KATE Hosking is such a busy artist that you’d wonder how she has time to play the title role in Jigsaw Theatre’s long-awaited production, “Pearl Verses the World”.

An instrumentalist, singer, dancer and choreographer who has just completed a bachelor of professional music practice degree at the ANU, she’s better known as a double-bass player from the world music trio, Vardos.

Right now, she’s studying hip-hop dance at Dance Central, Woden, and for a diploma of secondary education at the University of Canberra. As well, The Street Theatre’s Caroline Stacey has signed her up for a staging of the cabaret piece “A Cycle in Song”, which Hosking wrote during her mentorship as part of the theatre’s dramaturgical program The Hive, but based on an idea she’d had for five years.

Hosking certainly is busy, but says it’s “all in the timing”, and university and dance class breaks slotted in conveniently to allow her time to play the role of Pearl, a little girl grappling with a changing world and the illness of her beloved grandmother.

The play, based on Sally Murphy’s prizewinning, free-verse novel, “Pearl Verses the World”, is not an adaptation, but rather a stage realisation of the book by director Justine Campbell.

Hosking got the idea of auditioning from Canberra director Dianna Nixon, whom she’s been assisting on children’s musical productions over the last couple of years. She’d performed in the 2011 Melbourne production of “Squizzy Taylor – The Musical” and the Australian Shakespeare Company’s “Alice in Wonderland” and suspects Jigsaw looked at her CV and said “uh-oh, she’s multi-skilled”.

In this case, it’s her dance skills that come to the fore.

“I get to jump around a lot,” she says, on designer Imogen Keen’s extraordinary set that’s been inspired by school play equipment and allows an intimate relationship between actor and audience.

Chrissie Shaw, who plays Gran, is also a musician.

“She’s fantastic and very supportive,” Hosking says. And from time to time during rehearsal breaks, “we’ve had the occasional jam”.

As for Pearl, she’s a little girl who is always being told how things must be (for instance, that poetry must rhyme) and the play makes comment on the controlling aspects of the outside world.

“It’s a confusing time for her… Gran’s illness is the hinge-point… how that affects her… how the effect ripples into the world,” says Hosking.

She is reluctant to spoil the surprise, but will say that it’s a positive ending.

“I love the feel that it’s for children, but there’s so much for an adult, too,” she says.

At the Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, May 19-June 2, bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Sally Murphy will read from her work at the National Library at 4pm, Saturday, May 26.