First I must preface this entry by saying that this is simply a rant. Something I needed to get off my chest because of the day I had. With that said, I know I will fell better tomorrow, and as Dad says..."Sleep on it. You'll feel better in the morning." I know his words are true. I'll let you know.
People take Christmas cruises for three different reasons. First, because they want to GET AWAY for the holidays. Second, because they are being SENT AWAY for the holidays by folks who don't necessarily want them around. Third, because the cruises are SO CHEAP, they are too good to turn down. Which makes the clientele unique during the holidays.
Which in a nutshell, means that this crowd is interesting. They are so amazingly quiet during the shows that we wonder if the zombie apocalypse has begun, but at the end of the show they are screaming for more. Go figure. Unfortunately there is one young man who sits down front who looks like he is having his toenails removed one by one with no anesthetic. Most of the unhappy people sit down front where we can see them. Why is that?
Okay. So we were in Akaroa today. The day was beautiful. I spent the morning with Brandi, taking headshots and photos of the roses and different flowers blooming there. I love Akaroa.
Had lunch at a fish and chips shop...no, not my favorite one that burned down... but that one IS getting ready to reopen on Boxing Day. It was good. The french fries were good.
Got back on board around 2:30pm in time to get in a quick nap before the rehearsal for the Christmas show. That was set for 4pm. A quick note about the Christmas show: Our Company Manager, Darian, Myself, the Cruise Director, and the Music Manager/Bandmaster all got together a few days ago to talk about the show we were going to do on Christmas Day. The Cruise Director wanted something upbeat and basic, so Darian and myself came up with a few songs to do... each of us would do a duet with each other, and a solo number as well. The Dancers would be doing a number, and one of the Guest Ents coming on would do a ten minute set as well. Din, Dan, Done. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy. You get the drift? The music manager had said that he had a bunch of charts of Christmas Carols and holiday song that we could choose from. Darian and Myself decided on "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "Let it Snow/Winter Wonderland" as our duets, and Darian would sing "Ave Maria" and I would be doing a number called "Thank You". Of course, there are no charts per se for these songs, and the bandmaster knew this going into it. He didn't seem worried if we only had lead sheets. So off I go to find lead sheets.
Finding lead sheets was fairly easy, thanks to friends on Facebook. I used a music writing program called Sibelius to mash together Let it Snow and Winter Wonderland. I managed to give it a dance break for the dancers and a couple of key changes to make it less tedious. I thought I did a pretty good job. As for the other two, I found a copy of some charts for the Whitney Houston version of Do You Hear... and so I tried to do a chart for it, but after ten hours of frustration, I gave up and did a simple melody with the chords written in. "Thank You" was another story. I got the music, but it was only the melody written out, no chords, no piano accompaniment, no nothing. Okay. I can deal. I found the chords, and started to write out some of what i could get off the recording of the original. I thought I did a pretty good job, considering there was nothing before. I now had something that could at least give the band an idea of what the songs should sound like.
Apparently band members and musicians... okay, SOME band members and musicians (I won't lump them all together, because so many friends of mine are musicians) so, SOME band members apparently need to be fed by hand every single note that they are to play. I find this hard to believe because our band uses lead sheets that are ONLY chords to do their big band sets and their jazz sets.
So rehearsal comes. The band master goes off about how there are no charts for the songs and how he "never in his professional career" has he ever had to do anything like this before. He starts throwing around the "F" word at least a dozen times in a single sentence. I finally broke. I said to him "Be thankful you got any music at all. What would you have done if I had not given you anything?" of course, that set him off even more. He then went on to say he was just depressed and wanted to toss his trumpet in the sea and throw himself to be eaten by the sharks... and of course some more "F" this and "F" that's for good measure.
Did I mention that the rest of the cast and the crew and the cruise director were watching this happen?
