Androdgyny--An Erotic Memoir

by Lee Dorsey

  I rolled over and opened my legs. She positioned herself with my legs resting on her shoulders. I put my hand behind her head and guided her. She had the softest lips of anyone who ever provided me with an oral treat. She knew all the right places to go. There was really no directing her at all. I just wanted my vulva to swallow her up. The first orgasm was over the top. It was followed by a series of minor ones that had my body trembling. I closed my thighs around her head and kept her in that immobile position until I came down from my sexual convulsions.

  Eventually, I released her. We embraced. "Thank you, I said, I really needed that.” I kissed her. We fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  The next morning, I arrived at class just as Ms. LaBonti was ready to begin. I looked across the room and observed Colin talking with a young woman next to him. I felt a pang of jealously. Ms. LaBonti began the class by saying that she appreciated that several students attended the play yesterday. "I would recommend that every student see as many professional plays as possible. You can learn a great deal by observing other actors work.” She took a pause and looked around the class. "There is something else I would like to point out that’s very important for you to know. The acting profession is very competitive. Some actors will resort to ‘dirty tricks.’ Especially, if they believe you have a better chance of getting a role that they want. I remember hearing a story about a ‘well established actress’ pulling a dirty trick on a ‘not so well known actress’ she had costarred with in a film. They were to attend a ‘Red Carpet’ event in Hollywood to premier the movie. The ‘well established actress’ invited her costar to ride to the event with her in a limousine. When the prescribed time came for the ‘well established actress’ to pick up her costar, she failed to arrive. The co-star realized immediately that the ‘well established actress’ didn’t want to share the spotlight with her. She drove herself to the event barely making it in time to walk the ‘Red Carpet.’ My advice to all of you is be prepared for ‘dirty tricks’ along the way.”

  Ms. LaBonti spent the rest of the morning lecturing about Russian literature. The majority of her lecture was about Chekov and his play "The Seagull.” She also talked about Stanislavski and how "Method” acting evolved in the late nineteenth century. She explained the principles of the "Method.” It was a very interesting lecture and explained much of what I had missed while watching the play yesterday afternoon.

  As usual, Colin and I lunched together. The afternoon class time was spent doing improvisations while employing the "Method” form of acting. After class, Colin suggested that I go home and pack a bag. He wanted me to spend the night at his apartment. The first audition was scheduled for ten o’clock the next morning. It was being held several blocks from his apartment.

  Instead of taking the subway, I hailed a cab. When I arrived at the house, I had the cab wait while I quickly packed. Jenny wasn’t home from school yet, so I didn’t have to offer any explanations. I didn’t want her to know that I was cutting class the next day. It only took five minutes for me to get back to the cab. There’s lots of traffic at that time of the day. It took nearly an hour to arrive at Colin’s apartment.

  I rang the bell and he buzzed me in. I took the elevator. Colin was standing there as I opened the elevator door. When I walked into the room, he put his arms around me.

  "I’ve been waiting all day to do this,” he said. We kissed. "How about a glass of wine to unwind?” he suggested.

  "That would be nice,” I replied. He released me from his embrace and walked into the kitchen. I walked into the living room area and sat down on one of the sofas. Colin brought two glasses and the bottle of wine. He poured each of us a glass and put the bottle in a cooler.

  Colin raised his glass and made a toast, "To success at the auditions tomorrow.” After a moment, Colin asked me to do him a favor. "While you were going home to get your change of clothing, I ran up to the book store and purchased a copy of "Boys in the Band.” I would like to read the parts that I’ll be reading tomorrow so it won’t be cold. Would you mind cueing me?”

  Colin produced the book that was lying on the coffee table. I move around and sat next to him. He opened the page where his character comes in. He had already underlined all of his lines in red.

  We began. I would read the line before his and he would read his line. There was one monologue the character had that Colin read beautifully. There was no doubt in my mind. If Colin reads this way tomorrow, he will be cast. We read his cues and lines over several times.

  Finally, Colin put the book down and pulled me close to him. "Thank you for helping me with that. It’s always nice to have someone cue you. Now, I’m going to reward you with a nice dinner. Do you like duck?”

  I thought I smelled something cooking as we were reading. I had no idea that it was going to be my dinner. "Is there anything I can do to help?”

  "Yes, you can set the table,” he said.

  We got up and walked into the kitchen. Colin put some vegetables on to cook as I began to place the dishes and cutlery out. Everything in the apartment was so expensive. The dishes were real china and the cutlery was silver. The napkins had gold thread weaved into them. While I was attending to my duties, I inquired from Colin about his friend who owned the apartment. "Is your friend independently wealthy? I can’t believe he can afford a place like this on an actor’s salary.”

  "Yes, his father was an oil tycoon. When he died five years ago, he left him his fortune. He also has a beautiful mansion in Texas that was once owned by his father. He told me once that he grew up there,” he said.

