisers could involve male shirtlessness. Hmmmm....

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Friday, April 6, 2012

Nothing Comes Between Me and My Calvins

One sign of spring has been the proliferation of men's underwear ads on buses and telephone kiosks. Suddenly, everywhere I walk, there are shirtless men smiling at me. Obviously, this makes me really happy. The Calvin Klein underwear campaign has been particularly delightful this spring, featuring newcomer Matthew Terry. Apparently, he is 20 years old which makes me feel a little bit embarrassed about posting him, but of course, a little embarrassment never stopped me ! So happy Spring! Let the shirts come off!

Also, tomorrow my friends in the Leviathan Lab will be running the Scotland Run 10K. Several of them will be running shirtless at my urging. I'm very happy that two of my favorite things, male shirtlessness and theater, will be combined in one event. If you would like to support opportunities for Asian actors, please go to
http://www.leviathanlab.com/
to make a tax-deductible donation. Run Leviathan Run!

I'm off to do some standardized patient work at a local medical school. I'll be looking for shirtless male models to smile at me as I walk down the street. Until then, I am...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS

Monday, April 2, 2012

Nice Work If You Can Get It


Okay, there is no shirtlessness in the above video, but I'm posting it because we all know that William Levy gives good shirtlessness and now we can see him dance. He's no Gilles Marini in the dance department, but his cute little dimples have won me over. Even my mom is routing for him. I hope he takes off his shirt in the next round!

So there have been a lot of obstacles to my posting lately. I lost my phone the night before I traveled to Buffalo, and so there was a huge technical situation on my hands that almost sent me over the brink. While I still hold to the maxim that the best accessory to shirtlessness is kindness, I think a close second would be technical knowledge of the many gadgets that now rule our lives. I would have been much happier updating my new phone if a nice shirtless technical support man had been helping me. But alas, that was not the case.

My days have been crazy of late, and I'm not sure of what to do about it. Basically, I'm just holding out until my trip to Italy in late June when I will be offline and phone-free for two glorious weeks. If things work out, I will be surrounded by handsome, shirtless Italian men as well. But until then, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS