Not quite smooth sailing.

Just when we thought everything would finally calm down, things got a whole lot crazier. This week is hard to write about & I can't disclose all the details but here is my best shot.

Week 3. November 4. Sunday.
We finally made it to New Orleans! We all had to wake up at 6:30am to go through immigration. Miserable. After Saturday nights show, our director Kim gathered the entire company in the dressing room and announced that three of our male dancers had been fired. The reason was valid & we all had a feeling this was coming. But it was still so sad saying goodbye. This change literally affects everyone in the company & means the hard work will continue for a long time. The good news was Kim had gotten permission to stay three extra days to re-block all the shows with the cast & keep up our moral. She was supposed to leave us when we docked in NOLA.

After immigration I headed back to my beautiful passenger cabin that I'd been living in to pack my bags. So sad. I moved down to the crew cabins on deck three. On a positive note, through some begging & good luck, I got to move in with a fabulous dancer named Jessica! She is from New Jersey by way of New Mexico, looks like Princess Jasmine, & is a former NFL cheerleader for the NY Jets! I adore her. She is so much like my last college roommate Jocelyn.

Anyways, the cast went straight back into rehearsals and I made a shopping list of supplies we needed. I'd never been to New Orleans before but confidently marched off the boat, down Canal Street, and through the French Quarter running errands. It was pouring rain but I happily bounced down the streets enjoying finally having cell phone service & being back in my favorite country. I stopped by the famous Cafe Du Monde & survived the crowds of passionate Saints fans.
I made my way back to the ship & quickly dropped my bags and went straight to the tech rehearsals for our two mini-shows that evening. They preformed the Mama Mia bumper in the "welcome aboard" show & the Latin bumper at south beach night in the Spinnaker Lounge.

Between shows the director Kim & I got drinks in spinnaker while we waited for the cast to preform. It was so fun getting to talk to her one in one. She was a professional dancer for many years & is a director/choreographer now. I loved hearing her story and learning more about the industry from her. She said she was proud of my performance over the past two weeks. It's always amazing to receive praise from someone who admire. My favorite quote was when Kim said, "you're the only blonde Christian republican sorority girl I've ever met who loves theater people & wants to live in the East Village." Hilarious. She also complimented you mom & dad on raising such a cool kid!