This is portion TWO of a series of articles I have got written to assist entertainers acquire work as
Guest Entertainers on sail ships.

Discounts
This changes from sail line to sail line, so again, either inquire your agent or bank check
the Guest Entertainer Manual of the sail line you are working for the price reductions
you are allowed as a invitee entertainer. The general rule for most ships is that there
is a 25% barroom price reduction for invitee entertainers and a 20% price reduction in the dress shop
stores on board. At the end of each sail when you acquire your bill, do certain that
the price reductions have got been taken off the concluding account. It have happened on so many
occasions where the concluding price reduction was incorrect or not taken off. For whatever ground
these days, the measures are always incorrect and most invitee entertainers have got to stop up
going down at the end of a sail and sorting the jobs out. I often believe the
jobs on ships are owed to simple deficiency of communicating between departments! There are the top end sail lines where you don’t have got to pay for any drinks at the
bar, but that is the minority. There is also a 21-year minimal age demand for
buying alcoholic beverage on most sail lines. Everything you buy is set on to your business relationship so ships are a cashless society,
however I always take a few dollar measures and go forth them as tips. Note:- Arsenic of re-reading this book the company I work for have got now taken off any
price reductions in the stores on board for invitee entertainers.

Requirement of Shows
Each sail line will have different demands from their Guest Entertainers, what
I offer is simply a guidline –

Length and figure of shows
I checked the guidelines in the manual for the sail line I work on and they state
that a lower limit repertory of two 30-minute and one 15-minute show is required. On longer sails it may be necessary to execute three of four 30 minute shows. On
the ships I work I have got never done two different 30 minute shows, rather one full
show and a split show with another enactment or two different 45 minute shows. On the
sail I am on at the moment, as of authorship this book, I am performing two 45
minute shows and a close-up show. The close-up show is at my suggestion to the
sail manager as it gives me another opportunity to force my DVDs plus I thoroughly
bask close-up magic. How many shows you are required to execute depends entirely on the length of
cruise. If you are doing the short seven twenty-four hours sails then more than often that not you will
only be required to make one full show, perhaps maybe another show sharing the measure
with another act. On the longer sails of say twenty four years you can be assured
you will necessitate to make two different full shows. This necessitates a batch of work and it is
of import that your 2nd show is as strong as the first. Speaking from experience I prefer just to make my 1 chief show as it incorporates all my
figure 1 material, rather than attempt and split it up between two shows. After
experimenting with my enactment I realized how of import it is to do certain your first
show is very strong, that manner people will speak about you, acquire to cognize you and come up
back for the second. You will hear other entertainers state they have got an Type A and a Type B
show, in my sentiment if you desire a long calling in Cruising do certain both your
shows are A material. If you can make a close-up show then by all agency reference it to
the sail manager as it all assists in the long run keeping your name in presence of the
riders when they fill up in the remark cards. The general rule of pollex is that you will make your chief show twice in one night.

Your schedule

Your agenda will change from transport to ship and sail to cruise. Generally speaking,
on a seven twenty-four hours sail you will be required to work one nighttime with your chief 45-50
minute act. This you will make twice, once at the early show, usually 8.30pm and the
other at 10.30pm for two different audiences. On the bigger ships they are now
getting us to work more, so we will work one nighttime with the two shows, then reiterate
the show again the adjacent nighttime for the crowds who missed it. The big ships now
transport up to 2800 riders so you are required to make an other show. On the seven
twenty-four hours sail you may also be asked to make an other 10 to 15 minute topographic point on the
last night, along with other invitee entertainers.

Because I have got two different full 45 minute Acts plus the close-up show, I be given to
acquire the longer runs which also intends the better contracts where the ships traveling to
more than alien locations around the world. It make sense to maintain me on a ship longer
as I can do two different nighttimes of amusement and the close-up show on a sea
day. However, having said that adjacent hebdomad I will be leaving the ship I have got been on
for three calendar months and transshipping to another ship for a small over a hebdomad where I
will be on the last portion of the sail and the beginning of a new one, then wing to fall in
another ship for a small over a week, then wing to another ship for lone 1 nighttime
before flying home. There is no set rule for how many times you will execute and
you usually only happen out when you join. My advice is to do certain you are prepared
before starting your sail ship career, otherwise it will be short lived and opportunities
of getting re-booked are very slim.