I guess I also should mention that I was recording the entire thing as well, on my little digital recorder so i could practice without the band. Needless to say, I took the entire thing VERY personally. I know that the charts are not up to par. I know that. You don't need to rub it in. I have never written out parts before. Did he call me to talk about what could be done? No.
Did I call him? No. So I admit that we are both at fault. But enough is enough. We all have a show to do. We are all a little depressed at this time of year because we are away from our loved ones. It's not my fault.
Oy. So then I had to do a show tonight with the band, and act as if everything was cool. It was actually one of our better shows. The band master did come up to me after the show and apologize, which I have to give him credit for, but I wanted to say "Really? Are you F'ing kidding me?" But I didn't. I held my tongue and thanked him for his apology and let him know that I accepted it. Grrrrrrrr.
So I am trying not to go to bed angry. We are going to be in Wellington tomorrow, which I enjoy. I will be spending money. Sorry, Dad. I have to get some gifts for the cast, and I still have to do some other Christmas shopping as well. I would like to get the new recording of Les Miserables, which was released on itunes today.
As I said before, this was a rant. I will get off my soap box now. I will try to upload some of the pictures I took in Akaroa. It makes me calm knowing that the world did not end, and that there is still beauty in nature. Norm, if you read this, please know that is why I have not gotten back to you yet.
Happy Holidays, and as our band master said... Merry F'ing Christmas!
ps...I have tried to upload some pictures and it keeps crashing my computer... that's a whole other story. Maybe Santa will send me a new computer for Christmas. An iPad!!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Holidays are HERE!
And I am still here as well. Another Christmas at Sea. Hoo boy.
Actually, I hope it won't be all that bad. Unfortunately on the news these days, all there is is bad news. As I write this, I am watching the news accounts about the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut. As an educator, I can only imagine the horror the folks are going through there. It is every teacher's nightmare what happened. My heart is so sad, mere words can't describe the amount of pain and sympathy I feel for that community.
With the holidays upon us, the Cast is getting ready to hunker down and celebrate. We are planning on doing a holiday show, the crew is having a holiday disco, and we are pretty much gearing up for the end of the world as well. There are some cast members who subscribe to the 12/21/12 theory. We'll see. Between the earthquakes and the basic crumbling of the world's economy, things are pretty bleak out there. Thankfully we have the human element to look forward to.
I have been watching the TV series "The Walking Dead" which is basically about the zombie apocolypse that takes over the world. It is really fascinating, believe it or not. It is not just about these zombies that are invading, but about the people who have to band together and deal with them. They have to leave loved ones, lose loved ones to different types of attacks and situations, and it makes me think about what I would do in the case of an emergency on board. I guess that's a good thing?
I don't have much else to report, really. I should do a year in review for everyone to read, but I may do that later this cruise when I am not paying for internet connection.
I had the opportunity to revisit Christchurch this past cruise, and it made me cry, truly. The city is coming back, and they are very resilient, but the city is horribly broken.
I am going to go. I don't know what else to type right now. So it's best to be silent, i suppose.
Actually, I hope it won't be all that bad. Unfortunately on the news these days, all there is is bad news. As I write this, I am watching the news accounts about the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut. As an educator, I can only imagine the horror the folks are going through there. It is every teacher's nightmare what happened. My heart is so sad, mere words can't describe the amount of pain and sympathy I feel for that community.
With the holidays upon us, the Cast is getting ready to hunker down and celebrate. We are planning on doing a holiday show, the crew is having a holiday disco, and we are pretty much gearing up for the end of the world as well. There are some cast members who subscribe to the 12/21/12 theory. We'll see. Between the earthquakes and the basic crumbling of the world's economy, things are pretty bleak out there. Thankfully we have the human element to look forward to.
I have been watching the TV series "The Walking Dead" which is basically about the zombie apocolypse that takes over the world. It is really fascinating, believe it or not. It is not just about these zombies that are invading, but about the people who have to band together and deal with them. They have to leave loved ones, lose loved ones to different types of attacks and situations, and it makes me think about what I would do in the case of an emergency on board. I guess that's a good thing?