  "You talk like you have been there,” I inquired.

  "When we were on the road with the play I was in with him, we passed through his hometown. He invited several members of the company to spend a few days there. When we weren’t doing the play, we all lounged around the pool and drank margaritas,” he reminisced.

  Colin took the duck from the oven and placed it on the side of the stove. He took a plate and began to cut slices of the duck. Then he placed them on the plate. When about half of the duck had been sliced, he placed the plate in the center of the table. He removed the two pots of cooked vegetables. He placed the vegetable in two glass bowls and put them on the table as well. He removed some bread that had been heating in the oven and put it in a basket with a napkin cover. He removed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, opened it and set it in a cooler. Then we sat down to a feast. Looking over the hearty meal that he’d put in front of me, I couldn’t help commenting. "If acting doesn’t work out, you could always be a chef.” He laughed and began dishing out the food.

  The rest of the evening was wonderful. I liked being with Colin. He never ceased to amaze me. After we had the meal and cleaned up, we relaxed in the living room. We exchanged life stories. When it was time to go to bed, we engaged in a variety of sexual practices we had refined the previous weekend.

  Colin got us up early the next morning. We took showers, had breakfast, and left the apartment around nine o’clock. The first audition was scheduled to begin at ten. Colin said that it’s always a good practice to arrive early. It makes a memorable impression on the producers and director. It is also an opportunity to look over the competition.

  The first auditions were being held in a building similar to the one where Colin lived. It looked like it may have been, at some point in time, a warehouse. When we entered, we were greeted by two people, a man and a woman. They had us sign in. Since the play was "Boys in the Band,” they knew I was only there as an observer. Then they asked Colin which part he was interested in reading. When he told them, they directed us to go into another room with a lot of chairs around the walls. The room was already half full of actors waiting to be called.

  A young woman came out of another room and began calling names. She would have them follow her into yet another room. After fifteen minutes or so, she would reappear and call another group. This went on for about two hours. A few of the actors would come back after their reading and sit
down. Others were not seen again. I asked Colin what was going on. He said the ones who came back were being considered. The others were told "Thank you, but, no thank you.” After Colin read, he came back into the room. He was being considered.

  Finally, the young woman came into the room and made an announcement. "All of you are being considered for the various rolls. We will call you or your agent within the next few days informing you of our decision. Thank you for your time. You may go.”

  It was an interesting process. Their attitude was cold, but to the point. It was interesting. We left the building. The next audition was scheduled for one-thirty in the Village in an Off-Broadway theater. Colin suggested that we walk the seven blocks to the Village and locate a restaurant nearby the theater. We could have some lunch while we killed time.

  It was a nice fall day for a walk. The streets walking toward the Village were not as clogged with people like they were downtown. The people we passed on the streets were a lot friendlier too. We located the theater on Bleecker Street. There was a restaurant about a half block away. Colin said that he had dined there in the past. It was very nice.

  When we went in and got seated, Colin recognized an actor he knew. The actor looked over, smiled and waved. Colin returned the wave. "I’ll bet he’s here to audition for the play,” he said.

  What’s the title of the play?” I asked.

  "I don’t know. It’s new. The ad stated they were looking for three men 25 to 35 years of age. There are also looking for four women 20 to 40 years old. It’s going to be a cold reading since scripts were not readily available. The ad also stated to be prepared to deliver a monologue that you had memorized,” he told me.

  Do you have something committed to memory?” I asked.

  "In college, I was cast as Tom in the ‘Glass Menagerie.’ I still remember the monologues from that play. I could play Tom tomorrow. I would like to get to the theater around one o’clock and get a copy of the script. I can see which part or parts I want to audition for. Then the reading won’t be completely cold,” he finished saying as the waiter took our order. He took a sip of his wine. Then he said, "Why don’t you audition for a part if one of the characters fits your description? It would be a good experience for you”.

  "I would like to very much, but suppose I were to be cast. Then what would I do?” I said with a bit of nervousness in my voice.

  "You tell them at school you are going to take a sabbatical. Then tell them you’ll return when the play ends its run. That’s what I intend to do,” he said with a resolve.

  I sat there and contemplated everything he just said. I would like to give it a try. I’ve auditioned before at college, so I’m not unfamiliar with the process. My reading skills are above average. I know how to tackle a character cold. I’ve only been in New York for a month and I’m going to be auditing for an Off-Broadway play. I couldn’t think of anything more exciting. Colin offered me another glass of wine, but I refused. I wanted to have a clear head when I walked into that theater.

  Colin checked his watch. He noticed the actor sitting across from us was preparing to leave. Colin was positive where he was headed. Colin turned to me and said, "Let’s go.” He called the waiter over and gave him a twenty dollar bill. He told him to keep the change. We left the restaurant.

