Inside the Radio Times Rehearsal Room PART ONE: Me, My Ukulele and I

12 July 2011

It’s been nearly a year since The Watermill’s rehearsal room was packed so tightly – we are currently bursting at the seams with eleven cast members, a director, a musical director, a choreographer, an assistant director and me, the deputy stage manager. And that’s not even to mention the stacks of props, musical instruments, music stands, costume etc. scattered around the room. Finding your way to the door is a mission in itself! Oh and did I mention the twelve ukulele’s?!

As is always the way with our actor-musician shows, everyone plays an instrument at some point. If on day one you say you can’t play anything, rest assured you’ll have added a new string to your bow by week two! And this show is no exception. It never fails to surprise me how talented and determined these guys are – I don’t think I would be able to run around our 4×4 stage playing a double bass and singing at the same time – could you?!

Having left rehearsals one evening last week feeling utterly talentless, I decided to take it upon myself to bulk out the skills section of my CV by learning the ukulele – I mean, how hard could it be? Foolish optimism perhaps, as an hour into my practice I had barely managed a two-chord version of Row, Row, Row, Your Boat. Needless to say, after a couple more intense sessions I can now play a rather sketchy version of one of our numbers, Hey Little Hen. I now await my stage debut! (I could be waiting awhile…)

Sammy Kate Smith, Deputy Stage Manager