You raise me up to walk on stormy seas

What a night!!!

Tonight was our first double show night, premiering IN CONCERT on the first formal night of the cruise. We blocked it faster than usual, which meant more energy spent toward the performance energy and the little sparkly extras that make these shows so incredible to watch.
Both shows went really well, but I think the audience for the second show was more enthusiastic...I even got a round of applause for my big note in "Because You Loved Me" (even though I had a nice ball of phlegm settled right in my throat the whole time!)
We celebrated Evan's 23rd birthday between shows, but he couldn't stick around to enjoy his cake...tonight was ROCKY!! It was a heavier heave than what I remembered from the Maasdam, but the Zuidey is a much bigger ship, so the time between rocks is much longer. It definitely still made for some interesting moments on stage, though! Matt almost head-butted me in "Dedicated to the One I Love" when a very close face-to-face moment got enhanced by a sudden lurching of the stage. Being the champ that he is, he caught himself just in time, but it definitely made the song more interesting! Sean also got a gold star for effort from me tonight when he noticed during the first show that I barely made my final entrance in time, much less to take a swig of water before singing through a four-song marathon. I got to the stage for the second show to find Sean with my water bottle open and waiting for me. Gotta love that Zuiderfams teamwork. :) 
The girls got fitted for costumes for DREAMPARK after the show, followed by a quick anti-viral sanitation wipe down of the theatre (it's like I'm back on the Maasie...), then a well-deserved cocktail at the OB (Officer's Bar, a crew-only bar) to round out the night.

Though today was an amazing day for the show and the incredible people I get to share this ship with, the highlight of my day was going on the bow from the OB to find a strong warm wind and a perfectly visible Milky Way. I put my hands on the rail and looked out over the bow, and just felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Yes, we work our butts off, and yes, we go through a lot of emotional b.s. to keep competitive in this job and this industry as a whole, but at the end of the day, I have one of the best jobs any singer could ask for. I sang my heart out tonight, which is such a cathartic and soul-lifting experience already, but to then be able to walk a few steps and be bombared with the Caribbean winds and have the skies all to myself for a few minutes...you just can't beat that. This job came at a really opportune time for me, both artistically and personally, and despite the craziness of this tech process in cast turnover, I am so outrageously grateful to be where I am, doing what I'm doing, and being with who I'm with.

And now...to bed, with a heart full of love and a belly full of cake.

Until next time...

If I had to do the same again, I would, my friend...[Fernandoooooooo]

We board the ship tomorrow!
What the whaaaaa?

After a long rehearsal process and a long day of flying, we have safely landed and hotel'd in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It's 77 degrees and muggy, and it's bizarre. It didn't really hit me until my parents were driving me back to the apartments last night and I realized that this whole thing is the real deal. It's hard to process, knowing that a lot will probably be the same as it was on the Maasdam two years, but I have a feeling that significantly more is going to be very, very different. I still have mixed feelings about that, but I'm pretty sure that has more to do with fear of the unknown more than it does about what is actually going to be happening over the next eight and a half months. Who knows what adventures I'll have, what people I'll meet, what new and unidentifiable foods I'll eat...  But that's half the adventure right there, right? :)

So tomorrow, we board the ship early in the morning, then it's off to safety meetings and orientations and costume fittings and blocking rehearsals and hopefully eating somewhere in there...and then we have our very first performance of our opening night bumper show, "Listen to the Music". It's gonna be a looooong day. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of a blur, but I couldn't have asked for a better cast to share it with.

I'll do my best to update this blog while I'm out and about, but the WiFi on the ship is erratic and expensive, and WiFi in ports is hit or miss. Keep checking back!

Here's to opening another chapter!!

Until next time...

If you start me up...

Only 14 more days before we're on the ship....wait, WHAA?

We started in on IN CONCERT just before Thanksgiving, and we're almost completely done, despite the two-day vacation we got for the holiday.

But, OH what a holiday!

My parents hosted not only their own three children, but 9 adoptive ones! Fifteen people for Thanksgiving at our house in Upland...what a wonderful night! We pot-lucked it a bit, and whoever didn't cook brought beer, wine, scotch, and in Ryan's case, tequila. Needless to say, we dined WELL that evening. As usual, my mom pulled out all the stops and made an incredible meal, and the contributions from my castmates were delicious as well. it was such a nice feeling to have so many people together for the holiday, especially since the option of going home to their own families in such a short time was pretty much impossible. I was definitely thankful for getting to be a surrogate sister for such a great group of people. And not only that, but we introduced our Dutch dancer Claire to Thanksgiving!! Adventures!!

They're so cute! Can we keep them?

Rehearsals are going well, but it's a lot of information to process, for sure. We look forward to our days off!

