Chapter 2 Working Musician
Our hero(ine) is a free-lance musician

Work was going well. I was picking up more jobs and had a nice voice studio; mostly young female students. I enjoyed being Samantha when I wasn’t working and usually ran errands around town in girl mode. Maria and I didn’t see each other very much because of our different work schedules, but when we did it was usually as sisters. We were sitting around chatting one Sunday afternoon with me dressed up. Nothing fancy: blue jean mini-skirt, cute little top, bra with the “enhancers” mom had bought me, minimal makeup & jewelry.

Maria looked at my chest.
“You could use a little more up top, little sis. Those chicken filets were OK for a junior high girl, but you’re a grown woman now. What are they, AAs?” She was a full B cup, almost a C. I looked down at my little pretend boobs.
“This is all I have for now. They will have to do until I score some better gigs. Real breast forms are expensive, and stuffing my bra with nylons just doesn’t look very good.”

We let it go at that. My big break came about six months after graduation when I was called to sub on a show at Lamb’s Players, one of the big downtown theaters. I knew some of the players from other jobs, including the music director. Sharon was one of the best keyboard players in town, a really nice lady in her mid-40s, and we got along very well on the few jobs we had done together in the past. Sharon started calling more often, and soon I felt financially secure enough to buy a pair of decent silicone breast forms and all new bras. I couldn’t believe how nice they looked and felt. Samantha Perez now the proud owner of a full B cup bosom. Maria and I compared, and she was just a bit bigger than me but not by much.

About a year later, the regular bass player at Lamb’s left and Sharon asked me to join them full time. I could now pretty well depend on at least 40 weeks a year of steady work that paid better than most of the other jobs I had been doing. I was in hog heaven. Sam was playing his bass a lot, doing a little singing, and having fun teaching, while Samantha would come out whenever Sam wasn’t working. Life was good.

One morning I had a text from Sharon addressed to all the guys in the band asking us to show up a little early for the matinee because she had some news for us. Oh-oh, this could be bad.

We were all in the pit, hoping we were ready for whatever she had to tell us. Sharon walks in with the Theater director, Jeannie Williams, and says Jeannie has an announcement for us.

“I’m sorry, this might be bad news for some of you. Our board of directors is looking at doing a new show next season that tells the story of a 1980s girl band. This show has the band up on stage, not in the pit, and of course they’re all young women. This isn’t a done deal, yet, but I wanted to tell you as soon as possible.”

Groans around the room. I’m thrilled, excited, and scared by the news and have a hard time not showing anything. I pretend to grumble so I match the other guys. Sharon looks over at me and catches my eye. She has a very strange smile on her face. What’s that all about? Today was a double; 3:00 matinee, then an 8:00 evening show. We finish the first show and as we’re all heading out Sharon catches me eye again and makes a ‘sit down’ gesture. OK, I’ll wait. When everyone else had left, she came over and sat down next to me.
“Sam, I’d like you to be my bass player for Girl Band.”
“ummm…..me? Really? Is that really the name of the show, Girl Band?” My stomach is doing flip flops.
“Catchy title, eh? Very creative. Yes, you, really. Why not?”
“I…ummm…because I’m not really a girl?” Steady boy, try not to jump up & down and yell ‘yesssssssss’.
“No, but it would be easy enough to make you look like one, wouldn’t it?”
“OK, I’m not the most manly looking guy in the world, but would it be OK? I mean…what would management say?” I can’t believe this…will this really work?
“Let’s go find out.”
We headed out of the pit and to the theater offices. We found Jeannie sitting at her desk typing on her computer. Sharon gave a few soft knocks on the door frame, and Jeannie looked up.
“Hey Jeannie, got a minute?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I want Sam for my bass player in Girl Band. What do you think?”
“Oh, come on, give me a challenge! This is too easy.”
Jeannie got up, walked around in front of her desk, and gave me the once-over. She touched my shoulders, sides of my chest, waist, and hips as if she were taking my measurements, then put a finger under my chin, tilted my head up, and studied my face.
“Undo your hair tie.” I kept my hair in a low ponytail. I took out the tie and let it loose. Jeannie ran her fingers through it, fanning it out over my shoulders.
“Piece of cake. I can turn you into a real cutie. Size 6, maybe an 8. What do you think, Sam? Beautiful hair, by the way.”
“Ummm, thanks. Uhhh.. are you sure it would be OK? I wouldn’t get in trouble or anything?” Somehow, I knew better than to answer the size question. She was good!
“Get in trouble? For what?”
“Ummm, I dunno, for pretending to be something I’m not?”
Jeannie and Sharon both burst into laughter as if that was the funniest thing they ever heard. It took them a few minutes to calm down, then Jeannie put her hands on my shoulders, leaned forward so her face was close to mine, and spoke quietly.
“Sam, honey, let me tell you a little secret. EVVVVVVVERYBODY up on that stage is pretending to be someone else. It’s called theater, Sam; that’s what we do here.” Sharon laughed.
“Oh…. but…” Sharon was still laughing.
“It’s fine, Sam. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you have in your pants, or your panties, as long as you look and act the part.”
“Oh…OK.” Sharon spoke up.
“I’ve been looking at the script and think we can make Sam one of the backup singers. If we give him a few lines, too, we can cut one cast member.”
“He’d have to have a female voice.” She looked at me. “Can you do that? Can you sing?”
“No problem, I was a voice major in college.” I answered her in head voice.
“We will need to pay him extra if he’s in the cast and the band. He’ll be doing two separate roles.” Sharon looking out for me. Cool.
“Of course, we’ll figure it out.” Jeannie looks at me. “You wanna do this?”
“Yeah.”
“I mean, do you really want to do this? Take on a female role for six weeks?”
“Yes, I can use the work, and….and….it’s an interesting challenge.” Sharon had that funny smile on her face again. What’s up with that? Jeannie looked at me again.
“OK, young lady, here’s some homework for you: shave your legs; learn how to walk in high heels; learn how to move around in a short skirt; practice that female voice. When you think you’re ready, come back and see me. We will head to the costume department and really start getting you ready. Got it?”
“OK, got it. Thanks. Ummm….I’m kinda nervous about this.” She smiled at me.
“I’d be worried about you if you weren’t nervous. Anything else Sharon?”
“That’s it for now. We can look at the script later. Come on Sam, let’s get a bite to eat before the evening show.” She still had that weird smile on her face.
“Ummm, yeah. Thanks Jeannie.” We turned to leave.
“Later, girls.” We all laughed at that one.

