21 Pinned Up
In the meantime, I grabbed The Decameron, and went into the living room to read it. That way, I would not appear to be more anti-social than necessary, and besides, the couch was much more comfortable for reading than my bed, and at the same time, less conducive to sleep. As it happened, I had about as much privacy in the living room as I would have had in my bedroom, as neither of my roommates appeared to be around. Terry came in about a half hour before dinner and headed almost immediately to the bathroom, where the sound of the shower confirmed my impression that she had had a great workout somewhere.
She and I went to dinner together without Lee Ann, who hadn’t come back to the room yet. At this point, with my first Alvin Tomlinson rehearsal so close, it was getting hard to concentrate on anything else, and I’m sure I was much worse company than usual. In fact, I’m not really sure that I can remember what I was eating, but I excused myself a bit early to make sure I made it to the theater on time.
When I got to the rehearsal room, several people were already there, including Alvin himself, and the girl who was playing Mrs. Boyle. As she was the only one I recognized other than the director, I sat next to her as we waited for the rest of the cast to show up. I hadn’t mastered the knack that girls seemed to have of always finding something to talk about, but I was a fairly good listener, which seemed to be good enough for now. More cast members came in, and some of them greeted me or her – apparently, her name or nickname was “Jo” – but, while I recognized some of them from the plays Alvin had directed the previous year, I didn’t actually know any of them.
Finally, everybody was present, and Alvin stood up to address us.
“Thank you all for coming, and welcome to our production of The Mousetrap. For those of you who have not done a show with me before, I’d like to tell you something about the way I work. I expect my actors to take the lead in developing their characters. I will guide you and make suggestions, but ultimately you are the ones who will actually be on stage before the audience, so you need to own your interpretations. I see acting as very much a team exercise, and we will probably be doing some exercises and improv to develop your characters.”
He next introduced the students who were sitting next to him. Each received a brief round of applause, which Jo and I hurriedly joined. “I’m very pleased to have a strong team working with me. In addition to the actors, let me introduce Cheryl Yeats, our producer, Nikki Forsberg, our costumes mistress, and Bill Bradshaw, our props master. I’d like the cast members to introduce themselves. Each of you should say your name, your role, and tell us a little bit about yourself. Let’s begin with Jared.”
I cannot say that I remembered all of the names, or even all of the roles. I did make special note of Jared Milner, who was playing Mollie’s husband, Giles, and Peter Engelmann, who was playing Paravicini, which was originally to have been my role. And I learned that “Jo” was Josephine Perez, who also went by the nickname, “Josie.” The cast all seemed to be calling her, “Jo”, so I did, too.
The self-introductions gave me a problem I had not anticipated. Each actor mentioned previous roles he or she had done; quite a few had worked with Alvin before, which explained why so many of them had known each other. But I didn’t know what roles Marsha had done! Tina would have known if I had only thought to ask her, but I hadn’t.
So when it was my turn, I simply said, “My name is Marsha Steen, and I am playing the role of Mollie. I played a lady-in-waiting in my high school production of Camelot and a couple of other roles since. I am very thrilled to be part of this show,” hoping that my enthusiasm would make up for my lack of detail. The role in Camelot was a complete guess. There weren’t any named female roles comparable to the one I had done as Marshall, but there were several minor “ladies-in-waiting” in our production.
I noticed several actors giving me puzzled looks. I presume that they were either surprised that somebody with as thin a resume as mine would have gotten such a major role in this production, or that they had found me unusually modest. Well, I just had to hope that I would be able to live up to Alvin’s trust in me, or rather, Marsha.
The read-through itself was fairly non-eventful. Some of the actors played around with their roles, trying one interpretation and then another. My own part was pretty straightforward, but did require some interesting emotional range in a few places. It was definitely a more difficult role than any I had ever tried before.
After we finished, Alvin stood again and thanked us, announcing that we would be blocking act one on Wednesday. As Jo and I walked out together, several of the students who had worked with Alvin in the past went over to speak with him. I was a bit uncomfortable to note Alvin watching me leave as they did. I didn’t really want to think that people would already be talking about me – I just wasn’t confident enough in my abilities to be certain that their comments would be positive. But it was just a read-through. Surely they couldn’t expect all that much from a read-through?
I called Tina as soon as I got to my room, and asked her about a tool to hold the material together while sewing it. I don’t think I had heard her laugh so hard in a long time.
“Excuse me?” she asked, when she had recovered. “Marsh, that’s what pins are for!”
“I don’t get it,” I admitted.