There somehow looks to be an unseeable web amongst the Entertainment
Department in the sail industry and word travelings fast. Remember that Carnival
sails have about 70% of the sail industry including; Carnival Cruise Lines,
Windstar Cruises, Cunard Lines, Netherlands United States Line, Princess Cruises, Costa
Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. That is a immense marketplace and Entertainment is
now overlapping with these companies as they all come up under one umbrella.

Material
Iodine have got always made certain my stuff was never ‘adult’ orientated or ‘blue’, unless
asked to make the midnight show – in which lawsuit you can make modus operandis that are a small
more than on the edge. Brand certain you happen out the demographics of the sail line you
will be working for. Because of my Charlie Charlie Chaplin act, they be given to set me on
longer cruises, which lawsuits me good because they have got the better itinaries. There is a
gag amongst entertainers when asked the norm age of the riders they say,
“between dead and deceased!” Iodine am currently on a 24 twenty-four hours sail as I compose this and
the norm age would be 60 plus. On the shorter cruises, such as as those in the
Carribean, you will happen the norm age much less with children traveling. One of
my good friends works for a sail line where he is required to make a 30 minute
household orientated show and a 30 minute midnight grownup show, so he obviously have
his stuff suited for those audiences. According to selling the sail ship pulls a vacationing crowd from a cross-
subdivision of North America, the United Kingdom and scatters of other nationalities so your
stuff will necessitate to be international. I have got got got appeared on sail ships where the
bulk of riders didn’t talk English, prestidigitators at least have a dexterity
advantage over comics in that we have the ocular facet of our shows to assist in
these conditions. My advice is very simple, chose stuff for your enactment that is suitable for all ages.

Music for the act
You have got the ability to work with a unrecorded set on the ship. If you be after on working on
ships a great trade you may wish to use this lost resource although the manner things
are changing the thought of having a ‘live’ set is becoming less and less. There was a
time when working on ships that my advice would have got been if you currently utilize no
music at all, see the usage of the set on the ship, however, with cut dorsums and
so on don’t trust on having a dorsum up band! Most Cruise Director’s volition anticipate "play
on and play off" music for you and if the set is available then they often have got
stock ‘tabs’ that tin be used. As a stand-in I would have got got all my music on cadmium or mini
disk.

There are sets on board the ships, but the manner things are changing sail lines
now prefer invitee entertainers to have their ain backing tracks, either on cadmium or
minidisk. Some of the music Acts obviously necessitate the ‘band’ Oregon ‘orchestra’ to endorse
them and they convey their ain musical arrangements. The more than than ego relient you are
in your act, the more you will maintain working. There was a time when there were two
different orchestras on ships, one for the chief show sofa and the other for the
littler sofas where most Assortment moves worked. However, with cutbacks ships are
using all backing paths for the bigger shows and a much littler orchestra for the
other suite having only one orchestra on ships now. Iodine always take back up music
and do certain I have got my music in a assortment of formats. When I give the Production
director my music, s/he acquires a mini-disk and a cadmium of it, just in lawsuit something
haps during the show and a machine interruptions down. This Iodine state you from
experience because it have happened!

I go with my laptop, which do life so much easier for me. If I necessitate to change
the show in any way, I can easily record a new sound cadmium of my show and everything
is in order so the production director isn’t skipping from one music path to
another. I like to do everything as easy as possible so I can concentrate on my
public presentation rather than concern about technical facets of the show going wrong. Remember also that you may be transshipping, ie. going from one ship to another
and have got small dry run time, so having cue sheets and your music all in order will
do life that much easier.