I found this post online when searching for people in similar situations, so I thought I’d add my thoughts, since I know someone going through the same thing. My friend and I are both freshman drama students in college, and she got cast as the lead in this musical called The Robber Bridegroom. It’s kinda like a folk musical and comedy, like Lil Abner. She got the lead roll, which is a really big deal for a freshman. Although she’s a great actress and has a great voice, I’m so worried she got the part for the wrong reasons, and I’m really worried about her. Her character loses her clothes in one scene, but usually the play is done with the actress in a body suit or some sort of scenery in front of her. It’s a comedy, so it’s played for laughs and the nudity isn’t really necessary. But the director spoke to my friend after casting the show and said he had decided to play the scene as realistically as possible, which will involve full nudity for about 5-10 minutes on stage. She will be the only actor naked on stage, and I just think it’s so inappropriate. She was originally going to tell the director she wouldn’t do it, but she eventually said yes. I think she’s being naive and not realizing the director is taking advantage of her because she’s cute and has a very large chest. I just hate to think of her getting embarrassed and having people talk about her. What is the protocol for a situation like this for a college play?
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