We walked out of the theater and up the road a bit. Past the little diner where the cast and crew often caught a quick bite between shows and on to a quiet little pub that I had only been in once or twice. They had good food, but it was on the expensive side.
“Ummm….”
“My treat, don’t worry. We’re gonna talk shop and I can write this off as a business expense.”
“Wow, thanks.” She still had that funny smile. We got a table and a waiter came up.
“Good afternoon, ladies, my name is Brian and I’ll be your server. May I start you off with some drinks? We have…” He stopped to take a breath, and Sharon said
“Killian’s Irish Red, please. How about you, Sammie?” She was really smiling now.
“Umm…. I better stick with water tonight, thanks.”
“Very good, Ladies. I’ll be right back.”
“Are you often mistaken for a woman?”
“Sometimes, mostly when I have my hair loose like this.” Or when I’m wearing a skirt and heels, and makeup, and jewelry, and…… Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. I started putting my hair back in its ponytail.
“Leave it loose, it looks nice. So, how soon are you going to go back to show Jeannie that you’re ready?” She still has that silly smile. Do I dare ask?
“Ummm…” She leans forward and takes my hands in hers.
“Sam, I have a little confession to make. I know for a fact that not only can you do this role very well, but I think you really want to do it. I have seen you perform in girl mode.”
WTF?? I’m scrolling back through my memory banks, trying to figure out what she means. I can’t think of anything since Maria and I did those shows as kids…
“It’s been quite a while, and I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I was an accompanist for those junior talent shows sponsored by the Kiwanis club. All these awkward high school girls stumbling around in heels trying to look grown up and sophisticated, way too much makeup, trying to sing. It was painful, but I needed the money back then. One time I saw these two beautiful Hispanic girls sashay out on stage like they owned the place. They had poise, they had presence, they had grace. Then they started to sing. I still remember that wonderful alto voice. There was something different about that voice that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but now I know what it was. You’re good, Sam. Really good.”
“Ummm….thanks….uuhhh.., yeah, we did a lot of those.”
“As sisters?” I felt my face get a little red, and Sharon’s smile got a little bigger.
“We started out as brother and sister, but then they needed three girls to sing something at church and the choir director asked if I would do one of the parts. My mom talked to the choir director, and next thing I knew I was on stage with Maria and another girl wearing a dress. After that, we kept singing as sisters.”
“You were OK with that?”
“Well…” I felt my face start to get really red. “Yeah….I mean….it was fun singing, and….well….it was kinda fun dressing up, too.”
“Can I make another confession?”
“ummm… sure…”
“I have seen you and Maria around town a few times lately.”
“oh…”
The waiter chose that moment to come back with our drinks and ask if we were ready to order dinner. We hadn’t even looked at the menu.
“Buffalo chicken salad, please.” Sharon had been here before.
“And for you, miss?”
“Ummm…that sounds good, same for me, please.”
“Very good, ladies.” He left. I’m really nervous.
“Sam, it’s OK. It’s perfectly OK, don’t worry. Take the role and enjoy it. Have fun being a girl on stage.” We looked at each other for a few minutes without saying anything. “Can I get really personal?”
“Ummm…. sure, go ahead. Anything. Ummm….yeah, you can ask anything you like.” Maybe it’s best to get everything out in the open.
“How often do you dress up?” Easy one.
“Quite a bit. I really like wearing skirts and heels and stuff.”
“Do you have a different female name, or do you use Samantha?”
“Yeah, Sammie, or Samantha if you’re feeling formal, or if I’m in trouble.” She laughed.
“You’re not in trouble! Big one: are you trans?”
“Ooohhh….do you mean transgendered? Maybe? I dunno, I really don’t. It’s hard to put in to words; I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Have you had any counseling?”
“No. I thought about it sometimes, but never did any.”
“Am I getting too nosy?” I gave a little laugh, and we both laughed for a while.
“No, it’s good to get it out. Maria is the only one I have ever talked to about it, and I think she’s the only one who knows. And now you know. So, thanks. I mean, really, thank you for talking to me about this; it’s good to get it out. Thank you for caring.”
“I’m happy if it helps you to talk about it. Besides, I do have a vested interest in this. You are one heluva fine bass player, a fine musician, everybody likes working with you, and I want to make sure to keep you in my band. I’m also going to need your help finding players for this show; trumpet, sax, and drums. Jeannie wants good looking young women; I want people who can play.”
“I can give you some names.” I had one particular name in mind for trumpet.
Our dinners arrived, and we chatted some more while eating. I gave her the names of some players I knew, with comments on each, and she told me more about the show itself. She paid the bill and we headed back to the theater.
“Thanks for dinner, I really appreciate it, and thanks for talking to me.”
“My pleasure. Listen - everything we said in there stays in there. Nobody else needs to know unless you decide to tell them. You can talk to me about it any time. Any. Time.”
“OK, thanks.”
The mood in the pit was a little somber for the evening show, but it gradually improved over the week. We all know there are no guarantees in this business, but Lamb’s has been a steady thing for musicians, actors, and theater tech folks for ages. When I got home, I told Maria what was going on and she was over the moon happy for me.
“Girl, you’re gonna need more clothes. We gotta go shopping!”
There goes all my extra pay for the show. Oh well.

