大象传媒

Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 April 2009

This week I have discovered that I cannot stand still for love nor money! I find it physically impossible. I can sit or lie virtually motionless for hours on end 鈥� usually of an evening or on a Sunday in front of the football. My only movement being to reach for the remote to turn to the Come Dine With Me omnibus!

But tell me to stand still on the stage for a few minutes and I really can鈥檛. At the very least, I can see my shadow swaying, and at its worst I am shifting ever so slightly from leg to leg, mainly to keep the circulation going and stop me from keeling over! Only the house is allowed to collapse in this show!

Katy in her new "lighter" coat!

To counteract this, and also remedy the fact that I was fairly hidden on the first night, I have now manoeuvred myself into a gap between a telephone box and a lamp post, so you can now see me, at least from certain areas of the auditorium, and I also have something to lean against to keep me still! I just hope that phone box is as sturdy as it feels!

It鈥檚 also very hot on the stage. Talk about my moment in the spotlight 鈥� it鈥檚 actually seven very long ones, and as I was wearing a kind of 1940s duffle coat which was very heavy, I decided to change it, in a diva-esque fashion, into something lighter, which I really like! In fact, I would even wear this in 鈥渘ormal鈥� life so the Wardrobe Mistress had better count all her costumes back in!

I have also discovered that this acting lark is a very tiring business. Both Wednesday and Thursday have been 鈥渢wo performance鈥� days with both a matinee and an evening show 鈥� and boy do we now know what working in the theatre is all about!

The thing is, we are only on stage for a few minutes really, and we don鈥檛 even have any lines to remember. But I still feel exhausted by the whole getting to the theatre routine, getting ready and the adrenalin rush of being on stage! What鈥檚 more, I haven鈥檛 actually had any hot food since Monday evening, surviving on a mixture of homemade sandwiches 鈥� when I have had two seconds to myself to make them that is 鈥� plus cold supermarket fare and a lot of fruit!

So I can only imagine what it鈥檚 like being on stage for nearly the whole time, remembering a little thing like your 鈥渨ords鈥� and not even having an interval for a cuppa and a re-group! And I thought that actors who wanted a bed in their dressing rooms were pretentious, or promiscuous 鈥� or a bit of both! Now I see how it鈥檚 essential for a between show nap!

The audiences mind you, have been great, with lots of clapping and cheering at the end, and that really gives you a boost! I would act purely for that appreciation 鈥� how many other people get a round of applause for doing their job?!

'Supers' on stage in 'An Inspector Calls'

The afternoon shows are especially lively, mainly down to the fact that they are usually populated by school kids who are studying the play as a set text. One afternoon I walked to the Stage Door through the theatre square and it was absolutely packed with youngsters 鈥� the noise was deafening, and I knew that we were in for a good one!

I can totally understand the exaggerated laughter though 鈥� having been there myself on many a school trip. You know the scenario 鈥� teachers tell you not to giggle, ergo you REALLY want to giggle. Therefore, even the tiniest hint of humour will bring about an explosion of pent up laughter, leaving those on stage wondering if they have suddenly turned into Michael McIntyre (he鈥檚 VERY funny by the way!)

However, now we鈥檙e a few performances in and things have settled down, and despite my lack of proper food, I have started to find time to do a bit of reading between performances. And as opening a book before 9.00pm is practically unheard of in the normal working week, that has to be a good thing!

My main problem is how my household organisation has gone completely to pot and it鈥檚 as much as I can do to get a couple of pints of milk! And worse, we ran out of dog food which caused a right kerfuffle, and led to some guilt-inducing soulful eyes from the dog.

My normally highly domesticated hubby started a new job this week and has been working a bit longer than normal while settling in, so between us we are in complete disarray. Part of me just longs for Sunday when normal life can resume, which means mainly shopping and loading the dishwasher 鈥� and most importantly, a nice big chunk of sleep!