Centre Stage: A Novel

he knew them both because they had all been part of the chorus in the Christmas show at the Palace Theatre the year before.
    ‘So you’ve been in a film, then?’ Jack said to me.
    ‘Yeah,’ I nodded.
    ‘And you had the lead. That is so cool!’ Colette said.
    ‘When’s it coming out?’ Mark asked.
    ‘Next summer I think,’ I replied, feeling a bit awkward. I was proud I’d been in the film but I didn’t want them to think I was making out I was some kind of famous film star. ‘I haven’t done any theatre shows before though.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s great that you’re in our team,’ Colette said. ‘It means we’re bound to be chosen for the first night.’
    The boys nodded.
    ‘First night?’ I echoed.
    ‘The director chooses the best team to perform on the first night,’ Colette explained. ‘It’s the performance to do. Everyone who’s important goes — agents, casting directors, the press. If you’re in a big show like this you just have to perform on the first night.’
    ‘It means we’ve got to really be good in rehearsals,’ Mark said. ‘You’ve got to do your absolute best all the time.’
    Just then Velda clapped her hands. ‘OK, everyone, gather round!’
    We all made our way over. Dizzy was standing by Velda. She was wearing a maroon all-in-one footless leotard and a bright-pink ballet top. A purple sweatshirt was tied round her waist.
    ‘Hello, everyone,’ she said as the chatter died down. ‘Welcome to the first day of rehearsals. We’re going to start with a few introductory games to learn each other’s names and then I’ll teach you the opening company number. Now, to start off with, let’s have you all in a circle.’
    For the next fifteen minutes we played games to learn each other’s names. First we had to go round the circle saying our name and then we had to throw a ball round saying first our name and then the name of the person you were throwing it to. Then we had to do the same but with an imaginary ball. Dizzy was quite strict. She didn’t put up with any giggling or messing around. I had a feeling that you definitely wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her.
    Once we’d got each other’s names sorted, we did a warm up. It was fun — a bit like an aerobics class. When we had finished, Dizzy told me, Jack, Mark and Colette and the other principals — Justine, Samantha, David and Xav — to sit out. ‘You aren’t in the first dance,’ she told us, ‘so Stefan’s going to be along in a moment to take you for a singing rehearsal.’
    She split everyone else into two teams. ‘These are the teams you’ll be in for the performances,’ she explained. She pointed to the group on her left. ‘This side is the blue team. You’ll have Sophie, Colette, Jack and Mark as your principals. The rest of you are the red team. You’ll be with Justine, Samantha, David and Xav. Right, let’s get started.’
    First Dizzy demonstrated a series of steps and then everyone repeated them. When she was happy that everyone had mastered the steps, she turned on the tape player and they went through them to the music.
    It was frightening how quickly the people in the chorus learnt the steps. Some of them only seemed to need to watch Dizzy once in order to pick up the dance. I began to feel worried. I was nowhere near as good.
    Colette leaned over to me. ‘It’s all fairly easy stuff, isn’t it?’ she whispered confidently.
    Easy! I forced a smile and nodded. ‘Yeah, it looks fine.’
    Just then Stefan came into the room. He beckoned for the eight of us to follow him outside.
    ‘Looks like it’s time for a music rehearsal,’ Colette said to me. ‘How’s your singing?’
    ‘OK,’ I said, glad to be able to tell the truth.
    Stefan took us upstairs to a music room with a piano. ‘We’re going to start with your first song,’ he told us. ‘It shows the four children being evacuated from London, travelling on the train and arriving at the house.’
    He began by getting us to sing a series of scales. When he was happy that our voices were warmed up, we started on the song. It wasn’t hard. Stefan sang a line and then we had to copy him. Once we’d got the basic tune sorted out, he listened to us one at a time. It was quite nerve-racking singing on my own but, to my relief, I didn’t have any problems.
    ‘You have a very good ear and a sweet voice,’ Stefan smiled to me as I finished.
    I blushed. Phew!
    Most of the others had to go over their