I don't have much else to report, really. I should do a year in review for everyone to read, but I may do that later this cruise when I am not paying for internet connection.
I had the opportunity to revisit Christchurch this past cruise, and it made me cry, truly. The city is coming back, and they are very resilient, but the city is horribly broken.
I am going to go. I don't know what else to type right now. So it's best to be silent, i suppose.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Cruise Dynamic
One of the drawbacks to the world of working on a cruise ship as an entertainer is that you have to maintain almost perfect health. There are no understudies. There is no one who can step in for you at moment's notice. They can't simply re-block the show to cover a singer.
This happened last night. Darian, my leading lady has lost her voice. The show was Piano Man. It was a formal night. Beginning of the cruise. She waited until too late to go see the doctor, and by then she could not be signed off of work because the show had already been scheduled and printed in the daily list of activities. This is extremely frustrating. We do have "safety tracks," which is basically a recorded performance of someone who has done the show in the past. For some unknown reason, they can't (won't?) record over these vocals to substitute our voices. It works okay for the female voice, to a certain point, but when the lead male singer was an African-American with a very unique vocal quality, it makes me look like a fool trying to lip-synch to his voice. But I digress. Darian was the one who had to do the lip-synching. I ended up taking about six of her solos added on to what I was already singing. Needless to say, my voice is exhausted today. Spent the day in solitude, resting voice, mind and body.
What I don't understand is this: Why was it okay to overdub those voices way back when, but not any more? It's not like they hired studio singers at an outrageous amount of money to record safety tracks. They (the folks on the ship) used a live performance to cover their asses just in case something like this happens. When we have a contract that lasts over six months, it is bound to happen. We have been traveling to and from New Zealand, which weather-wise is a mess on allergies and keeping a body healthy. Not to mention we never get a break, really. We also went from three months of basically one show a week for the longer cruises, to performing 10 mights a week, out of a 14-day cruise.
Thank goodness my voice has held up. But between those of us who are reading this, I have to thank my training, and the belief that the show must go on. The new kids are spoiled. I'll say it. They are.
In other news, I went to see my friend, Merle, this past Brisbane. She is bedridden with cancer, and is now in a rest home. What an interesting and frustrating story. Her brother and kids have basically emptied out her house and bank accounts, because they thought she was as good as dead. She is hanging on. She's a tough cookie. The rest home is charging her for spa treatments she doesn't get, and she isn't even allowed to have her personal doctor involved. Now I don't know how the Australian health care system works, but to me this is outrageous. Shouldn't her GP who has been her personal doctor for most of her life be involved in the decisions and such? The doctors she has now are insisting that her scans are "clean" but they won't give her a clean bill of health to go on a cruise, which is what her life is made up of. Cruises. That's what she does. The doctors won't let her see her scans and won't share them with her personal doctor.
Yikes. Kind of nightmare. She is doing well, though I think she was just trying to put on a brave face for me. I know she is very sick, but I tried to get her to keep eating and start doing more exercises to keep her getting stronger. Her legs are too weak to hold her up for too long, and therefore she can't walk.
We are in Auckland again tomorrow, which is a nice city. I don't have any plans of sorts, but I will be going to see Hobbiton when I am in Tauranga, and then I am hoping to get back to Christchurch while we are in Akaroa. I'll write more later.
JMB
This happened last night. Darian, my leading lady has lost her voice. The show was Piano Man. It was a formal night. Beginning of the cruise. She waited until too late to go see the doctor, and by then she could not be signed off of work because the show had already been scheduled and printed in the daily list of activities. This is extremely frustrating. We do have "safety tracks," which is basically a recorded performance of someone who has done the show in the past. For some unknown reason, they can't (won't?) record over these vocals to substitute our voices. It works okay for the female voice, to a certain point, but when the lead male singer was an African-American with a very unique vocal quality, it makes me look like a fool trying to lip-synch to his voice. But I digress. Darian was the one who had to do the lip-synching. I ended up taking about six of her solos added on to what I was already singing. Needless to say, my voice is exhausted today. Spent the day in solitude, resting voice, mind and body.
