Rehearsal diary, week 4

'Cloud Nine' by Caryl Churchill

---

By Jo Hollingworth

Monday 2 Oct 2006

So from today there is an exact calendar month until the show´s up…just thought I´d mention it…there is nothing like blind panic to get the old creative juices flowing in all directions. We had a bigger room in the Uni. today which was fab although Poo (Indulgence Theatre Costume Designer and Super Woman) got lost trying to find us and had to be escorted in by a security guard type person and I got lost on the way back from the loo. But at least there was one!

Poo had come with a selection of glorious bits and bobs for us to try on including a skirt for me in Act 1 with a bustle the size of a small continent. Yes, my bum will definitely look big in it. It´s very ‘Maud´ though…she seems to be getting more and more like Lady Bracknell every time I open my mouth…and now I´ve got a fan AND a parasol…

Simon tried his cossie on to a chorus of ‘oooohs and aaaahs´ from the rest of the cast. I don´t want to give too much away but he looks gorgeous and I am very jealous. There was a lot of discussion regarding Lindsey´s nipples and whether or not they should be on show… (This is for Joshua the ‘black´ servant in Act 1) Can´t remember what the outcome was but am sure all will be revealed in a months time. Or maybe not.

We had a staggered run of Act 1 tonight with pauses for blocking debates and costume fittings. Didn´t quite have time to finish the last scene so we´re going to tackle that on Wednesday back at the warehouse. That´s if we can agree on the position of the wedding cake. Watch this space…

Wednesday 4 Oct 2006

Back in the Warehouse and everyone is raring to go. Well I say everyone…a certain cast member had to have her hair cut today in preparation for the show and although she was very co-operative at the time - motionless in fact – I thought it best to give her an early night after her ordeal. And to be honest, her acting is pretty wooden at the best of times…or rather plastic. Yes, I am talking about young Victoria from Act 1 who I have to say I am becoming increasingly attached to…

So we pinpointed the exact position of the wedding cake and nailed the last scene of the first half which is quite complicated with everyone on stage, champagne glasses, speeches and a cat fight…but I think we´re getting there. After a break for admiring Kev´s homemade pith helmet and some very competitive fan practise we moved on to Act 2.

The action moves to a London park in 1979 and we all have to get our heads around this AND playing totally different characters (and sexes in some cases.) It´s complicated but I think we´re getting into the swing of it now. I´m not sure how I´m going to pull off playing a 27 year old but hopefully the Lady Di fringe will cover up a multitude of sins, bags and wrinkles…

A lot of discussion tonight about Edward´s attitude towards his sexuality, his feelings towards his mother and whether or not he should have his own wheelbarrow… Aggi announced that she is not going to remove her hat at any point during the second half (although she will have several…isn´t Ebay wonderful?) and Daniel would like a man-sized skipping rope with proper wooden handles. Don´t ask…

We finished the evening off with an orgy…the one in scene 3. Believe me…this is NOT as exciting as it sounds when you´re trying to look and sound drunk and passionate with a script in one hand, sprawling around on a dirty floor whilst reciting an incantation to Ishtar or Isis or Anahita or whatever. Actually I´m lying…it´s a right laugh and I love every minute of it just don´t tell my mother…

After all that we definitely deserved a pint or two so we brushed ourselves off and headed off to the nearest public house with cheap beer and accessible toilets…heaven!

Thursday 5 Oct 2006

Began this evening with the orgy (hurrah!) to see if we could sort ourselves out and get the movement feeling right. Still very hard whilst we are on the book…an evening in with Mala and Simon and a bottle or two is definitely required to get it stuck in our heads. Well, that´s our excuse any way…

The highlight of tonight´s activities was definitely Kev´s plans for the song in Act 2, ‘Cloud Nine´. Mala has written a fab up- beat boppy tune for it which I naively thought we would warble along to and maybe hop from one foot to the other and wave our arms about a bit as a sort of nod to a dance routine (I am not renown for my movement abilities onstage…) Oh no. Not a bit of it. Well, it´s not like any dance routine I´ve ever seen! Again, I don´t want to give away any details but it´s definitely not one for my mother.

After all that excitement we still managed to stagger to the end of the play with relative ease, although I have to confess having to stop and use a paper cup at one point (can I actually write that in a rehearsal diary…?) All very weary by the end…three rehearsals a week are no more than necessary but no less exhausting! No pub tonight…am determined to be off the book for Act 1 by Monday. Yes folks, you read it here first…

And just for the record…I am so totally the best fanner in the cast so there.