In March 2016, Toto Too Theatre asked the men of Ottawa, “Will you strip down to your bare asses and entertain the public with us?” It needed a cast for its upcoming production of the off-Broadway musical comedy Naked Boys Singing, a cabaret-style show consisting of a slew of naked, naughty musical numbers. It’s about time the seven guys who made the cut were introduced.
Cameron Aitken
Participating in this show is Aitken’s way of making sure everyone sees him naked before he leaves the city to pursue graduate studies. And he wants a memorable theatrical experience, too. His love affair with the theatre began at age 15 when he acted in a Sault Ste Marie production of Rent. However, the only time he’s been naked in front of an audience is in, he says, “the odd naked yoga class.” He plans to groom his way from an otter to a twink in preparation for the production.
Tony Bove
One of this in-your-face bear’s biggest difficulties, day to day, is keeping his clothing on at the appropriate times. So, stripping down for the musical shouldn’t present a problem. A technical writer by day, Bove has done 20 musicals over the last 30 years. He plans to do no special grooming in preparation for the show, claiming that his personal rule is “nothing sharper than a marshmallow below the neck.” His interests include bacon, science fiction and knitting.
Douglas Connors
When he’s not singing and dancing naked, he’s eating and sleeping naked. Connors made his onstage debut singing “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in a church basement at age 6. While his childhood dream of becoming a Solid Gold Dancer never came true, he has been involved with three previous Toto Too Theatre productions. He describes himself as a fuzzy and playful “classic otter.” With regard to getting naked for this musical, his only concern is about air conditioner-related shrinkage.
Maxim David
David claims that, apart from a few beach and Netflix breaks, all he does is sing and dance naked. So, this should be easy. He decided to come out for the show, in part, because he wanted to find out “what the hell kind of guys would come out to do this show,” and to meet them. He describes his body as “lanky, squishy goodness.” When asked if he feels nervous about the nudity, he confusingly says “Nope (yes). Everything is cool and amazing (What the hell am I doing?).”
Rick Telfer
The activist and former trustee of the Toronto District School Board has been mentioned in over a dozen Daily Xtra articles (we should just marry him already). While Telfer has nursed a nearly lifelong passion for musical theatre, this will be one of the rare times he’s actually ventured onto the stage. He got involved, in part, to push his boundaries with regard to getting naked in front of people. This may also be why he recently started performing boylesque under the name Tricky Ricky.
Pascal Viens
When he’s not studying music (he plans to do a masters in choral conducting), he can usually be found playing Super Smash Bros Melee. Viens is doing this light-hearted show in order to keep the constant grind of studying music from killing his zeal for it. He’s a bit nervous about the nudity because his friends may be in the audience. When asked to describe his body, he says, “Think like if an elf from The Lord of the Rings was a bit shorter than they are and had short hair.”
Dale Waterman
When he’s not cleaning the house naked, this member of the pop group The Peptides is singing clothed (that is, until this musical came along). Waterman has very little experience with musical theatre, but he aligned his chakras and decided to give it a shot. Physically, he describes himself as the cartoon cat from the Paula Abdul video for the song “Opposites Attract.” In his spare time, he dates himself by frequently referencing Alanis Morissette’s albums, and struggles with a tendency to overuse the phrase “Bye Felicia!”
Naked Boys Singing
Wednesday, June 15–Saturday, June 25, 2016
Live! on Elgin, 220 Elgin St, Ottawa
tototoo.ca
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