Say what you will about booking gigs aboard a cruise ship, but the facts are simple: Actors will get invaluable experience (not to mention an impressive credit) while traveling the world for free. That’s probably why countless performers of stage and screen got their starts in the industry—their sea legs, if you will—aboard cruise ships; see below as to why perhaps you should, too.
You’ll gain crash-course acting experience.
“Cruise ships are fantastic gigs for actors—especially for those who have talent but not enough experience. I watch actors go into these contracts quite green and leave experienced and confident. I think of it as a summer camp for performers.” —Benton Whitley, casting director for Royal Caribbean and AIDA cruise lines
The financial benefits are endless.
“It’s a great way to save money because your accommodations and food and everything are provided, so I have a lot of performers who do a contract or two and then go back to New York or the West End or wherever their home base may be, and pursue other endeavors...While on board, performers get ‘passenger privileges.’ Top talent are accommodated in their own ‘officer’ grade rooms while dancers generally share a room. But actors don’t work a cruise to stay in the room. Spending the summer in the Mediterranean is not a bad gig.”—Kevin Miller, casting director for Princess Cruises
It’ll make you an adaptable performer.
“Most of the shows require heavy jazz technique, but they require a definite background in ballet. The new shows definitely have more of the different styles, but a jazz-trained dancer, or even a strong musical theater jazz-trained dancer with ballet [training], would fit in well. [Performers learn to] adapt technique to dance on a moving ship.” —Kristin Alexis Turner, veteran Carnival Cruise Ship performer
You’ll learn to perform under extenuating circumstances.
“We try to address challenges during orientation and rehearsals. However, no matter how much you tell somebody if it’s their first time working on a ship, the challenge is often being in that confined space. You don’t have the freedom to get in your car or on the subway and go wherever you want. You’re living on that vessel for six to eight months.” —Franklyn Warfield, Senior Casting Director for RWS Entertainment Group
Yes, the productions are top-notch.
“You see these $1.5 million shows, but you forget you’re at sea. You think you’re in a theater that can house a carousel or a World War II plane. But it comes through an 8-foot-by-10-foot dock door. It’s not what you put onstage that is a challenge—it’s how you store it. How do I fit a fairground in something that is the size of my bathroom? When you leave the ship, the smallest problems people worry about in theaters are a piece of cake because I made this fit in a crazy-small storage area. Plus, the ship moves. What do we do if it’s a rocky night? It makes you think ahead and outside the box. It’s a really helpful place to learn.” —Danny Teeson, director and choreographer for Princess Cruises
You alone can elevate a production.
“We’re looking for actors who are willing to take this to the next level and who are willing to leave New York to see the world. We’re doing the whole process of going to agents and doing open calls as well as putting that together with what we already have to build a great team.” —Jason Styres, CSA
Convinced? Check out Backstage's cruise line auditions!