Andrew Forest

(Illustration only)

During my last year in high school we had a series of activities in school highlighting important values to be followed in our school. Responsibility, respect and understanding, awarness of differences; human rights in short. All this was initated by a local group of the United Nations Friendship Organisation. One of the activities included writing essays about school situations related to the main topics. It was no surprise that several essays brought up aspects around bullying. 

The school had a drama group, organised and guided by a very dedicated litterature teacher. He came up with the idea to dramatize some of the essays about bullying, as a way to really impose the messages against the phenomena. 

I was a member in the drama group and got involved in the work how to transform from essays to drama and dialogue. Me and two other guys picked up the theme from one essay about some locker room incident. Locker room – very much a place for intended or non-intended bullying! It’s a place where you are vulnerable, a place where many nasty comments fly around, disparaging attitudes revealed. 

So we composed a small locker room drama with the intended message that no one should be taunt or pesterd about their looks, about their bodies. It was natural to have that as a theme being in a locker room. The drama was enacted after a basket ball match, some follow up talk, undressing and heading to the showers. The set up was very outspoken, this was in the early 1970’s, an in general very openminded period. We undressed during talking and acting, I and the other guys got fully nude. It was a little jittery at the first rehearsals, but we soon didn’t care. For me as raised nudist it was no big deal being nude in front of others and I had recently had an essay presentation in my class about naturism and body issues, so I had so to say outed myself as naturist. But it took some energy for the two other guys to get comfortable with it, even if they had volunteered and found it exciting. I invited them home so they could get some training in being nude together with other nudes. Pretty soon they were like well experienced nudist! 

The premier day for the dramas came closer. We had three different small dramas, ours about the locker room was one of them. Since our drama might cause some sensation and excitement our part was the last of the three. The first one was among a group of girls, the second both girls and boys involved and then our with guys only. So gender balance in total! Our drama leader was aware of those aspects, that was good.

The two first dramas were well recieved, with some thoughtful reactions and comments made after each one of them. That was the set up, first the drama, then some time open for comments and quick reactions. 

Now our drama. On the stadge some hangers and a bench. A screen that looked like a tile wall, givning the impression of showers on the other side. We came in, talking about the basket match and the situations, started to undress as you do in a locker room; shoes, sox, shirt and shorts, which left only briefs. We came into the sensitive comments about bodies, desired effects of training, advantages of being tall or short due to different types of sports. Then we also without any further comments took of our breifs and were on display fully nude. There was a clear rush through the audience, wispering comments. We could sense and hear it, but we were prepared, that was our intention! 

We did of course look different the three guys acting! I was medium long, short hair on my head, already somewhat hairy on my chest, medium penis. One of the other guys was shorter, very well defined muscles, well trained, almost no body hair, and a longer penis. The third was longer than me, tall, slim but not specificly well trained, some body hair, but very hairy legs. It was part of the play to make a point of this, our differences in appearence, but ending up in the similarities. We look the same, but come in different models. 

The small drama was very well recieved, long and strong appleauses, many comments, lot of appreciation. It was encouraging to get all this positive energy! We stayed nude during the follow up session with all the comments, it felt natural. 

We gave those dramas several times, both for many in the school, but also open for anyone. Mostly parents and relatives of the theatre group attended, but also others since info about the spectacular third drama piece was spread around.

Of course we got some fun comments from school mates, but almost none negitive, more of admiration, that we dared. Our performance became a popular taking piece for quite a while, which was what we had intended. It did set some vaules, our message came through.

This was long before digital cameras and mobile phones, so unfortunately there was few photos taken and the photos I had got lost somewhere.