Women with naked ambition

Alicia Robinson

Just one week ago, the town’s movers and shakers got all dressed up

and headed for the Sutton Place Hotel for the annual Mayor’s Dinner.

On Thursday, in a room on the ninth floor of the hotel, girls were

taking off their clothes to be photographed.

Some were nervous; some seemed nonchalant, in some cases because

they’d done it before.

“I’ve been waiting to do this since 2000,” said Sheisha Wright, a

22-year-old who works at an amusement park. “A lot of people were

telling me I should.”

Friends apparently thought she’d make a good model for Playboy,

which held a casting call Thursday in Newport Beach to find girls for

their “special edition” magazines.

Wright drove here from Downey to fill out forms, have a few

Polaroids taken and wait her turn to enter a private room and pose

nude for a Playboy photographer.

“I think the only thing I’m nervous about is my height,” she said.

“I’m only 5-1.”

Most of the time there were half a dozen young women milling

around the room in robes or leafing through the lingerie magazines on

the coffee table. One of the magazine rifflers was Coleen Sanford, an

18-year-old waitress who lives in Huntington Beach.

She said she doesn’t want to be in Playboy; she just came along to

support her friend, an 18-year-old new mom who wanted to pose.

“It’s not really my thing,” said Sanford. “If that’s what she

wants to do, that’s cool for her.”

Even without Sanford, the casting call was well-populated, with

about 100 hopefuls scheduled to be seen, and at least one walk-in.

“We see two girls every 15 minutes. That’s about all we can

handle,” said Linda Kenney, a producer and makeup artist who’s worked

with Playboy since 1979.

Beckoned by ads in print, on the radio and invitations via e-mail,

they came from all around Southern California and beyond. Sharon

Benson, 29, came all the way from Phoenix.

“I just want to be featured in the magazine -- no big career

goal,” said Benson, a model and swimsuit designer. “Playboy always

makes you beautiful.”

Some of the girls’ photos will go on a website, but mainly Playboy

was looking for models for “College Girls,” “Vixens,” “Lingerie” and

other theme publications. There have always been people who

disapproved, but the magazine has stood the test of time, broadening

its offerings to include a TV channel, videos and a website as well

as a variety of products.

“[Now] you see Playboy products everywhere,” Kenney said.

“Compared to what is currently available in the genre, Playboy’s

really one of the more conservative [magazines].”

For some girls, it’s just an extension of modeling, and they feel

OK about it because they consider Playboy to be a reputable magazine.

Ali Willingham, 29, thought so.

A former actress who’s finishing a communications degree in Los

Angeles, Willingham said she’s not sure how her parents in Santa Cruz

would react to her posing, but none of her L.A. friends will bat an

eye.

“I think it’ll just be cool to say I did it,” she said.