My new roommate (aft; a fierce singer girl) and our Aussie dance captain (fore)
My favorite post work hangout aka new age non-drug muscle relaxant
We work nine hour days (officially, which does not count the three plus hours we spend reviewing material together once we're back home and technically "off the clock"). If we're lucky, we have one day off every six days.
A typical day starts at 6am when my roommate (or rather her alarm) wakes me up to work out before our 7am call time. Then we head to the rehearsal studio, where we have a physical/dance warm up for a half an hour (including a killer abs section to Little Mix's "Stereo Soldier," with which I am absolutely obsessed). After that, we have a vocal warm up for thirty minutes with the musical director before we work from 9-12:30 to run segments of music, learn/review choreography, and get the shows on their feet. Then we get lunch, then we're back for the next four-ish hours.
Working for a cruise line has definitely necessitated some adjustment after working for the Met, which doesn't start rehearsals until at least 10am and operates under union sanctions (the most critical to my happiness is the Met's consistent breaks and the greater flexibility in schedule afforded by the occasionally - shall we say - uber involved and engaged opera diva). After spending two weeks in Florida on my feet in character heels nine hours a day without those luxuries of rest periods to which I had grown accustomed, I truly comprehend and value what a union can offer.
That said, I'm surprised and happy that I seem to be able to live up to the challenge! The first few days were pretty rough, and I can't remember the last time my entire body wasn't sore or covered in bruises, but as each day passes I get stronger, the millions of steps of choreo root more firmly in my brain, and the forty plus songs (especially my solos - eek; PLURAL) begin to register in a more supported place
(Dramatic aside: that last bit has required some effort. Doing these musicals, which are essentially nonstop simultaneous singing and dancing, is akin to what I imagine delivering the State of the Union live without moving your upper body, while your lower body is running at a 6.5 speed at a 45 degree incline on a treadmill would be like).
As Saturday comes to an end, I lament the end of an amazingly relaxing day off (I've never felt that I really deserve those days off before taking this contract, and wow do I relish them when they are here).
Next week should prove interesting. Our five-girl cast for Shout: The Mod Musical has been sans an Orange girl for the entirety of the first week we spent learning and blocking and running the whole show. Orange gets in from London late tonight, and we'll be working every day from Sunday to Sunday in order to catch her up. It's going to be a BEAST of a seven day work week, during which I will look forward to this yumminess I prepped tonight, and to Monday, March 11th, my next most glorious day of rest.
Until next time,
A Broadway Baby
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