Some exciting news...Stiletto may be using the video I made of our first rehearsal run-through of our opening night bumper show, LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, on their website! The idea is that it would be a great introduction to prospective performers as to the rehearsal process and the kind of shows that we do! I feel very honored. I wonder if I can negotiate a media fee into my salary.... ;-)
Check it out below!

LTTM First run-through!

That's all for now, I'll update with some show pictures soon!

"Higher and Higher"

Wow!! The time is FLYING by! We have succcessfully completed our first day off as a full company, and it was definitely needed!

That's one good-looking cast!

After a couple days of choreography for the all-singer show "Unforgettable", we moved right on to "Dreampark". "Unforgettable" is sure to be a great show, but it involves a lot of quick transitions that only vary slightly from one to the other, so the challenge is in keeping then straight. We sound really great together, and I can't wait to really have that show in my body so that I can let loose. I get so few solos in the show, including "Tennessee Waltz" and "Fever", and I'm really excited about it.
"Dreampark" is a BEAST of a show, in that it is a "book"show in a sense. The basic storyline follows myself and my M1, Matt, who are on a date together at a carnival. The dancers are our friends, and three of the female dancers, including my friend Charlotte, the other female singer, act as Muses who conspire to get us to fall in love. It's a really cute show with lots of beautiful sets and a really incredible finale that includes a full-on carousel on stage, with the girls as the horses!
It's intense.
I get to sing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me", and "I Only Wanna Be With You", among others. The choreography is massive, but I know it's going to look amazing.
We've really been enjoying bonding with the cast of the Statendam who are in rehearsals until Thanksgiving day. There gave been a couple of jacuzzi nights, a margarita-fest, and a special appearance or two by "Jess'ca", the male comedian's alter ego. Brilliant. A few girls from the Rotterdam cast are also in, so our little family just keeps growing and growing.
My fabulous parents have also lent me their van while they're up in Tahoe, and I can't even begin to describe how nice it is to have a car again. Being in New York for so long, I forgot that not everyone relies on public transportation the way I do! Ok,that's a lie, I didn't forget, but man it sure make a difference! Especially on our day off when a little James Bond and Nordstrom Rack (and In and Out) were in order! And EXTRA especially after a cast night out at Paco's Tacos, a Stiletto cast tradition! :)
That's all for now! Make sure to check out my Artist page on Facebook for daily updates, pictures, and the occasional video as well.
Much <3 and calm ~~~ !

"It's a Good Day"

Wow.

Fried.

We moved in to the apartments yesterday, and it was a definite head trip to be back. My parents helped move me in, we went out for Mexican with my F2 Charlotte (who was also my F2 on the Maasdam), and then we settled in. it turns out that we are in the exact same apartment we were in for the Maasdam rehearsals too. CRAZY! I caught up Gavin, who was one of our directors last time, and it was great to see him again. He'll be teaching/following all of our shows this time, as well as putting them up on the Zuiderdam when we board. Should be really exciting!

Another surprise--though not quite as joyful as the previous ones--was the news that we would be learning an additional show, and that the next 6 days would be dedicated entirely to that show. It's a singers-only show called "Unforgettable" (I get to sing the title song!), which features music from the early 20th century in tight jazz harmony arrangements. It's a beautifully composed show, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a big undertaking. Apparently there was some miscommunication about whether or not this show was going to be pulled from the ship's repetoire, so we got all our materials last night and did our best to familiarize ourselves with it before rehearsals today. It made for a bit of a low-energy first meeting with the M1 and M2, as well. Kind of hard to have a joyous first night together when you're trying to pick your harmonies out from a song you've never heard before.

However, being the killer professionals we are, we knocked out about 75% of the music during rehearsal today (HUGE thank you to our musical director Doug!!!), and I have high hopes that we'll get it down and still have time left over to review our music for the other shows as well. So, despite getting a bit of a higgeldy-piggeldy start, I think we're moving along well.

We start staging the show in a couple of days. Then our dancers arrive, and then the madness really begin. But all in all, I have to say that I am so thankful to be employed, to be with talented and passionate people, and to be starting off on a brand new adventure. Here's to NEWvember!!

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome to my blog for my upcoming contract aboard the luxury cruise ship the Zuiderdam for Holland America Line!
I will be performing in the production shows as the F1, or female lead singer, and I couldn't be more excited. I previously worked for HAL as the F1 on the Maasdam in 2010, and it was the experience of a lifetime. I'm two years older and wiser (ok, maybe just older.), and I'm ready for another 8 months on the open seas.
I received my music a few days ago, and our cast was finalized as of yesterday, so now it's just a bunch of preparation work and keeping my voice in good condition before we jump into four weeks of rehearsals in Los Angeles. Before we know it, it will be December 10, and we'll be sailing away from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, en route to Holland America's private island Half Moon Cay.

Ain't she a beaut?

I'll be updating again when we get into rehearsals on November 5, so until then...

[clever catch phrase!]

...I'm working on it.