Chapter Two

On Sunday morning, the taxi arrived for the boys at a quarter past eight and they picked up the girls, with Martin sharing the back seat with them. When they arrived at the address they had been given, they got out and Stephan paid the fare.

The door was locked, so they knocked. It was opened by a man in his twenties.

“Good morning. You must be Martin and Stephan. I see that you’ve brought your friends. Come on in and we’ll talk you through the process.”

He let them enter and reclosed the door. They were guided down a corridor to a large room where another man and two women were waiting for them. There were chairs along one wall, and they were sat at them. The man who had opened the door made the introductions.

“Welcome to this screen session. As you can see, we’ve borrowed the studio from a friend. My name is Hank Nilsson, my friend here is Olaf Andersson, both with the double ‘s’. These ladies are Marylin and Prudence. They are our dressers and make-up artists. We are Hangdog Productions, a very new operation. We have done some adverts for the big screen, and a couple of shorts. To lay it on the line, the proposed film is still in the process of being written, and we do not have the money to make it yet. Now, what about you?”

Martin spoke up.

“I’m Martin Andrews and this is Stephan Dolling. Were both students at the university, doing the drama course. These two ladies are Susan Barnes and Elizabeth Young. They’re also studying drama with us. Our lecturer told us that you saw us in the Easter Panto.”

“Quite right. We have a number of scenes that we’ve prepared for today, with just the two of you, but seeing that you’ve brought along a couple of actresses, we also have some scenes which will need them. If you boys go with Marylin and Prudence, they will get you ready for the first few scenes. You’ll be reading off a board as we film. We’re using sixteen mill film, and we’ll be able to show you the rushes next week. We can bring them to the university to show you. Let’s get cracking!”

While the others were away, the girls were quizzed on their own experience and given some lines to read. When the boys came back, they were dressed like wannabee gangsters, in suits and ties, with slicked hair. As they set up for the tests, the girls were sent out to be dressed.

As the morning progressed, the boys were given solo scenes to speak, and then were filmed once they had got them right. They had one scene where they were together and realised that they were in a lot of trouble. That led to a scene where the four were talking and discussing the chances of evading the gang.

That led to a scene where the two girls discussed how they could turn the boys into girls, while the boys were away being transformed. But first, they stopped for lunch. Hank was upbeat.

“This is going really well. If the rushes are good, we’ve almost filmed the whole thing so far.”

Martin grinned.

“What’s the ending?”

Hank laughed.

“There isn’t one yet. It all depends on what you do today, and what our likely backers put up to complete the film. Given more money, we have more screen time and then an expanded plot. We have several ideas about the ending, but there are a number of possibilities, depending on the scenes that you’ll be doing this afternoon.”

The girls did the scene required as the boys were out of the room. When they returned, they were so totally changed that both men and both girls were tongue-tied. Marylin giggled.

“I present, for your admiration, our great skills in dressing and make-up. I give you Martina and Stephanie!”

The two men looked at each other and nodded. The girls looked at each other and smiled. The rest of the afternoon was taken up by scenes from what parts had been written. Tina and Steffi were like chalk and cheese from the morning. They were lively, vivacious and exuded personality. The girls were taken along with their acting, seeing the two boys in a whole new light. Around five, Hank called a halt.

“Look, you four. You’ve done very well today. There’s a lot of good film for us to develop. We’ll organise the showing for our backer and then set up to show you. We did bring a hundred pounds for each of the boys, and I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind if we split it with you girls, as we want to put all four of you on retainers. We have the contact details for Martin and Stephan, so while they’re getting changed, we’ll take the details of you girls, and then you can get back into the clothes you came in.”

When they left the studio, it wasn’t far to the Chevalier, where they went Dutch for an evening meal, talking about their day. All four were happy with what had been done, and Sue suggested that they should go to a club, one Saturday evening, as four girls.

Martin paid for the taxi home, and they had a kissing session while they waited for it, as they didn’t want to pay while they were saying goodnight. When Stephan and Martin went into the share house, the other two were sprawled in the lounge room, snoring, with empty bottles on the floor.

“I’m getting happier with leaving here.”

“I’m with you, Martin. Goodnight my friend. It’s been one hell of a day.”

Neither could sleep easily. Stephan was thinking about how he felt about Liz, while Martin was thinking about his time as Tina, as well as how he felt for Sue, and wondering about his sexual orientation. His brain bounced around, firstly with his liking of Stephan and then with his liking of Sue. He had kissed Sue, but had not kissed Stephan, no matter how many times that had crossed his mind.

