Today my band leader Tim signed off and officially handed over leadership of the band, and the musical directorship of the entire ship, to our pianist, Dusty. Tim has worked for Cunard for 12 years, and become the premier musical director, starting up the program on the Queen Elizabeth and working on all the ships as well. We gave him a farewell party, and on the final night he got a chance to do a 20 minute portion of the farewell show for the guests as a solo act, with some music he had been working on. It is strange to think he won't be here anymore as he has been my only boss here on the QE since I first began last year. He told me he's been glad to have me here, I do a great job, and whether I realized it or not, have helped with the general feeling on stage and easing the tensions male egos can create. He moves on today to a new life, we all wish him the best of luck as he starts a new life and hopefully starts a family with his lovely wife Jenny.
As for the rest of us who remain, things will continue to be interesting as we prepare to open up the new show, Palladium Nights, next month. The composer/arranger from Belinda King, the company which creates the shows, was on board for a few days, and we worked with him during the mornings to make sure everything was working and get his advice on how to interpret certain things. We had to rehearse up the in Yacht Club (our night club), as the theatre itself stays very busy, especially as it stayed covered in piles of new set pieces brought on in Venice for several days. Duncan is a very laid-back person, and rehearsals with him were easy. We did two days band only, and added the singers (after they had individual rehearsals with him) on the third session. The music is very full-scored, meaning we play constantly, and it sounds great. I'm looking forward to seeing what the dancers add to it.
Rehearsals have lightened up for us now, as our side of it is solid. Nick is busy running the stage for the dancer's rehearsals, which take place during port days and all hours of the night, unfortunately. They are being taught the choreography by a person from Belinda King who is still on board. They have about half of it done, with a lot more work left to do. In between rehearsals they have endless costume fittings by the wardrobe people. Unfortunately this means they get stuck on board ship a lot and miss out on the ports (as does Nick occasionally). But its all part of the job, and everyone is excited about the thrill of creating a brand new show.
This voyage we had the added excitement of going up into the Black Sea, something I got to do 5 years ago once on my first contract. We visited Odessa and Yalta in the Ukraine, and Nessebar in Bulgaria, a totally new country for me. In Odessa I had the privilege of going on a "home visit" tour, pretty last minute. I had found out Nick was working, and all the other tours already had escorts. So I went on this tour - me and only 7 guests, and we were driven by a sweet lady Katya to her home in the suburbs, in a shabby apartment building leftover from soviet times. We met her family: sisters, father, and daughters, and spent the afternoon with them finding out about how life really is in the Ukraine, whilst enjoying a beautiful table of food prepared for us by them. It was really an honor to be hosted by them, and to really experience local culture to a deep level. I really enjoyed it, what a treat. They answered all our questions and were very open with us about real issues. I felt really enriched by the experience.
As for the rest of us who remain, things will continue to be interesting as we prepare to open up the new show, Palladium Nights, next month. The composer/arranger from Belinda King, the company which creates the shows, was on board for a few days, and we worked with him during the mornings to make sure everything was working and get his advice on how to interpret certain things. We had to rehearse up the in Yacht Club (our night club), as the theatre itself stays very busy, especially as it stayed covered in piles of new set pieces brought on in Venice for several days. Duncan is a very laid-back person, and rehearsals with him were easy. We did two days band only, and added the singers (after they had individual rehearsals with him) on the third session. The music is very full-scored, meaning we play constantly, and it sounds great. I'm looking forward to seeing what the dancers add to it.
Rehearsals have lightened up for us now, as our side of it is solid. Nick is busy running the stage for the dancer's rehearsals, which take place during port days and all hours of the night, unfortunately. They are being taught the choreography by a person from Belinda King who is still on board. They have about half of it done, with a lot more work left to do. In between rehearsals they have endless costume fittings by the wardrobe people. Unfortunately this means they get stuck on board ship a lot and miss out on the ports (as does Nick occasionally). But its all part of the job, and everyone is excited about the thrill of creating a brand new show.
This voyage we had the added excitement of going up into the Black Sea, something I got to do 5 years ago once on my first contract. We visited Odessa and Yalta in the Ukraine, and Nessebar in Bulgaria, a totally new country for me. In Odessa I had the privilege of going on a "home visit" tour, pretty last minute. I had found out Nick was working, and all the other tours already had escorts. So I went on this tour - me and only 7 guests, and we were driven by a sweet lady Katya to her home in the suburbs, in a shabby apartment building leftover from soviet times. We met her family: sisters, father, and daughters, and spent the afternoon with them finding out about how life really is in the Ukraine, whilst enjoying a beautiful table of food prepared for us by them. It was really an honor to be hosted by them, and to really experience local culture to a deep level. I really enjoyed it, what a treat. They answered all our questions and were very open with us about real issues. I felt really enriched by the experience.
1 comment:
Sounds like a busy time for everyone. Hopefully this new show will be worth all the effort!
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