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Ship life + Performing! Is this reality?
Monday, 27 February I’m typing from a breezy cafe in Nassau. It’s sunny and very hot outside, and two of my friends have joined me for some tea, a little chit chat… and much needed wifi 😉 I’ve been on the Disney Dream for a month and a half now and things are finally starting to feel normal! The cruise itself is such an incredible experience for the guests – there truly is something for everyone, and I’m surprised by how many adults come on a Disney cruise without children! My life here – though not all vacation – is certainly surreal – at times wonderful and at times crazy… …
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Whirlwind
Sunday, 1 January Did someone change the date on all of my calendars? Because it doesn’t feel like it could possibly be the first day of a new year – and the end of my time in Toronto – already! Although… when I think of the many intense-but-fulfilling rehearsals, cast activities, and holiday trips we’ve squeezed into the 3 weeks since my last post, it seems that surely several months must have passed… Only 2 rehearsal days remain before our cast heads to Orlando for further training (and DISNEY WORLD!) and boarding The Dream!! A week from now we’ll begin our 2 weeks of rehearsing on the ship before taking…
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Ups and Downs
Wednesday, 7 December As I’m sure you’ve gathered from my lack of posting these last couple weeks, things have gotten BUSY here! Today is one of those wonderful days where I have a big break between rehearsals, so I’m attempting to catch up… Highlights from the last 15 days: WorkWe finished learning our first show (Villains Tonight) and have run it several times. Cleaning and polishing continue 😉 Now rehearsing our second show, The Golden Mickeys. I’m on ensemble track for that, so doing lots of vocals and some choreography. Understudying Cruella de Vil in this show as well, which is a really fun part! My friend who is the…
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Niagara Falls!
Monday 21 November Holy Guacamole!Fifteen of us headed to Niagara Falls today on a chartered bus tour! It was a lovely trip, and although the day was very cold, we had glorious sunshine. We stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake, a picturesque town with beautiful architecture and cute shops. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for it, but if I’m ever back this way, I’m going to afternoon tea at the gorgeous Prince of Wales Hotel! Next, we headed to a nearby winery for a tasting – I would’ve preferred my tea, but I always love the experience of being in a country winery and walking through vineyards… Ice wine is the specialty of…
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Rehearsals and Holidays
Saturday, 19 NovemberUnderstudying is hard work!Company meeting, brunch with friends at Cora’s (a local favorite, for obvious reasons!) and back to work! Today’s rehearsals were cool, but most of it was for the roles I’m understudying – hard work since you don’t get many opportunities to practice with the other scene members, in the rehearsal space, with props, while the director’s there… It’s especially tricky u/s’ing 2 people in the same number… Practice, practice, practice… Sunday, 20 NovemberIt’s beginning to look alot like Christmas!Toronto’s Christmas season officially began with today’s Santa Claus Parade! I decided to watch it on tv from the comfort of my room… After some rehearsing, a…
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Whee!
Friday, 18 November Up where the air is clearMorning scene work, then in the afternoon I had my first chance to fly! A few of us trekked to the Toronto School of Circus Arts on the outskirts of Toronto where we had our first training session. It was pretty cool – just sit back and enjoy the ride! The harness is pretty substantial and has to fit quite snugly, so that’ll take a little getting used to, but otherwise my part is easy – just pose and let the operators bring me in 🙂 It’ll be so exciting once I’m in costume and on the ship – apparently I’ll be…
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Whew!
Thursday, 17 November Whew!Today was action-packed and mentally tiring, but generally fun – and now I can relax! It began in earnest with 3 1/2 hours of understudy choreography. I’ll keep it simple by saying that my brain did not explode (although it came close), I did better than I thought I would (thanks in part to the dance classes I’ve been taking since my Disney callback casting director recommended them!)… but I still have ALOT of practicing to do! Later came 2 hours of sword work, which though also mentally/physically challenging, was quite exciting! Clashing steel is really cool! My day ended with a couple hours of u/s Cruella…
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Disney Magic!
Wednesday, 16 November What it’s all about……both as a Disney performer and as the person I want to be – I’m grateful that I experienced it today. My weekly room-cleaning happened while I was in my apartment during a rehearsal break and the lady who came was really sweet. I continued to go over my music while she cleaned and we just chatted off and on. She really liked my humming, so I asked if she’d like me to sing something for her. I ended up singing a few songs and by the end, I think we were both almost ready to cry 😉 She told me it meant so…
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Work and Play
Tuesday, 15 Nov Sunday-MondayThis weekend was relaxing, productive, and all about getting to know friends better! Late night girl chats and renewing spiritual time with some of the cast made for a good start to a busy week! Tuesday, 15 NovCostumes and sword fighting!Today I was transformed into some of my favorite characters! Or at least partially – some will be custom made for me 🙂 Consequently, I found out some of my much-anticipated casting for the other 2 shows! It’s subject to change (and I also have alot of smaller ensemble roles), but the ones I’m most excited for are:Mary Poppins (woohoo!!), Mrs. Potts, u/s Aurora, u/s Belle, u/s…
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And we’re off…
Sunday, 13 November ~ Rehearsal Week One! Tuesday, 8 NovAssessments, assessments, assessments…On Tuesday, it was back to assessments – this time vocal and side readings from scripts. I tried my best, but vocally just wasn’t where I wanted to be… hoping I sounded better than I thought I did. That night, we received our casting for the first show we’re rehearsing, all about Disney’s villains, which we began rehearsing Wednesday. I’m playing one of the 3 Fates (from Hercules) – that’s puppet work – and am also the lady pirate in the Hook scene; understudying Cruella de Vil (so much fun!) and the Evil Queen from Snow White, as well…
