Monday, September 29, 2008

GEM CAST FAREWELL DINNER

We had a blast last week with the Norwegian Gem cast as they prepared to leave for a 6 month contract starting in the Med. Here is the official cast photo that will go on our Gary Musick wall of fame at our rehearsal studio. Love these guys!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

FAREWELL TO THE GEM CAST

The cast of the Norwegian GEM left for the ship this morning. They, along with our production team, are flying to Barcelona as I write this. Hopefully, all will arrive safe and sound early tomorrow morning. I had a chance to watch all of their final run throughs this week, and I have to say, they are AWESOME! Not only that, they have a terrific spirit as a cast. We have high hopes for this group - after all, they have some very big shoes to fill after the current cast leaves. The current GEM cast has consistently been rated as one of the best in the NCL fleet over the past 6 months. 

Here are some shots taken during the final runs of the GEM shows. Enjoy!

To the GEM cast...we love you guys! Take care, and remember to love and respect each other in everything you do. That alone will carry you through any of the trying times that might lie ahead. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

LOVE THAT GEM CAST!

One of the cast members in the NCL GEM team reminded me today that I had been slacking off on adding photos of their cast to the blog. Even her mom mentioned it! So sorry to all the cast members and families hoping to see how great this cast looks in rehearsal! Soooo, here you go - these are from rehearsals this past Sunday. 

The new GEM cast is so talented and fun to watch. I will try to post more shots later this week if time permits. Only a few days left and they head out to the ship for a 6-month contract. You guys are doing great!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

CRAZY WEEK

Sorry for being "off the air" for so long this past week! I have been out of town nearly every day since my last post. We spent a few days in Fort Worth at a funeral for my brother in law, and then traveled to St. Louis for a video shoot for the National Association of Electrical Distributors. Greg Tipton and I spent three days shooting several videos for NAED at their new office just outside St. Louis. I then came back for about 24 hours and left for a family reunion in Virginia. 

Today, the NCL "GEM" cast did two runs of their shows for our staff and invited guests. This cast is really fun to watch. They are all very strong performers and do a great job of connecting with the audience. We're looking forward to seeing the rest of their final runs this week. I will try to upload some rehearsal pictures to this site tomorrow.

NEW INFINITY CAST

Our new "INFINITY" cast has had a rough time over the past few days. We lost three cast members in some unexpected developments that were really hard on the cast. Fortunately, three of the outgoing cast members agreed to stay temporarily while we find permanent replacements. Our thoughts and prayers are with this new cast as they work through all the changes that will be happening over the next few days. A special thanks goes to Angi Weiss-Brandt, Claire Williams, and Brandon Thomas who worked with the cast to make sure they were ready to take over this week. Here is a shot of the cast taken at their farewell dinner last week. 

I also wanted to echo Brandon's sentiments about the outgoing cast of the "INFINITY". This was a fantastic cast and consistently received the highest ratings in the Celebrity fleet. We will miss all of them. There are some great video clips posted on Brandon's blog if you want to check it out...

brandonscottthomas.blogspot.com   (or click on the link in the right hand column)

This is going to be a busy week! I will try to post plenty of pictures this week as the GEM and Constellation casts continue their rehearsals in Nashville. 

September 11, 2008

THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY GREETINGS!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the birthday emails and FACEBOOK postings today. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. It is sort of strange to have 9-11 as your birthday. For the first couple of years after the 9-11 tragedy, every airport security person in the world would offer condolences when they checked my ID and saw my birthdate. It's not so bad anymore, but I did think about changing the date in my mind just to avoid trying to celebrate on such a dark day in history.

The staff had a cookout for me today, and tonight I'm going to go someplace fun for dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing my family in Texas when I head down there tomorrow. 

Again, I really appreciate all the nice thoughts today! Love to you all.

Monday, September 8, 2008

UPCOMING AUDITIONS!

It's that time again! We're planning cruise ship auditions for this fall, and here is a sneak preview of dates and locations. Complete details will be posted on our website in the next few days, but this will give you an idea of where we're planning to be in the coming weeks...

NEW YORK - Ripley Grier Studios

Friday, October 17: 

9:30am - 4:00pm (tentative)...Open call singers

9:30pm - 5:00pm (tentative)...JADE singer auditions (casting for "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and "Shout" as well as two other shows

Saturday, October 18: 

9:30am - 4:00pm (tentative)...Vocal call backs

10:00am...Dancers open call 

2:00pm...Dancers open call (choose either start time)

LOS ANGELES - Debbie Reynolds Studio

Friday, October 24: 

10:00am - 4:00pm (tentative)

 Singer open call and appointments for JADE singers

10:00am...Dancers open call

2:00pm...Dancers open call

Saturday, October 25: 

10:00am-4:00pm (tentative)...Singers open call and Appointments for JADE                 10:00am (tentative)...Dancers open call

2:00pm (tentative)...Dancers open call

LONDON - Pineapple Studios

Thursday, January 8, 2009: 

9:30am (tentative)...Open call for dancers

1:00pm - 4:30pm...Open call for singers and JADE singer appointments

4:30pm - 6:00pm...Callbacks for singers

Friday, January 9, 2009: 

9:30am (tentative)...Open call for dancers

1:30pm - 4:30pm...Open call for singers and JADE singer appointments

 4:30pm - 6:00pm...Callbacks for singers

We will post complete audition information on our website, as well as in BACKSTAGE and other trade publications. PLEASE DON'T CALL US WITH QUESTIONS JUST YET. All details will be answered on the website. This is just posted to give you a "hold the date" opportunity if you're planning to audition for us.

Thanks!!