TO BE OR NOT TO BE – PART 5

TO BE OR NOT TO BE – PART 5
by
Spanky de Bautumn

Part 4. Sunny made a life changing decision and in the process becomes better acquainted with Mark.

On Monday, I met Mel and Shari at the theater at ten to run lines. I was confident that I knew my part for the first act. My concern was with my voice. It wasn't masculine or feminine, it was somewhere in the middle. I was alright in normal conversations, but on stage where one has to project their voice, I tended to sound more masculine. After much thought, I came up with an idea. When I would practice I started singing my part loud, in a higher register, and slow down to an everyday speech pattern as I learned the part but keeping the same volume. It sounds weird but it seemed to work, plus I sounded more melodic when I did it in rehearsal.
When he wasn't on stage, Mark was hovering over me like a mother hen. After rehearsal, Luke said that I had exceeded his expectations. I wasn't there yet, but he was much more optimistic than he was twenty-four hours ago. He also apologized for his brother. He said Mark was somewhat smitten with my new persona and if it made me uncomfortable he would talk to him. I told him it wasn't a problem and that I thought it was kind of cute.
Mel and Shari stayed afterward and worked with me on doing the make-up. They gave me some tips on stage presence that helped with the stage fright. When I got back to the hotel it was nearly five. Antonio was chatting with the clerk at the front desk. As I stepped inside, he turned and smiled. I smiled back and waved as I do, but feeling a little weird dressed as a dude and giving off sissy vibes. Antonio pointed at me and gave me a thumbs up. What does that mean, if anything? It seems I'm thinking more and more like a girl.
I walked up to him and said, "I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay, I get off in a few minutes, same place?"
"Yeah, but give me some time to change, okay?"
"No prob, babe."
He called me babe. There I go again thinking as a different gender.