short skirts and low-cut tops, and are busy with their mobile phones and
their texts.
No one speaks because they know theyre soul mates who have all been through the same
difficulties and have uncomplainingly faced the same challenges and accepted each knockout
blow. Theyre all trying hard to believe that dreams have no sell-by date, that life can
change from one second to the next, that somewhere the right moment is wait- ing for them,
and that this is just a test of their willpower.
Theyve all perhaps quarreled with their families, who are con- vinced their daughters will
end up working as prostitutes.
Theyve all been on stage and experienced the agony and the ec- stasy of seeing the
audience and knowing that every eye is fixed on them; theyve felt the electricity in the
air and heard the applause at the end. Theyve imagined a hundred times over that there
will come a night when a member of the Superclass will be in the audience and visit them
in their dressing room after the performance with some- thing more substantial to offer than an invitation to supper, a request for their phone
number, or compliments on a job well done.
To begin with, they accepted a few of those invitations, but the only place they led to
was the bed of some powerful, older manusually married, as all the interesting men
areconcerned only with notch- ing up another conquest.
They all had a boyfriend their own age, but when anyone asked if they were married or
single, they always answered: Free and unat- tached. They thought they were in control of
the situation. Theyve all been toldhundreds of times nowthat they have real talent and
just need the right opportunity, and that the person there before them is the one who can
transform their lives. Theyve occasionally believed this too. Theyve fallen into the trap
of being overconfident and think- ing they were in charge, until the next day came and the
phone number theyd been given put them through to the extension of a very grumpy secretary
who had no intention of letting them speak to her boss.
Theyve threatened to sell their story to the tabloids, saying that they had been deceived,
although none of them has ever actually done so because theyre still at the stage of
thinking: I mustnt spoil my chances in the acting world.
One or two may even have shared Gabrielas Alice in Wonderland experience, and now want to
prove to their families that theyre far more capable than they thought. Their families, of
course, have all by now seen their daughters in commercials, on posters and billboards
scattered round the city, and, after a few initial arguments, are con- vinced that those
same daughters are on the verge of entering a world of bright lights and glamour.
All the girls there believed that their dream was possible, that one day their talent
would be recognized, until the penny dropped: there is only one magic wordcontacts. They
had all distributed their books as soon as they arrived in Cannes, and now keep a constant
eye on their mobile phone, getting invited to whatever launches and events they can and
trying their best to get into those they cant, always dreaming that someone will ask them
to one of the evening parties or, dream of dreams, award them that greatest of prizes, an
invitation to walk down the red carpet at the Palais des Congres. That, however, was probably the most
difficult dream to realize, so difficult that they didnt really allow themselves to think
about it, in case the feelings of rejection and frustration destroyed their ability to
wear the happy face they must wear at all times, even when theyre not happy at all.
Contacts.
After many cases of mistaken identity, they did find the occasional useful contact, which
is why theyre here. One such contact had led to a New Zealand producer calling them. None
had asked what it was about; they knew only that they had to be
their texts.
No one speaks because they know theyre soul mates who have all been through the same
difficulties and have uncomplainingly faced the same challenges and accepted each knockout
blow. Theyre all trying hard to believe that dreams have no sell-by date, that life can
change from one second to the next, that somewhere the right moment is wait- ing for them,
and that this is just a test of their willpower.
Theyve all perhaps quarreled with their families, who are con- vinced their daughters will
end up working as prostitutes.
Theyve all been on stage and experienced the agony and the ec- stasy of seeing the
audience and knowing that every eye is fixed on them; theyve felt the electricity in the
air and heard the applause at the end. Theyve imagined a hundred times over that there
will come a night when a member of the Superclass will be in the audience and visit them
in their dressing room after the performance with some- thing more substantial to offer than an invitation to supper, a request for their phone
number, or compliments on a job well done.
To begin with, they accepted a few of those invitations, but the only place they led to
was the bed of some powerful, older manusually married, as all the interesting men
areconcerned only with notch- ing up another conquest.
They all had a boyfriend their own age, but when anyone asked if they were married or
single, they always answered: Free and unat- tached. They thought they were in control of
the situation. Theyve all been toldhundreds of times nowthat they have real talent and
just need the right opportunity, and that the person there before them is the one who can
transform their lives. Theyve occasionally believed this too. Theyve fallen into the trap
of being overconfident and think- ing they were in charge, until the next day came and the
phone number theyd been given put them through to the extension of a very grumpy secretary
who had no intention of letting them speak to her boss.
Theyve threatened to sell their story to the tabloids, saying that they had been deceived,
although none of them has ever actually done so because theyre still at the stage of
thinking: I mustnt spoil my chances in the acting world.
One or two may even have shared Gabrielas Alice in Wonderland experience, and now want to
prove to their families that theyre far more capable than they thought. Their families, of
course, have all by now seen their daughters in commercials, on posters and billboards
scattered round the city, and, after a few initial arguments, are con- vinced that those
same daughters are on the verge of entering a world of bright lights and glamour.
All the girls there believed that their dream was possible, that one day their talent
would be recognized, until the penny dropped: there is only one magic wordcontacts. They
had all distributed their books as soon as they arrived in Cannes, and now keep a constant
eye on their mobile phone, getting invited to whatever launches and events they can and
trying their best to get into those they cant, always dreaming that someone will ask them
to one of the evening parties or, dream of dreams, award them that greatest of prizes, an
invitation to walk down the red carpet at the Palais des Congres. That, however, was probably the most
difficult dream to realize, so difficult that they didnt really allow themselves to think
about it, in case the feelings of rejection and frustration destroyed their ability to
wear the happy face they must wear at all times, even when theyre not happy at all.
Contacts.
After many cases of mistaken identity, they did find the occasional useful contact, which
is why theyre here. One such contact had led to a New Zealand producer calling them. None
had asked what it was about; they knew only that they had to be
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