Well,  it’s that time again.  Time to open up those ATA cases, assemble those props, set those cues and do that show.  After doing five different grand class vessels for Princess, I’m so glad that all of their stages are exactly alike.  There are 6 major things that have to happen for tonight to be successful.  1 We have too get all of my props from the loading dock to the stage.  They get loaded onto deck 4, and then the stage crew will bring them to the stage.  Not as easy as it sounds.  All of my props are in cases for travel, disassembled.  The ones that fit will go on the freight elevators.  The ones that don’t, unfortunately, have to be carried from deck 4 to 7 via stairs!  There are 12 members on the production team that get this done.  It takes 2 – 3 hours.  2. Once this is done they begin assembling the props for tonight’s show which will feature 7 illusion numbers: Crystal Casket, Cube-Zag, Neon Suspension, Interlude, S piker, Metamorphosis and Backstage. This takes 2 hours.  Elena supervises this entire process and personally does the intricate assembly; attach the roller shades to The Spiker, glass pieces on The Crystal Casket, etc.  3. While she does this, I train our backstage assistants Edgar and Bernie how to run a show they’ve never seen before.  The costumes will be unpacked from their case and steamed.  4. Eddie, our lighting designer will begin setting a basic light plot during all of this, so that by the time we’re ready to set lights we already have a basic layout to work with.  5. Next comes the sound cues.  There are 16 separate cues and each one has a very clear verbal cue given by me.  David the sound engineer and I go over these cues for a bout 30 minutes and then check the levels and my microphone.  6. The remainder of time will go to programming the lights.  We may not get every cue exactly as we like it the first night, but we’ll put the next three hours in going through the show to make sure we get as close as possible.  Once this is done, it’s time for a runthrough.  We’re going to run every number cue to cue to make sure everything is doing what it’s supposed to.  Then a quick shower, maybe a bite, make-up hair and were on!   And remember you are always on stage on cruise ships– even when the show is over.

Happy Sailing