To Get Ahead You Need A Sponsor

In 2015 I auditioned for a part with a large city theatre group. I got the part, my first real part in theatre. The play lasted three weeks and was well received. I felt I had nailed my part and I would be asked back. What I got was a call from a man who said he had seen the play and wanted to talk to me.

I was not in on why he called me. If I was his girlfriend, he would sponsor me. He liked starlets like me. I checked around and I was told every girl had to have a sponsor, that went for guys too. One of the reasons so many male actors were gay. That I was a lesbian didn't matter, he liked what he saw and he would sponsor me, or my one hit wonder would be it.

I wasn't his only girlfriend. He had an older experienced actress on the payroll. She slept with him. She was my manager. The more he saw me, the more often he wanted to see me. Until it became a regular thing. My auditions were successful, I got better and better parts. Until I became a permanent member of the company.

That's why I have ten uninterrupted years on stage. My sponsor loves me. What can I say.