What I don't understand is this: Why was it okay to overdub those voices way back when, but not any more? It's not like they hired studio singers at an outrageous amount of money to record safety tracks. They (the folks on the ship) used a live performance to cover their asses just in case something like this happens. When we have a contract that lasts over six months, it is bound to happen. We have been traveling to and from New Zealand, which weather-wise is a mess on allergies and keeping a body healthy. Not to mention we never get a break, really. We also went from three months of basically one show a week for the longer cruises, to performing 10 mights a week, out of a 14-day cruise.
Thank goodness my voice has held up. But between those of us who are reading this, I have to thank my training, and the belief that the show must go on. The new kids are spoiled. I'll say it. They are.
In other news, I went to see my friend, Merle, this past Brisbane. She is bedridden with cancer, and is now in a rest home. What an interesting and frustrating story. Her brother and kids have basically emptied out her house and bank accounts, because they thought she was as good as dead. She is hanging on. She's a tough cookie. The rest home is charging her for spa treatments she doesn't get, and she isn't even allowed to have her personal doctor involved. Now I don't know how the Australian health care system works, but to me this is outrageous. Shouldn't her GP who has been her personal doctor for most of her life be involved in the decisions and such? The doctors she has now are insisting that her scans are "clean" but they won't give her a clean bill of health to go on a cruise, which is what her life is made up of. Cruises. That's what she does. The doctors won't let her see her scans and won't share them with her personal doctor.
Yikes. Kind of nightmare. She is doing well, though I think she was just trying to put on a brave face for me. I know she is very sick, but I tried to get her to keep eating and start doing more exercises to keep her getting stronger. Her legs are too weak to hold her up for too long, and therefore she can't walk.
We are in Auckland again tomorrow, which is a nice city. I don't have any plans of sorts, but I will be going to see Hobbiton when I am in Tauranga, and then I am hoping to get back to Christchurch while we are in Akaroa. I'll write more later.
JMB
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving Dinner on board
So they did a really nice job of the traditional Turkey Day dinner! We had turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, broccoli, Pumpkin soup, and Pumpkin Pie for dessert. Not bad. Better than last year. It was a shame that only four of us on the entertainment cast went. Ah well.
Tomorrow we are in Tauranga, and I am anxious to get a good head start to my day. I have some secret Santa stuff to buy, which I can't reveal here, because YOU NEVER KNOW when someone is gonna go peeking. I may go see a movie, too.
Love and miss you all. It's 1:45am. Kinda tired as I did not sleep at all last night yet again.
Tomorrow we are in Tauranga, and I am anxious to get a good head start to my day. I have some secret Santa stuff to buy, which I can't reveal here, because YOU NEVER KNOW when someone is gonna go peeking. I may go see a movie, too.
Love and miss you all. It's 1:45am. Kinda tired as I did not sleep at all last night yet again.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
It is Thanksgiving Day here. We are in Auckland, New Zealand. I didn't sleep at all again last night, which was very frustrating. I was trying to identify why it is that I have stopped sleeping, and I really have no idea. It used to be thoughts of May 16th, 2007, but now it is simply age, I think.
The last three days have been spent at sea, and I have been teaching my "Afternoon at the Improv" class for the schoarship@sea program on board. We started with 9 people, and we have grown to about 20. Very exciting. The group is hysterical, and they obviously love to have fun. The Cruise Director's father is traveling with us, which is somewhat nerve-wracking, but he is a nice and gentle man who is there to have fun, and not necessarily spy on the goings-on around the ship.
They are closing the watertight doors, which usually means my internet is about to be cut off, so I will write more after dinner tonight in the dining room.