The following week, Sharon told us that Girl Band was settled and set to open in a few months. She also asked me when Samantha wanted to go meet Jeannie and said that she wanted to be there for the meeting. I figured we may as well get it out of the way so we set up a meeting for 11:00AM the following Tuesday. Sharon told me to wear something nice.

Maria and I argued over what I should wear for the meeting. I wanted to borrow one of her skirt suits, but she said that was too formal. She wanted me to wear a nice A-line skirt with a white blouse and flats, but I told her the Jeannie wanted to see me in a short skirt and high heels because that’s what I’m supposed to wear for the show. After way too much fussing, we settled on a lightweight black cotton blouse, a red plaid pleated skirt that hit me about mid-thigh, taupe hose, and black pumps with a 4” spike heel. I looked and felt good.

I walked in to the offices at the theater 15 minutes before our meeting time.
“Good morning, may I help you?” Melody, the receptionist greeted me.
“Good morning, I’m here to see Ms. Williams, she’s expecting me.” Melody picked up the phone.
“Your name, please?”
“Samantha Perez.” She put down the phone and stared at me.
“Sam? Is that you?”
“Hi Melody. Well…. today I’m being Samantha, my twin sister, the new bass player for Girl Band. Jeannie wants to see how I look all dressed up.”
“Girl, you look amazing!” She giggled a bit, picked up the phone and dialed again.
“Jeannie? Miss Perez is here to see you. Miss Perez? She says you’re expecting her. Shall I send her back?” She hung up the phone and giggled some more. “She will be right out.”
Jeannie appeared a few seconds later, with Sharon right behind her. Jeannie stared open mouthed while Sharon was smiling and gave me a thumbs up.
“Good morning, Ms. Williams, I’m Samantha Perez. I understand you need a female bass player who sings alto for your next show. I’m very interested in the part.”
Jeannie looked me up and down a few times and nodded approvingly.
“Damn. I knew you would make a good looking woman, but I didn’t expect you to do this much, this soon. You really look good. You did this all on your own?” Coming from Jeannie, this was high praise, indeed.
“Thank you. My sister helped a lot. She kinda went ape-shit; like a little kid with a new toy on Christmas morning. But, I did my homework; I really want this gig.”
I gave her a nice, proper curtsey; she and Sharon both laughed a bit.
“Come on back, young lady. I want to hear you sing, and I want to see how you walk in those heels.”

