Copacabana – third week of rehearsals

7 July 2010

Another hot and busy week. Craig’s mission is to get Act 2 on its feet. It’s a real rollercoaster of a ride for Lola. Act 2 is full of drama: kidnapping, drugs, violence, but, for those looking for romance, there’s plenty of that too.

The week commences with the cast learning the choreography to ‘Ay Caramba’. My character doesn’t appear in this number, but I’m starting to wish she did – the choreography is fierce. It’s going to be a great opener to the act.

Tuesday’s an incredibly long day. Rehearsals continue on into the evening and, by the end, we all decide on ‘one’ quick drink before bed. Oh dear…‘one’ drink soon turns into another…and another…and another. We all have to let our hair down at some point, right? Well, that’s what I tell myself as I polish off my final glass of wine and stumble into a taxi.

Wednesday morning is a joy! There’s nothing better than waking up with a stinking headache and a weak stomach, knowing you’ve got a full day’s rehearsal ahead of you. Nevertheless, we all carry on with rehearsals in a very professional manner. No time for hangovers in our schedule!

We manage to get through a run of Act 2 on Friday afternoon. It’s a short act which covers the majority of action in the plot. By the end of the day, we’re absolutely shattered and desperate for a couple of days off to digest it all.

Now the basic blocking is there, the work really begins. From next week we will start to dissect the piece and colour the characters. Bring on week 4!

Laura Pitt-Pulford (Lola La Mar)