The last three days have been spent at sea, and I have been teaching my "Afternoon at the Improv" class for the schoarship@sea program on board. We started with 9 people, and we have grown to about 20. Very exciting. The group is hysterical, and they obviously love to have fun. The Cruise Director's father is traveling with us, which is somewhat nerve-wracking, but he is a nice and gentle man who is there to have fun, and not necessarily spy on the goings-on around the ship.
They are closing the watertight doors, which usually means my internet is about to be cut off, so I will write more after dinner tonight in the dining room.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
I got sent an angel today!
To fill you in on what is happening in my life:
Life at sea is full of exciting, wonderful, horrible, thrilling, boring, breathtaking, and utterly devastating moments. In my career at sea, I have witnessed a search and rescue effort to find survivors of a plane crash in the North Atlantic, I have witnessed the devastation that an earthquake causes, seen the aftermath of a tsunami, witnessed a body washing up on shore, to name a few.
But I have also seen amazing sunsets, met some astonishing people, seen the smiles on people's faces when they enjoy the shows I perform.
A couple years ago I met a woman, Merle, who was sailing alone on one of the world cruises. She and I just kind of "hit it off" and have been friends ever since. She has sailed with me several times, and this past year, she was in the middle of a cruise when she got a sore throat. This turned into a relapse of her cancer, and before I knew it, I got an email from her saying she had collapsed and was now bedridden waiting pretty much for "the end." She lives north of Brisbane, just off the Gold Coast, which is about an hour and a half from where our ship docks. We email several times a week, and I continually try to keep my emails upbeat. Her cancer has spread to her brain, and having dealt with that with my grandmother, I know that once cancer hits the brain, it metastasizes fairly quickly.
Merle wants nothing more than to come on a cruise. She can't get out of bed, however. She has said on several occasions that she would like me to drive up to see her. This makes me very nervous. Foreign country, different laws, I don't drive a great deal, much less on the opposite side of the road. Frankly, I am terrified of the many things that could go wrong. I could miss the ship, get lost, etc. So I have gently been putting it off.
This past cruise, I got a message from the Cruise Director that there was a woman on board who wanted to talk to me. He said that we have a "mutual friend who is very sick." I figured it was a friend of Merle's and mine.
Well, this past cruise I was dealing with my own bout of depression and homesickness, not really wanting to go out or talk to anyone. I think I got off the ship once the entire cruise. I didn't call the cabin number I was given until today, the last day of the cruise. I tried to time it where I knew the occupant would be out of their cabin, because I really didn't want to go out and talk to anyone. I told the automated voice mail that I would be at a certain place at a certain time, and if they wanted to meet me, that's where I would be.
So I showed up and met a lovely woman named Carolyn. Yes, she is a friend of Merle's. She told me that Merle is not doing well at all. She had been up to see her and basically people are starting to show up to say their goodbyes. A tear came to my eye, as the Merle I knew was one who I would meet in one of the lounges to take a spin around the dance floor. She is a proud woman, and talk about strong-willed... this lady does not take no for an answer. To picture her bedridden is devastating. She told me that Merle's family has basically been acting like vultures. They have disposed of most of her personal things, without her permission and knowledge of where the items have gone. Is this what I was like when my grandparents passed?
Carolyn asked me if I would be interested in going to visit her on one of the times my ship is in port. Talk about an answer to a prayer. I of course said yes, and we now have plans to go visit Merle on the 2nd of December. We are going to keep it a surprise. I will post here how that goes. I am planning on taking her copies of the shows from the ship, and I am trying to get her to stay positive enough to gain some weight and try to at least get her into a wheelchair. I'd love to be able to take her outside and "dance".
