NCL has Nick on five of our ships. The Nickelodeon cast conducts trivia games, does character meet & greets, hosts the gameshow "Slime-time Live" and a morning breakfast show "Pajama Jam". I was in charge of maintaning all the characters, washing all the slimey gameshow clothes, and was backstage for PJ Jam. The first time I received a big bucket of slimy clothes it was funny to reminisce back on being a kid watching Nickelodeon and wishing that I could get slimed. On the Epic the Nick cast has a giant storage locker for all of their supplies and the characters. Each costume costs between $5,000 and 10,000. So naturally, I took copious notes during my handover and the first time I washed them by myself was a little intimidating. (We had 12 characters total on board. Diego and Dora are so popular that there were two of them.)
Pajama Jam is a cute little interactive show that includes a breakfast buffet and guests pay to attend. Along with the Nick host & cast, the six dancers from the Legends cast were in it too. It was rough because of the early morning call time but lucky for me we only did it three times during my contract because it wasn't high season for kid passengers. The Nick cast would bring the characters down to a room next to the restaurant venue the night before. The morning of the show the Legends dancers and I would assist the Nick cast in putting on the characters. Along with their day time costumes all the characters have their own pajama costumes. Sandy Cheeks, the squirrel, was the most challenging to get dressed because of her giant tail.
The characters are each comprised of many pieces. Dora and Diego's special foam bellys, arms, legs, and Patrick's arms (the pink starfish)are called "pods". The body pods are too big to fit into the regular washing machines wardrobe uses. So they have to get washed in the big industrial machines down in main laundry. The pods are pretty cumbersome to lug down to main laundry in a giant bag slung over my back. So I always felt like Santa Claus. Or a homeless peasent girl. The character skins and clothes fit into our wardrobe washing machines which was convenient. After everything was washed (every three or four weeks) I would hang all the wet peices up to dry in the costume shop with several fans for a day or two. Dora has a booty pad that velcros into her pod & always needed extra drying. Some young professionals write themselves reminders about productivity reports and data sheets, while I write myself notes about Dora the Explorers rear end. It's an interesting life I lead.
All of this probably sounds so foreign and funny, or maybe it doesn't, but it's just interesting how a person (me) can get so accustomed to somthing that it loses it's magic. I don't know if magic is the right word, because I promise there's nothing magical about washing SpongeBob's arms, legs, and tube socks. Actually, having just written that out it does sound pretty funny.
There is one specific moment I remember from my time with Nick that reminded me how much I love my unique job. It was early one morning before Pajama Jam began. I was helping an actor into the giant Patrick costume. (It's so big he has to duck through doorways.) The legs are pods that look like pants with attached suspenders and the lower half of the torso is given it's shape by these big green shorts. (Pictured below) The top half of the starfish body is one giant piece with a backpack inside that the actor puts his arms through. Once the body is on we add the shoes and attach the movable arms. Then I have to snap Patrick into his onesie pjs. I was laying on the ground on my back in between the legs of that giant starfish when I snapped out of my morning fog and realized the hilarity of the situation. As routine as my job can be sometimes I can certainly never complain about it being boring or normal.
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| When a cast member takes off a character head they "put it to sleep" by putting a mask over the eyes. The eyes are particularly expensive and hard to fix so they need extra protection. Plus, it looks hilarious. |
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| Sandy needs her beauty sleep. |
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| Nap time. |
