h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is this the right place to be wishing for people to break a leg?

I like the sound of tap dancing.

Do you have actual dance instructors as part of your theatre group, David? Or do you have to go out and schedule classes on your own?

We hire a choreographer, director and musical director for the shows, so we get real dance people come in, set the dances and teach us the steps. I had four tap dance sessions over the summer (which were organised by the society, as they knew there'd be tap dancing in the show), but that's all the tap training I've had. They were very mixed ability from never-tapped people like me to tapped-for-decades people.

We also 'borrow' a bunch of young people from the local dance school where the show's two choreographers work. They supplement the really dancy numbers, but there does seem to be a concerted effort not to have a sharp divide between the dancers and the rest of the cast, which is good. I'm still a bit scared of them, though - people who can do what they do are amazing!

Once I'd been cast, I did want to get some tap training on my own last term, but couldn't afford it.

Another weekend of rehearsals over, and I am becoming increasngly aware of tension between various parties involved in the show. I hope everyone puts egos aside and pulls together.

On Friday night, we went over 'The Sun Has Got His Hat On' again with everyone, and found that the stage gets rather crowded. It seems to be working as a silly, frenetic and infectious number, though, and I get terribly out of breath after it! My tap bit is coming along - the choreographers seemed to be really encouraged by the fact that I had gone off and done some practice on my own. Hmm, not some. Lots! Every time I get a spare minute or so alone, I'll do a little jig, runing through one or other bit of my dancing. It's possible that I'm doing it in my sleep as well - I was certainly very tired when I woke up this morning!

On Sunday afternoon, we had a purely musical rehearsal with just the principals. We ran through the finale for the first time, where I have a very high harmony line as I sing a trio with the other two main male characters for a bit. We then break into even greater degrees of harmony towards the end - harmonies that we didn't nail at all. We'll be singing that bit with the ensemble, though, so maybe we'll pick it up properly when we have our full company musical rehearsal in a couple of weeks. Other than sorting out te harmony, the musical director didn't have much she needed to say to me, so either I'm doing my singing bits right or she's completely given up on me... I was one of the last people to be needed, and stuck around after my songs were completed to help one of the leads with their lines while the other sang their songs.

I'm not needed again for this Tuesday's rehearsal. More time for jigging about in the kitchen, then!

Oh and Lil, I wouldn't mind that much if I broke my leg (aside from the pain ), as it would mean I'd have a great excuse for not learning the rest of the dancy bits. I could sway from side to side on crutches - I have a feeling I couldn't possibly mess that up!

Urk, cliques and over-large egos - the worst part of amateur theatre. That's why I've stuck with my drama group for so long even when I had a forty-five minute drive each way to get to rehearsals. We're all friends and there are no committees (so goodness knows how anything ever gets done but somehow it does ) and it's just a nice, friendly group of people.

The operatic society I'm in is slightly more cliquey but still very friendly and welcoming to new members, so that's pretty good too.

Is it tension between principals or chorus?

It's not within the acting people... It's the people who call the shots who aren't getting along very well.

Oh dear... that's more tricky.

Just got back from an asbolutely shambolic rehearsal. It started late because the school we were using had just given their caretaker his redundancy notice, and he had retaliated by padlocking all the gates, so that we couldn't get in when we arrived. It was quite nice standing out in the snow and dreaming of amusing ways to get in, but not very constructive.

Then it was just mess from then on in. The tensions I mentioned from last week are still very much present, but are being worked through, but by the time we started, there were lots of grumpy people and about half a dozen people had decided they couldn't be bothered to wait and drove off home. We tried to refresh the Lambeth Walk, but most people (not me... ) had forgotten the whole thing, so it had to be relearnt. And even though I hadn't forgotten it, my feet were in rebellion against me and kept trying to make me fall over. We got there in the end, but that was all we did.

Photoshoot for the main characters on Sunday. Should be fun and much less shambolic.

Is shambolic your word of the week? It's a new one to me.

No, I didn't do a word of the week this week (very remiss of me). Hmm, it's possible that I made it up - shambolic = like a shambles, a complete and utter mess.

There was a new word in a public service announcment the other day - ecolonomics. I'm not sure about the spelling. Anyway, it is doing things that are both good for the environment (like recycling) that are also sound economic choices.

Shambolic's definitely a word - and one that I use now and again for our lot too!

You don't want to get on the wrong side of school caretakers. My old operatic society rehearsed in my school and you could guarantee that on the dot of 10.00pm the caretaker would appear at the back of the theatre, jangling his keys in a very obvious manner...

We don't use this school very often (only when the usual churh hall is unavailable) so we were seriously unlucky on this occasion.

The photoshoot on Sunday was good fun, but jolly chilly when we took some exterior shots. If I can get hold of some digital versions, I'll be sure to provide linkage.

- I'd like to see the shots, David.

Me too . Are they the 'cheesy group shot all wearing "M&MG" sweatshirts' or tending toward 'posed action shots in costume' - will you be there with your monocle?

Posed shots of seven principals in costume, all done at a lovely country house half an hour from Canterbury. I am indeed bemonocled, and wearing a beautiful tweed jacket, deerstalker hat and plus fours (those baggy trouser things that end just below the knee). When someone said that the gear suited me, I nearly hit them!

I am now trying to write my biog for the programme - I've never had to write one before and am trying not to be cheesy.

It might be best not to mention the owl bit.

Why not? The audience will find out what manner of creature I am as soon as I appear on the stage, so it might be best to warn them that they're about to see a tap-dancing librarian owl...

Ooh no, you have to be cheesy - it is amateur theatre after all!

I had to write my first one for The Mikado. I managed to get a little joke in about the weird parts I've played with my other drama group in the Terry Pratchett plays, including a werewolf, a witch and a dwarf with a beard!