Free Beach Trilogy (FBT)

Naturists applauded Johnna Adams and Martin E. Williams's one-act play, Nude On the Beach, when performed at The Naturist Society's 2002 Western Gathering held at Lupin Naturist Club near Los Gatos, California. Mark Storey contacted Adams in the fall of 2002 to ask if she and her Southern California playwright peers would like to try something bigger for the Body Freedom Collaborative at the 2003 Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival (SFTF). Adams agreed that if BFC could get their work into the festival, that she would do her best to come up with actors, a director, and original plays about nude beaches.

Over the course of several months, Adams and others from the Orange County Playwright Association submitted their work to BFC. By spring of 2003, three plays had emerged as superior presentations of first-time experiences at clothing-optional beaches. Thus was established the Free Beach Trilogy.

The three plays are Just a Little More Blue by Tom Swimm, Love the Body Positive by Johnna Adams, and Sisters at the Beach by Rik Panero. Each author is graciously allowing BFC free use of their plays for the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival.

The Free Beach Trilogy--to be performed at the 70-seat Union Garage Two--will last ninety minutes, and have no intermission. The plays make up a comedy/drama triptych. The dates and times of the trilogy performances are Saturday, September 20 at 5:45 PM; Sunday, September 21 at 2:00 PM; and Tuesday, September 23 at 8:00 PM.

This festival is Seattle's town's largest theatrical event of the year. Over 20,000 people come from all over the Northwest to attend nearly 500 performances. The 13th annual Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival will be held in the Capitol Hill district on September 18-28, 2003.

Applications for SFTF theatrical productions are non-juried and accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. BFC's Daniel Johnson and Mark Storey thus got up early February 1 and sat in line outside the SFTF office to make sure the Free Beach Trilogy would get into the festival. In a line that wrapped around the block, they were number eight.

The three performances of the trilogy will contain full male and female nudity, and BFC plans to inject as much nakedness into the audience's experience as possible. Nude ushers, a nude stage crew, and some nude extras will all be part of the naked dramaturgy.

BFC is very gratified at the number of people what have bribed, demanded, cajoled, or whined their way onto the list of potential naked volunteers. It appears that there is no shortage of men and women in the region who would like to get naked in public as part of an artistic production. If you are active with BFC and wish to be part of the nude team of ushers, stage crew, or extras, please contact BFC soon. Most volunteer spots are now taken, but there may be room for just a little more public nudity in support of this production.

BFC is also grateful to the Naturist Education Foundation for providing the major financial support for this production. The Northwest Nudist Association also made a generous contribution, allowing BFC to meet its budget almost from the beginning. Lake Bronson Club, The SLUGS, and various anonymous individual donors have also been generous. Neither BFC nor the trilogy's backers will make any money from these performances. All money collected at the gate will be given to the actors and director to help defray their travel costs.

BFC is working with local naturists to market this production, and in the process, help educate people in the region about non-lewd clothing-optional use of public lands, as well as about their opportunity to enjoy nude recreation at regional nudist clubs. The Free Beach Trilogy should be an aesthetically pleasing promotional tool for clothing-optional recreation in the Northwest.

Each show will be performed at the Union Garage Two at 1418 10th in the Capitol Hill District of Seattle. Again, the Free Beach Trilogy is scheduled for the following dates and times:

Saturday, September 20 at 5:45 PM
Sunday, September 21 at 2:00 PM
Tuesday, September 23 at 8:00 PM

Ticket are now available online at seattlefringe.org. The Body Freedom Collaborative does not have the authority to sell tickets; you must purchase them from the SFTF.

Adults: $13
Seniors and students: $11
Festival participants: $10

The following is a brief synopsis of the three original plays:

Love the Body Positive, by Johhna Adams
A young couple learn that love for each other and acceptance of their bodies can go and in hand.

Just a Little More Blue, by Tom Swimm
While on vacation at a clothing-optional beach with her sister, a woman finds self-confidence through art.

Sisters at the Beach, Rik Panero
Clothing-optional beaches are not for everyone, or so says one sister to another until an artist friend causes a stir.

The director of the Free Beach Trilogy will be Dave Barton. The cast (not counting extras) consists of Johnna Adams, Chris Fowler, Sara Guerrero, and Kelly Quigley. I will function as stage manager.

For more information about the Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival, please see seattlefringe.org. For specific questions regarding the Free Beach Trilogy, contact Mark Storey (storey@bodyfreedom.org).

Let's face it; given the amount of nudity in this production, seats will sell fast. So don't be left out; buy your tickets today!

Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival (September 18-28, 2003) is Seattle’s largest theatrical event of the year. Over 20,000 people attend the 500 or more productions staged throughout the city’s Capitol Hill district. The plays are non-juried, and provide independent companies the chance to try something different, or to give a new twist to a more traditional work.

Marketing for the trilogy has already begun, with a reporter from two local newspapers “demanding” the chance to review the first performance. The Body Freedom Collaborative is also arranging with volunteers to walk city streets apparently wearing nothing but barrels or sandwich boards to advertise the upcoming productions. BFC is carefully planning its dramaturgy to make a playful case for social nudity on public lands.

Design a piece of literature for the Free Beach Trilogy to be handed out to audience members of the three performances at the 2003 Seattle Fringe Festival. Coordinate with local area organizations who wish to advertise in the literature. Use space to describe the BFC and recruit people for local area recreation and activism.

A poster to promote the upcoming Free Beach Trilogy. Look into local posting ordinances