Have We Met?

Witch arrived at Jerwood Space this morning to discover a cornucopia of coffee, cake and small talk. Ah, the "Meet-and-Greet"...

Well, they call it a "Meet-and-Greet", but everyone invariably sticks with the people they already know, so consequently neither meet nor greet happens. It's usually a seething mass of small, twitchy clusters; everyone seemingly happy to be there, but equally jittery. Eyes dart to more interesting groups on the other side of the room. Smiles are strained, laughs are louder, conversation is a little forced. The laws of politeness apply.

Today there was none of that. Many of us knew one another from the workshop in January, and the new people had been in the week before to get up to speed. I don't know if being plied with cake had anything to do with it, but the atmosphere was unusually relaxed.

I was slightly alarmed when I reached the studio upstairs to find about a hundred chairs laid out in an enormous circle. What were they planning? A mass séance? Or maybe a giant prayer meeting? Should I expect to find myself kneeling on the floor, eyes rolling to the heavens and manically shouting Hallelujah? I know I'm playing a nun, but that surely would be method acting in the extreme...

Happily it was neither. Just a plain old Stand-Up-And-Introduce-Yourself affair. In fact, we were asked to say our name, role and state our favourite film. As it came around to me, I kept trying to think of some amazing movie that would set me out from the crowd, some highbrow-yet-edgy piece of arthouse, something like Withnail and I or Apocolypse Now - a film with instant kudos that would let everyone know how educated and cool I was.

Unfortunately, when it got to my turn, the first thing that came into my head was Dirty Dancing.

Unlucky.

Curiously, the studio floor was raised a couple of feet. I was trying to work out exactly why, when the director enlightened us that a revolve had been inserted into the floor. A revolve. Wow. I knew this show was going to be big, but a revolve in the rehearsal space? Now, that's posh.

Haven't had a go on it yet. Apparently it makes you seasick. Oddly, I can't wait.

We got straight into a vocal call, starting with the end of act one, Take Me To Heaven. Man, this song is genius. Alan Menken has expertly woven classic seventies disco themes together, with obvious references to acts like Donna Summer and Chic. Equally brilliant are Glenn Slater's lyrics. The song is used twice in the show: once in Deloris' seedy nightclub and again for the nuns' launch as a choir under her direction. The words remain the same, but sit comfortably in two different contexts.

It was a good day, all in all. It's going to be an exciting few months. Whoopi's coming over at some point as well. I don't know when, but I literally can't wait. I'll be looking out for her every day...

Other highlights were seeing Rosamund Pike in the ladies' sorting out her contact lenses, dressed in jeans and a massive crinoline, and Dame Judy in the canteen. Now, that's showbiz.

Tomorrow we start dancing. Look out, knees.