When I first heard that we were going to perform Hiawatha, I didn't really know what to expect, having never heard of the story before. In the first few sessions, Ursula explained to us the story of the young and brave Hiawatha. We were also allocated parts and began to rehearse the movement and dance pieces that required us to behave in an animalistic way, to represent Native American warriors. This, at times, was quite strenuous and by the end of the session, it left most of the group with aching joints.

It all seemed to be coming together when we started rehearsing the script, and the movement pieces we'd learnt previously were gradually put into context. However, learning the pronunciation of foreign words has proved to be a challenge at times. This authenticity has also been followed through in the music and costumes. The costumes in particular promise to be magnificent; ethereal white robes for the character Mudjekeewis – the West Wind and an authentic feather head piece are just two examples of the attention to detail in the production. Recently we have been experimenting and practising moving with streams of fabric. These will convey some parts of the fight scenes, and will be used to represent the landscapes and the river.

Peter Robinson comments on how he thinks its going so far, "It's very different to anything I’ve done with Masque before. It’s shaping up to be amazing."