The Black Box Theatre

Calendar Girls — Spring 2026

The Black Box Theatre at MCC and Theatre 121 are proud to present Calendar Girls, written by Tim Furth.

For the first time in the Black Box Theatre’s history, this production will be presented in partnership with Theatre 121, marking an exciting collaboration between two McHenry County theatres and bringing this unforgettable story to an intimate, unique performance space.

Inspired by a true story, this moving and hilarious play follows a group of women from a rural English village who defy expectations by posing nude for a charity calendar after the loss of a dear friend. What starts as a bold fundraising idea quickly becomes a phenomenon, challenging local norms and inspiring people around the world. With humor, honesty, and vulnerability, this play explores grief, female friendship, body positivity, and the courage it takes to step into the spotlight, literally and figuratively.

Content warning: Calendar Girls includes adult themes such as cancer, grief, and brief implied nudity, and may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Auditions for Calendar Girls - Spring 2026

Theatre 121 and The Black Box Theatre at McHenry County College will hold open auditions for Calendar Girls, based on the Miramax film by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth. Auditions will be held in The Black Box Theatre from 6–9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, March 9 and 10, with callbacks held on Thursday, March 12, from 6–10 p.m.

Director Jay Geller is casting adults for a heartfelt, humorous play inspired by a true story. Calendar Girls follows women from a rural English village who, after losing a friend, pose nude for a charity calendar. The act transforms into a global phenomenon, celebrating grief, friendship, body positivity, and courage. All ethnicities, genders, and body types are encouraged to audition.

• Calendar Girls Roles

  Chris, 50s

  You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, and things to say to all silences, and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds, holding court, being the center of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls. Ideal car: who cares, as long as it’s a cabriolet. Ideal holiday: Algarve.

  Annie, 50s

  Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. After Chris has put a waiter’s back up in the restaurant, Annie will go in and pour calm. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Ideal car: who cares, as long as it’s reliable. Ideal holiday: walking in English countryside.

  Cora, around 40

  Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. This caused a tectonic shift with her more parochial parents. She came back to them pregnant and tail-between-legs, but Cora has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Her relationship with her daughter is more akin to that between Chris and Annie. Cora doesn’t need to sing like a diva but must be able to sing well enough to start the show with Jerusalem and sing the snatches of other songs required. The piano keyboard can be marked up to enable her to play basic chords should she not be a player. Ideal car: who cares, as long as the sound system is loud. Ideal holiday: New York.

  Jessie, late 60s/70s

  Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics. Her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on roller coasters. Her husband has been with her a long time and is rarely surprised by her actions. Jessie bothers about grammar and will correct stallholders regarding their abuse of the apostrophe “s”. Ideal car: strange-looking European thing which is no longer manufactured. Ideal holiday: walking in Switzerland or Angkor Wat.

  Celia, age anything 35–50

  The fact that Celia is in the WI is the greatest justification of its existence. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has. She is particularly enamored of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. It’s what sets Celia apart from the vapid materialism of her peer group and made her defect. Ideal car: Porsche, which she has. Ideal holiday: Maldives, where she often goes.

  Ruth, 40s

  Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self-confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll, and despite being Marie’s right-hand woman she is desperate to be the cartilage in the spine of the WI and keep everyone happy. She has spine herself. If she was too wet, no-one would want her around. But they do, and they feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out. They are proved right. Ideal car: at the start, whatever Eddie wants; at the end, whatever she wants. Ideal holiday: at the start wherever Eddie is, at the end wherever he isn’t.

  Marie, 50s

  Marie has gradually built the current “Marie” around herself over the years as a defense mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. Ideal car: something German and well-valeted. Ideal holiday: a quasi-academic tour of somewhere in Persia advertised in a Sunday Supplement which she could then interminably bang on about.

  John, Annie’s husband, 50s

  John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.

  Rod, Chris’s husband, 50s

  You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris, and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets and has a deadpan humor that has always made Chris laugh. He drinks a lot but never so much as to have a problem. He would work every hour to make his shop a success. And John was his mate, even though the relationship was originally channeled through their wives.

  Lawrence, late 20s

  Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots, he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.

  Lady Cravenshire, 60s

  Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But the WI girls seem from another world. The world of her estate workers. Dress: when she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. Largely white or cream to outplay the others, with a bigger hat than Marie. She is not a tweed-wearer. She must glide in like a galleon.

  Elaine, 20s

  Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her gran. Dress: her clinical whites slice through like a knife. You feel you could cut yourself on that dress.

  Liam, late 20s

  Liam would like to be directing other things than photo shoots for washing powders. He’s not so unprofessional as to let it show, but we can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. There’s a resigned patience to his actions and each smile he makes we feel is professional. For Liam, this photo shoot is a job. And not the job he wanted. Dress: avoid wearing shades inside a building. If you’ve gone down that route, you’ve made the weary boy a wideboy.

  Participants are asked to prepare a two–to three-minute monologue in a British accent. Please read the play in advance so you understand what each role calls for. Note: The role of Cora also plays the piano.

  The play is open to MCC students and community members of all backgrounds and experience levels. All roles are open. We encourage actors of all ethnicities, genders, and body types to audition.

  Intimacy and Content Notice

  Calendar Girls includes scenes of partial nudity for the characters of Chris, Annie, Cora, Jessie, Celia, and Ruth. There will be no full nudity involved at any time. All simulated nudity will be staged safely and tastefully. Actors must give consent throughout the process. Intimacy rehearsals will be held on Sundays for these roles. Review the MCC Intimacy Policy.

  Rehearsal will begin Sunday, March 15, and take place Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6-9:30 p.m. Additional Sunday intimacy rehearsals to be announced.

  Shows run May 1–17, with evening performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no show May 10).

  For more information, call (815) 455-8746 or email jgeller@mchenry.edu.

  Sign up to audition for Calendar Girls »

Black Box Theatre 12-Hour Play Competition, May 3

Sign Up Deadline: April 27

The popular Black Box Theatre 12-Hour Play Competition is back at MCC this spring. The Competition challenges groups of 2-6 people to write, rehearse, and perform a ten-minute play within 12 hours. Groups will arrive at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, and work through the day until performances begin at 7 p.m. that evening.

There is a cash prize awarded for the winning play. Food and beverages will be provided throughout the day. There is a $25 entry fee per group. Be prepared to stay all day. The competition is open to the public.

Interested groups can sign up here through April 27 »

The competition will be held at The Black Box Theatre at MCC. Park in Parking Lot C and enter Building E.

For more information, email jgeller@mchenry.edu or call (815) 455-8746.