We headed down a hallway back to the big rehearsal room. When we got there, Jeannie looked about ready to say something but Sharon took over. She handed me a scrore that had a post it note marking a page about half way through and gestured to the piano.
“Have a seat, Sammie; let’s hear that song.” I opened the scrore and looked through the piece. Jeannie looked over my shoulder.
“That’s the big ballad for the show’s lead to open the second half. I thought you just wanted Sam to be a backup singer.”
“You need to hear this, Jeannie. Whenever you’re ready, Sammie.”
The piece was a nice, slow 12/8 ballad with long phrases and the range fit my voice well. The piano part was really simple, so I was able to focus on singing. It was a beautiful tune, and it was great fun to sing.
“That was... beautiful…” Wow, Jeannie isn’t easily impressed.
“Thank you. I think I got most of it right, it’s an interesting piece.”
“Wait a minute! You mean, you never heard that before?”
“Nope. It’s new to me; never saw it before.”
“You were sightreading?”
“She’s a pro, Jeannie. That’s why I want her on the show, and you just heard two more reasons why I think we should put her on staff here. She has a better voice than half of the girls we hired for this show, and she knows her way around a keyboard.”
Note to self: Thank Sharon profusely. Being on staff means full time salary with benefits. Also, I seem to be Samantha now, at least in Sharon’s eyes. Jeannie looked at me for a bit, then spoke.
“OK Sam, I’ll talk to management about your extra pay for this show. I don’t know if I can get you double, but I’ll try. Sharon, we’ll talk about the staff position for next season. And…”
“…and you will be buying lunch today?” What? Something’s going on here.
“Yes, you win, I didn’t think he could do it this fast.” Were they betting on me?
“Well, she did. I told you she’s a real pro.” OMG, they were betting on me, and I really am Samantha now.
“OK, I knew he would make a good-looking chick, but I didn’t think he could turn into she on his own and certainly not this fast. HEY – you didn’t have any insider info did you?” I better keep my mouth shut.
“Let’s just say I work with her a lot more closely than you do.”

We walked up the road to the pub Sharon took me to the other day. Jeannie kept looking down at my feet as we walked.
“Are you grading my homework, checking out my gait? Do I pass?”
“HA! With flying colors. You’re really OK walking in those?”
“I can’t do this all day, but I’m OK for short bits. My sister really helped me a lot – is still helping me a lot. I think I’ll be OK getting through the show in these.”
“You won’t have to stand up the entire time. You’ll be fine.”
I guess I passed inspection. Jeannie kept asking me questions during lunch and I filled her in on my vocal and piano background. I also told her a little, a very little, about doing shows with Maria when we were kids. About the only thing Sharon said was “Lunch always tastes better when Jeannie is buying.” She got a big raspberry for that and we all laughed. After we finished eating, Jeannie went back into business mode.
Once we start rehearsals, it would be best for you to present as female the entire time. I mean all the time, not just at work. Would that be a problem?”
“Ummm….no, I don’t think so. I’ll just tell my other gigs and my students what’s going on. I don’t think anyone will have a problem with it.”
“OK, good. We have three weeks of cast rehearsals before Girl Band starts. We’re still doing Hello Dolly then. How are we going to handle that? You won’t have time to change back and forth in between.” Sharon answered for me.
“No problem. I’ll just tell the guys that Samantha will be replacing Sam on bass for the last three weeks of the show. They probably have already figured that out.”
“They have. Jim (the drummer) asked me about it a while ago and I told them.”
“OK, no worries.”

We talked over a few more things about the show on our way back to the theater. I usually teach voice lessons on Tuesday afternoons but cancelled my students for today because I didn’t know how long I would be at the theater so I was free the rest of the day. I remember Maria’s comment about needing more clothes and realized she was right. I couldn’t keep borrowing hers so I headed to some of the discount stores to look around. It was a beautiful day and it just felt so good walking around as Samantha.