On Monday morning, they walked to the university in companionable silence. They didn’t meet up with the girls until later in the day, being surprised at being hugged and kissed by them in full view of the rest of the class. Sue was beaming.

“Thank you, guys. Yesterday was brilliant. The two of you as girls was something else! Not only did we get paid, but we’ve been pencilled in as the two girlfriends in the film. The dressers told us that it had been a delight in making you into girls, and they told us that you were almost certain to be the stars if it gets made.”

Stephan smiled.

“It was fun. We were only there because we had been seen in the panto. It paid to stay around for that. You girls were brilliant as well, we make a good team.”

Liz laughed.

“If it goes ahead, we’ll all be the ‘Sole Sisters’!”

The week dragged for the four of them, all keen to see the rushes. The lecturer noticed their new attitude and took an opportunity to talk quietly to Liz.

“You and Sue seem much more involved in the actual acting this week, did something happen?”

“We went with Martin and Steff to the screen test on Sunday and were included in some scenes. It made us realise that it was possible to be genuine artistes. They paid us and took our details to contact us if they want us in the film.”

“That’s great! How did the boys go?”

“The boys were good but were brilliant as girls. It was if there was a switch that had been turned on. They made us look dowdy. You just have to cast them in something and let us do the make-over. Martin has lost weight to allow him to get into the clothes, I think that it may have been a secret wish.”

“What about Stephan?”

“As Stephanie, she is a natural. You would never think that she had ever been a boy.”

“Interesting. I’ll give it some thought. Did they say anything about when the film was going to be shot?”

“They were really open about that. It all depends on their backer. They’ll be showing the rushes to them first. Hank said that the more money that gets offered, the longer the film will be.”

“They did give me the impression that it was a sure thing. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

On Saturday, the four went to the cinema, all eager to see ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and then had fish and chips at the nearby café. On the Sunday, Liz and Sue had a car, an elderly Mini, and Stephan suggested that they took a trip down to Shaldon to get some lunch at his parents’ café. When they arrived, the café was shuttered. He rang his parents.

“Hi, dad. I’ve brought some friends to have lunch in the café, but it’s shut.”

“That’s right, son. We sold it and the new owners are getting ready to renovate with a new look. We’ve bought into another venture. If you cross the river, we’re partners in ‘The New Quay’. Bring them over here.”

“All good, Dad. We’ll see you there.”

It took about a quarter of an hour to backtrack to the bridge and across the river. Stephan knew where the pub was, having been there as a teenager to listen to a couple of local bands. When they arrived, he led them in, and his mother came over to hug him.

“Mum, these three are all drama students at the university. This is Elizabeth, my girlfriend; Martin, my housemate, and Susan, his girlfriend.”

His mother gave all three a hug, amazed that her reclusive son had made three friends, especially a girlfriend.

“Welcome to the ‘New Quay’. Stephan would remember this as a nice place with reasonable food but run down and very out-dated. We sold the café to buy into here and are in the process of upgrading the inside. Our partner is the guy that used to be the cook but has now declared that he’s the chef. It’s amazing that now he’s got a free hand in the kitchen, everything is much better. We still have the live music, and there’s a folk trio this afternoon. Come and sit down. First round is on the house. We haven’t seen our son since he left for university.”

The four of them took their drinks and went out to sit at one of the tables on the quayside. Stephan was still taking in the drastic change in his life as they took in the scene. His father came out with a plate of crisps and pulled Stephan into a hug.

“It’s about time you came home to visit us, son. This has been a big decision for us, but we’re not looking back. We still have our old house in Shaldon, so nothing of yours has been shifted. After being in charge of my own kitchen, I’m now relegated to breakfast and lunch, with Jake doing all the dinners. Lunch is on us. Now, introduce your friends.”

They had a pleasant time and a good lunch, before going back inside to listen to the band. They sang along and even danced a bit along with several other couples. During the day, they were joined by one or the other of Stephans’ parents, eager to hear about his time at the university. Nothing was said about the film, as it wasn’t a sure thing. Helmut took his son aside.

“Sorry that this was a surprise, son. It was all done in a rush. Your mother was keen to run the hotel side of this business and it was a great opportunity when we were asked if we wanted to partner Jake. You’re excused summer duties. Jake will only have qualified helpers in the kitchen, and we’re planning to lift the look of the place during summer with waitress service at the tables. It’s what this place needs to compete with the others along the quay.”