“You’ve never actually watched Mom sew? You pin the material together, Marsh. The pins go across the seam you are going to sew and then you pull them out afterwards. And you put in enough that it will stay together.”
“Oh. I see.”
She laughed some more.
“I’ve seen pins used before,” I said. “When I bought pants, they just put in one to mark where the seam was – I don’t see how that was supposed to hold anything together.”
“No, you can do that, too. You can use pins for lots of different things, but what you are talking about is probably the biggest use of them.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t know this stuff – I’m a boy!”
That brought yet another laugh. “Do you have any idea how strange it is to hear you say things like that?”
Now I laughed. “Probably not any stranger than what I’m dealing with on a daily basis. Did you have any ideas for how I’m going to manage all of this?”
“Not yet. Exactly what needs to be done?”
“You mean of what I have already sitting on the rack? Let me check.” I went over and looked more carefully. “Let’s see… there’s eleven things here. This is a skirt that needs a zipper repaired…”
“Well that’s an easy one.”
“Glad to hear it. Of course, I haven’t the faintest idea how… Um, this dress has… aha, pins all over it.”
“That’s alteration – that’ll take a bit of time. Look for other things like that. How many need a lot of alteration?”
“Checking… um, one… mm hmm… looks like four of them are like that. There’s one that says it needs buttons moved… and a bunch with the comment, ‘repair.’”
“Only four? That’s not so bad.”
“Teen,” I pointed out, “that’s just what I have here now. My roommate expects me to alter a gown for her, and that’s not on the rack, and probably a lot of other people will bring me stuff.”
“Well, you’ll just have to tell them, ‘no’”
“And how do I get money for tuition, Teen? That’s the problem, here. If I announce that ‘Marsha’ is no longer in the seamstress biz, I still need something that will bring in money.”
“Oh. I thought…” She paused, confused. “I’m still thinking, Marsh. We can do this, somehow, right? ‘Sisters strong’, right?”
I sighed. “If you say so, Teen. I wouldn’t exactly have used that phrase.”
“Oh, right.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have reminded her. My poor sister must be having a lot of trouble thinking of her ‘sister’ as a boy as it was, and she really was trying to help me out as best she could. So I thanked her for her help, and hung up. I still had a bit of reading to do, but fortunately, no class assignments as yet. So, after a bit of work, I managed to fall asleep.
I just discovered this the other day and started reading it. I enjoyed the other stories that you’ve done for “Misfile”, so I thought I’d give this one a shot. Thus far, I’ve found this to be a little slow starting, but that should not be concidered as a negative comment. The story line sounds intreging and if done right (based on your other works, I’m sure it will) could be very funny, sexy, traggic, suspenceful (any or all of the above), however you chose to take it.
Hell, if I was writing this, she’d already would have turned lesbian and in the sack with Lee Anne 🙂 (great name choice by the way, that was the name of my first grade school crush), but that’s just me and probably why I’m not a writer. Choice your own story line and we’ll see where it takes us. I look forward to the upcoming submissions. Definately thumbs up at this time.
Figured I would stop lurking, I think you are doing an excellent job. I especially like how its really only the little details that trips Marsh up, the kind of things that no one else seems to think of.
I have to apologize for being a total lurker. I’ve been reading “Take a Lemon” for weeks now and not telling you just how much I appreciate the entertainment!
I’m very pleased by your description of Marsh’s induction to all things womanly. It was easily enough to get the idea that changing your gender isn’t very easy for Marsh without pandering. So many authors of TG content seem to focus on what goes where and “yer doin’ it wrong!” types of scenarios.
Every day I look forward to what you’ve written, Russell. Patience comes easy when there’s no update yet, knowing that the next time I check it will be that much better.
You have me hooked. Hooked in a way that has me biting my nails in anticipation of Marsh’s decision to drop or keep those double ells at the end of his name.
A few questions rise as I read, but they are ones that only time will tell.
– Why doesn’t Marshall go to the people running the experiment in this universe?
– Are the people in this universe running the same experiment?
– If it was random happenstance that he was changed into a female, should he risk trying it all again and end up with his/her great-grandmother’s skin condition/brain tumors/hemophilia? Could be worse than that and he doesn’t have a sister or mother because of a car accident after a run to the hospital for Marsh’s asthma.
– Is Marsh’s promise to Teen just an excuse to stay as he is because he subconsciously likes being a woman.
– Should Marsh stay, will Marsha lose all the girly-girl trappings (not that she was trapped!), as it isn’t Marsha’s life any longer?
