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Before each performance Belinda likes to make sure she is properly warmed up and prepared; to do this he has a routine of physical and vocal exercises which include Yoga and voice work. Phebe does not appear in the play until Act 3 Scene 5, therefore Belinda has a long time to wait between her warm up and her first appearance as Phebe. The wrestling match for As You Like It takes place in the yard and Belinda, with other cast members, goes into the yard to control the groundlings and to help clear areas for the wrestling to take place. Belinda is not in costume as Phebe at this point but wears her own clothes. This gives her an excellent opportunity to get the feel of the audience and a sense of the mood and pace of that particular performance.

After the wrestling match Belinda goes to her dressing room and begins to get into costume, she likes to leave this until the last possible moment as she feels that once she is in costume she is ready to go on stage. First Belinda’s hair is styled then a dresser helps her into her costume. Belinda hardly wears any make up for the role of Phebe, only mascara, so by the interval she is ready. At this point she goes to the top of the tiring house and runs through her lines and starts to think about her concentration point for that day. Belinda has a different concentration point for each performance, this can be based on an idea, or a tiny aspect of her character. Previous concentration points have included: ‘Phebe tries to prove that she is educated’, ‘Phebe wants to leave the forest to live in the city’ or ‘Phebe feels irritated by everything Silvius says or does’. Identifying a single point of concentration for each show is one of the ways in which Belinda works to keep her performance fresh and focused.

The company have now gone into rehearsal for their second play of the season A Mad World, My Masters by Thomas Middleton. This means that Belinda has either rehearsals during the day and a performance in the evening, or a performance in the afternoon and rehearsal in the evening. Belinda was in the Globe company last year, so she is used to this way of working. In A Mad world, My Masters Belinda plays the Courtesan, this character shares some similarities with Phebe as both wish to rise above the confines of their current situation. Both characters are also intelligent and quick thinkers who use and manipulate men.

Phebe’s reaction to the realization that she has promised to marry Silvius changes from performance to performance, depending on how the scene before has gone and the mood established during the show. Sometimes Belinda plays Phebe’s feelings as those of compassion towards Silvius; while at other performances Phebe is angry that she has been tricked into marrying him.

Belinda now feels much more relaxed in the role of Phebe and is finding she is able to play with the reactions of the audience and with each moment as it happens on stage.

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

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