“That’s all right, Dad. If a project that we’re looking at goes ahead, all four of us may be busy over summer. I’m glad for you, this was always part of your dream. You’ve always been a barman at heart.”

“Didn’t know it showed, son, but you’re right. Keep us in the loop with your activities, and you’re always welcome here with your friends.”

“Thanks, Dad. I think you may see me more often. The car belongs to the girls, so we’ll have to stay friends if we all want a free lunch.”

“I didn’t promise that son!”

When they left, they asked Stephan where was good for dinner, and they walked the short distance to a place that specialised in seafood, where they all spent the remainder of last weeks’ payment on a two-course dinner with a glass of house wine. The boys were coerced into a dry white, as part of their training to be a girl.

By the time they went back to Exeter, they were totally comfortable with each other, with Sue driving and Liz lip locked with Stephan in the back. At the halfway point they swapped places, so that Sue and Martin could get a session in.

The following week was pretty normal, without any news from Hangdog. The four friends started to think that it had been a fun day, but all for nothing. That weekend, they went walking in the park and the boys went to where the girls lived and cooked for them and their housemates, both accounting students.

On Monday, when they arrived at the university, there was a message for them to see their lecturer in the afternoon. When they went into his office, Hank was with him, with a big smile on his face. When they were all sitting, the Professor welcomed them.

“Thank you for coming in. I’ll leave it for Mister Nilsson to give you his news, and then we’ll go to the theatre where he’ll run the rushes reel for us.”

Hank grinned.

“I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that the film has been canned. The backer had other ideas after he watched the screen tests. The delay was because we had to go somewhere else to show the reel. It was a producer just outside London. He has a string of television series over the past twenty or more years. Our friendly backer and him are old mates.”

Stephan held hands with Liz as he spoke.

“Where does it leave us, Hank?”

“It leaves the four of you with a summer job, as long as a pilot show gets taken up. He had a script about four sisters who operate a fish café, and their involvements with their customers, their neighbours, and their boyfriends. It was called ‘The Chipper Girls’ but is now to be known as ‘Sole Sisters’ with their speciality being Dover Sole. That was taken from us, with gratitude. It, and the fish shop, are the only parts of our own idea that remain.”

“What’s planned, Hank?”

“We get the four of you into their studio for a week. The Professor has already organised for you to get course notes if needed, and a copy of the pilot will be your drama assessment for the year. After that, it depends on whether one of the stations pick it up. You will be paid at proper union rates for your time, so you’ll do well out of it, no matter what happens.”

“If it gets taken by a station, what then?”

“Who knows. It could be somewhere between ‘The Singing Detective’ and ‘Coronation Street’. I expect that the first series would be a dozen episodes, with any others depending on the critics and the viewing public.”

“What will you be doing with this, Hank?”

“Hangdog will be partnering the production, and I want the four of you to sign a management contract to make you our house actors. Olaf will be a cameraman, I will be Associate Director, and our Marylin and Prudence as the house dressers. We all come out of it well if they go for a series. The contract has a paragraph that gives you an out if nothing happens.”

They conferred with their lecturer and read through the paperwork, and all signed on the dotted line. Then, the professor looked at his watch and grinned.

“Now is the time we go to the theatre and watch your reel. Olaf has set it up and is waiting for us, along with the rest of the students. This will be the first time that the four of you will be critiqued by your peers. I’m rather looking forward to this myself.”

They went down to the theatre, where the other students were waiting and talking among themselves. The four joined them in the stalls while Hank and the lecturer went up on the stage. When there was silence, the lecturer spoke.

“Today is a special day. We are about to watch a screen test reel which was performed by Sue, Liz, Martin and Stephan. It was a few weeks ago. Hank is one of the directors of Hangdog Films and will explain what you’re about to see. I want you to properly look at the screen and make notes on how the acting was, as a test of your own criticism of the vision.”

He made his way back down to the stalls as Hank took over.

“The first thing to tell you is that this was all shot in a borrowed photographic studio in Exeter, and not a proper sound stage. We have spliced the best of the tests into a single part of a story, so will be almost one scene leading into the next. This is because we had not written anything past what we shot. I hope that you like what you see.”