  The closer we got to the door of the theater, the more nervous I was becoming. When I get nervous my legs begin to shake. It can make walking very difficult. I held on to Colin to hold me steady. He didn’t have a clue what was going on. We opened the door and walked into the lobby. Once again, there were two people manning a desk. This time there were two young women looking up at us. The routine was the same as in the morning. We signed in and were instructed to go into a green room. Chairs were lined around the walls. Another young woman came into the room after a few minutes and began to hand out scripts. There were more women at the audition than men. However, it was a good showing. The young man we saw at the restaurant was also there. I began to look through the script.

  The play was titled, "Haven’t We Met Before?” It was about reincarnation. There were a group of characters that knew each other in the Stone Age. The next time they all crossed paths was in ancient Egypt. They met in two or three other past life times. Finally, they collect together in the present day. It’s focused on one couple who meet in these different periods of time, but each time they fall in love, something always interferes with their getting together. When they meet in the present they get engaged to be married. Again, something happens that almost destroys their chances of being together in this life. But it has a happy ending. In my opinion, it was a sappy little play, but I was sure it would have audience appeal.

  The woman who had passed out the scripts came back into the room. She began to pair the men and women together. Since Colin and I were sitting next to one another, we were paired. That relaxed me somewhat that I would be reading with Colin. She said the director would assign the parts he wanted us to read when called. Then they began to call the pairs into the auditorium.

  When it was our turn, we followed the young woman. Sitting in the center of the stage were four people. It was a theater in the round. They introduced themselves as the director, the producer, the stage manager and the playwright. They had us come up to the table where they were seated. They wanted to get a good look at us. The producer turned to the others and said, "They make a nice couple.” The director instructed us to turn to page seven. We were assigned the parts he wanted us to read. He asked us if we had time to look over the scene. We answered in the negative. Colin and I had rushed through the script to get an idea as to its content. We hadn’t had time to study each scene.

  The director asked us to read the first scene. That was where the young man meets the young woman for the first time in the Stone Age. During the reading, I could feel the chemistry between Colin and me carrying over into the scene. When we had finished reading the scene, the director had us move to the next scene. He had us read every scene between these two characters throughout the play.

  While we were reading, the director began making some notes. When we finished, he requested that we turn in our resumes. Colin pulled a folded paper from his pocket and handed it to him. The director looked up at me. "I’m sorry; sir, but I didn’t bring a resume. I wasn’t intending to read.” Pointing toward Colin, "He insisted that I read with him.”

  The director said, "Don’t you want to be considered for this play?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I was embarrassed. "I’m not sure. I’m a student at the theater school downtown. If I were to be cast, I would have to give up my education.” The director gave me a look as if I had wasted his time. I took a pause, and then I said, "I’m sorry, sir, if I wasted your time.”

  "I liked your reading very much. Do you have any stage experience?” he asked.

  "Yes. I was in several main stage productions in Kansas where I attended the community college,” I replied.

  "Do me a favor. Write down the names of the plays you were previously cast and the characters you played. Also include your name, phone number and the name of the college you attended in Kansas.” The director glanced down at the paper Colin had handed him. "Thank you, Colin, for coming today, you gave a very intelligent reading. I’ll be in touch.”

  We left the auditorium. We stepped into the lobby. The script girl came running behind us. "The director wants me to assure that you leave the information that he requested.”

  I picked up a pen and paper from the table. I wrote the titles of the productions and characters I played. I wrote my name, phone number and the name of the college I attended in Kansas. When I finished, I handed the paper to the young woman. She disappeared back into the auditorium. We left the theater.

  When we got outside, Colin turned to me and said, "I got the feeling they want us for that play.”

  "I think you’re right. It scares me. I don’t want to ruin my reputation before I get started. This kind of thing could get me blackballed
. I made a mistake by reading with you. I had no intention of wanting to be cast.” I was really upset. I should have gone to class and skipped this little escapade.

  Colin tried to calm me. "Look! If I get cast in both plays, I’m going to accept the ‘Boys in the Band.’ It’s a much better play and part. So, it’s quite possible, I could end up on the director’s shit list as well. On the other hand, if you get cast and I was you, I would accept the part. Take a leave of absence from school. They’ll understand.”

  "When I was accepted into the school, they were very adamant that I shouldn’t audition until I graduated. The director at the school said I couldn’t do both and the education should come first. I’ve only been in school for a week. So what did I do? I auditioned.”

  Colin attempted to rationalize what I had done. "Do you want to be a professional student or a professional actress? At some point, that’s a decision you’ll have to make. I told you when we first met that I was in the school as an interim student. When a part comes along and is offered, I’m gone. I think I performed well at both auditions today, but, I’ve been there before. You don’t have a part until you get that phone call and sign a contract.”