– Are Marsh’s hands suited to guitar play? What would the family think about a person they thought they knew just picking up a guitar and rocking out without any lessons? It could prove to them that Marshall is in their daughter and that Marsha is now gone. How weird is that?
– Marshall seems to still like women in a sexual manner. What kinds of repercussions will that have in his social and family life?
– Could Marshall get a support group together with the other students who have been victimized?
– Could it be that some students benefited from the change and will do everything they can to keep the others quiet?
See, you’ve got me intrigued. I will continue to read as long as you write. It’s not just this story, but the way in which you tell it. I enjoy your dialogue greatly, especially the internalized narrative. You have a fan!
Glad to hear you guys are enjoying the story. Jenniver, I promise that every one of those questions has an answer to come before we reach the end. Most would be spoilers, but I can answer one of them right now – Marsh’s promise to Tina was exactly what it sounded like: bravado. Marsh hadn’t even experienced life as a female to know whether he/she liked it well enough to decide to stay that way.
I am truly sorry that I haven’t taken the time to comment formally, but I have been informed by the friend that sent me this story that some of my comments have been passed along to you. I have greatly enjoyed the story thus far, feeling that you have hit many womanly issues right on the head. And seeing how your hero reacts to and deals with them (such as walking in heels for the first time – I swear, you were right on the money) amuses me. I read nearly ten chapters tonight, having to catch up where I haven’t been online in a few weeks and found myself laughing aloud many times, causing my boyfriend to look at me oddly. Knowing that there are men out there that can write a story explaining a “woman’s” struggles of daily life (and how much effort is put into being “naturally pretty”) gives me hope that there are actually some men that understand women. Thank you so much for the story!
Ha ha, sorry, Russ. 🙂
Yes, I’m reading it pretty regularly. I like it so far; it’s not cheesy which is good. The Grammar Nazi in me is noticing some spelling and grammatical errors now and then, but that’s really all. I think it’s a good story so far, and I’m enjoying how it’s being FAIR to both sides of the gender line, instead of falling back on stereotypes.
Oh, do point out spelling and grammar errors, please. I am more than happy to correct them.
Hi, there is a loop in this page:
My eyes bulged. I had thought it didn’t matter what I said about high school, as nobody would know. Marsha must have listed past roles on her audition sheet.
***start*****
“And not to toot my own horn or anything, but don’t you think when discussing past roles for a director’s play, that it would be appropriate to mention roles you’ve done for that director?”
Now my jaw dropped, in addition to everything else. Since I hadn’t been cast last year, I had just assumed that neither had Marsha. I kept forgetting that her life wasn’t necessarily always the same as mine.
“Marsh, I cannot have you creating bad feelings in my cast. I need you to get over yourself. Having a lead does not make you better than everyone else. We need everyone to be able to work together. Do you understand me?”
I understood. I understood that I had screwed up very badly, and that I was on the verge of losing this opportunity. Worse yet, it sounded as though I – or rather, Marsha – had had friends here and I had jus roles on her audition sheet.
****end****
****Start Loop*****
“And not to toot my own horn or anything, but don’t you think when discussing past roles for a director’s play, that it would be appropriate to mention roles you’ve done for that director?”
Now my jaw dropped, in addition to everything else. Since I hadn’t been cast last year, I had just assumed that neither had Marsha. I kept forgetting that her life wasn’t necessarily always the same as mine.
“Marsh, I cannot have you creating bad feelings in my cast. I need you to get over yourself. Having a lead does not make you better than everyone else. We need everyone to be able to work together. Do you understand me?”
I understood. I understood that I had screwed up very badly, and that I was on the verge of losing this opportunity. Worse yet, it sounded as though I – or rather, Marsha – had had friends here and I had just hurt them. And for some reason I had started to cry. I couldn’t help myself.
****end loop*
This is a fantastic story Russ. I think it’s a good thinking exercise. Also, I AM a girl, and I’m still learning from your story!
Quick note on an error, paragraph 8: “which explained why so many of them had none each other.” My guess is none should be known.
Other than that, still running at a good pace and I like the development here. I’m wondering when Marsh is going to hit a road block and not have Teen there to back her up.
Thanks, Harri – the error is actually on page 20, and I have now corrected it.
Yes, dark_fanboy, it was a typo – thanks for pointing it out.
I enjoyed the play with the pins, that is not something I would have thought of.
I was kind of confused at the read-through. Nothing seemed to happen except minor details, and then it was all over.
Tina is being a very helpful, although I still wonder what she thinks about the whole thing.
Marsh seems to be taking the whole change much more as an intellectual exercise than as something that is real, and affects his feelings, and abilities, and relationships.