He followed the lecturer and sat down as the screen flickered with the rotating logo and the numbers counting down. When the screen showed the first scene, it was of the two boys looking like wannabee gangsters. The different scenes had been spliced into a continuous story. The actual transformation was skipped, but as the next scene with the new girls came on, there was an audible gasp from the students. The screening only lasted about twenty minutes, and there was some applause when the screen went dark. The lecturer stood in the front.

“Now, comments please, one at a time.”

The rest of the students made complimentary comments, mostly about how the acting lifted when the four girls were on screen. One was game enough to ask her question.

“Sir. I recognised Martin and Stephan in the first parts, and Sue and Liz were in the rest of it, but I didn’t recognise the other two girls.”

“Anybody able to put a name to them?”

There was silence.

“Martina and Stephanie, please stand and take your bow. Being able to fool your fellow students deserves a good mark for the term.”

The boys stood and bowed, blushing as they did so.

There was laughter and cheers. The Professor allowed it to peter out as Hank left the room.

“Right, you lot. Just for today, I’m letting you out early. I want you to think about your own acting. Are you playing a role, or are you being the person as written. What you’ve watched today was a lesson on being the person that you’re playing. If you just turn up to read the lines, that’s not what serious acting is all about. Now get along. Not you four stars. You have another embarrassing trial to endure.”

When the others had left, he turned to them.

“Hank has gone to fetch the bursar and the Head of School. They need to see your reel to allow you the leeway to spend time out of the course. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a done deal, but we have to go through the motions.”

Martin smiled.

“We understand, sir. It will be interesting to meet the big boss men for the first time.”

“They’re just like you and I, Martin, but bear a lot more responsibility. You and I can just take days off, but people at that level are on the job around the clock, especially if things go wrong. Many lecturers dream of being the Head of School, but I’m happy just to teach and impart a love of the stage into a constant stream of students.”

They had to sit through the reel again but had to answer questions as it was shown. Mainly about the drastic change in their demeanour once they were in skirts. There was some discussion afterwards, mainly about the likely chance that a series would happen, as well as how much time the four would be away from the university. Olaf had joined them and made his own thoughts known.

“Gentlemen, the studio has allocated a week to film the pilot. What you’ve just seen was around twenty minutes. It took a normal working day, with four who had never been in front of a movie camera. The pilot may be thirty minutes or sixty minutes, if it’s taken by the BBC, and twenty-five or fifty minutes if taken by a commercial station. The pilot will take a week if others in the crew get things wrong. These kids won’t be slow picking it all up. They took to our scripts and turned them into good scenes in no more than four takes from scratch. They will be able to shoot a full series over the summer break.”

“What happens if the show takes off?”

“If it’s broadcast in the autumn, they can make another series in the break next year. If that one takes off, they may not have a need to come back.”

“And if the pilot doesn’t get taken up?”

“Then they’ve all had more experience than most. They will have had their names in front of studio bosses, they would have made some money, and who knows, you may have someone knocking on your door to see if they’re available for something else. It may be us, but not with the original project. That was never good enough for their talent.”

“And you’re telling me that a TV soapie is?”

“There are a lot of famous stars who started on TV.”

“Name one.”

“Clint Eastwood was a young cowboy herding cattle in his first role on screen. He went on to be a mega-star. What’s more, I’ll say that he didn’t have a tenth of the raw talent that Stephan has at the same age.”

“All right. We will approve the project. If there are any extra expenses, we will cover them, and the other lecturers will be advised to supply the notes and any required tutelage afterwards. You four may need to do extra hours to catch up with the work. Is that agreed?”

The four all agreed. The Head smiled.

“Now that’s over, I have to tell you that I’ve never seen method acting done so well in ones so young. Congratulations to all of you.”

The four went to get their things and walked out of the university, stopping to cuddle and kiss every now and then. Liz and Sue were sure that things would be good, although Martin hoped that the dressers were going to be allowed enough time to create Tina, while Stephan was being cautious about the future, much as he usually was. The girls were upbeat because they had seen the change in the two boys when they were in skirts and knew that they would be successful.

In the end, they didn’t lose any class time, as the pilot was to be shot in the week of the half-term break. The time dragged once the dates had been set, but they all studied hard and didn’t break their concentration. They spent most of their weekends together, going out in the car to places which were cheap to visit, or to just park somewhere scenic and sit on a couple of blankets to admire the view. At times, each couple were too busy kissing and cuddling to worry about any view but each other.

Marianne Gregory © 2026