Cosi Van Tutte

Our rehearsals for Cosi begin in the out-of-town rehearsal venue TUP (absolutely no idea yet what that stands for), which has space for 3 productions to rehearse there at any time in its cavernous warehouse. From the first day we are in a rehearsal costume - changing behind little cardboard screens into dresses that bear the namebadges of old productions - and there is a mock set, with a marooned staircase that leads to nowhere so that we can imagine an upper level. 

For the first few days I understand absolutely nothing of what is said, my German not being able to cope with the flurry of new vocabulary - stage, slang and esoteric. Many of the stage words are French in origin, pronounced in unsparing German: props are 'die Requisite', the prompter is a 'Souffleur'. As the days pass however, I am increasingly able to stand in the right place at the right time, and at last the day comes when I am nodding and smiling in understanding rather than awkwardness.