The holidays are coming up, and for some reason I always question my own mortality at this time of the year. Though my homesickness has not gone away, I am able to recognize that I have got to get out of my funk. I have plays to write, a musical to finish, and other projects i need to see to fruition. I am going to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama. This is my goal. My personal story of my last six years of hell is capable of it. In the meantime, I continue to travel and see the wonders of the world, and thanks to people like Merle and Carolyn, Peggy and my parents, my sister, and my extended family, I am grateful to be here.
More later!!
J. Michael Beech
Life at sea is full of exciting, wonderful, horrible, thrilling, boring, breathtaking, and utterly devastating moments. In my career at sea, I have witnessed a search and rescue effort to find survivors of a plane crash in the North Atlantic, I have witnessed the devastation that an earthquake causes, seen the aftermath of a tsunami, witnessed a body washing up on shore, to name a few.
But I have also seen amazing sunsets, met some astonishing people, seen the smiles on people's faces when they enjoy the shows I perform.
A couple years ago I met a woman, Merle, who was sailing alone on one of the world cruises. She and I just kind of "hit it off" and have been friends ever since. She has sailed with me several times, and this past year, she was in the middle of a cruise when she got a sore throat. This turned into a relapse of her cancer, and before I knew it, I got an email from her saying she had collapsed and was now bedridden waiting pretty much for "the end." She lives north of Brisbane, just off the Gold Coast, which is about an hour and a half from where our ship docks. We email several times a week, and I continually try to keep my emails upbeat. Her cancer has spread to her brain, and having dealt with that with my grandmother, I know that once cancer hits the brain, it metastasizes fairly quickly.
Merle wants nothing more than to come on a cruise. She can't get out of bed, however. She has said on several occasions that she would like me to drive up to see her. This makes me very nervous. Foreign country, different laws, I don't drive a great deal, much less on the opposite side of the road. Frankly, I am terrified of the many things that could go wrong. I could miss the ship, get lost, etc. So I have gently been putting it off.
This past cruise, I got a message from the Cruise Director that there was a woman on board who wanted to talk to me. He said that we have a "mutual friend who is very sick." I figured it was a friend of Merle's and mine.
Well, this past cruise I was dealing with my own bout of depression and homesickness, not really wanting to go out or talk to anyone. I think I got off the ship once the entire cruise. I didn't call the cabin number I was given until today, the last day of the cruise. I tried to time it where I knew the occupant would be out of their cabin, because I really didn't want to go out and talk to anyone. I told the automated voice mail that I would be at a certain place at a certain time, and if they wanted to meet me, that's where I would be.
So I showed up and met a lovely woman named Carolyn. Yes, she is a friend of Merle's. She told me that Merle is not doing well at all. She had been up to see her and basically people are starting to show up to say their goodbyes. A tear came to my eye, as the Merle I knew was one who I would meet in one of the lounges to take a spin around the dance floor. She is a proud woman, and talk about strong-willed... this lady does not take no for an answer. To picture her bedridden is devastating. She told me that Merle's family has basically been acting like vultures. They have disposed of most of her personal things, without her permission and knowledge of where the items have gone. Is this what I was like when my grandparents passed?
Carolyn asked me if I would be interested in going to visit her on one of the times my ship is in port. Talk about an answer to a prayer. I of course said yes, and we now have plans to go visit Merle on the 2nd of December. We are going to keep it a surprise. I will post here how that goes. I am planning on taking her copies of the shows from the ship, and I am trying to get her to stay positive enough to gain some weight and try to at least get her into a wheelchair. I'd love to be able to take her outside and "dance".
The holidays are coming up, and for some reason I always question my own mortality at this time of the year. Though my homesickness has not gone away, I am able to recognize that I have got to get out of my funk. I have plays to write, a musical to finish, and other projects i need to see to fruition. I am going to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama. This is my goal. My personal story of my last six years of hell is capable of it. In the meantime, I continue to travel and see the wonders of the world, and thanks to people like Merle and Carolyn, Peggy and my parents, my sister, and my extended family, I am grateful to be here.
More later!!
J. Michael Beech
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