Four Jolly Ex-Pats, Three Days of Rain, Two Holidays, and a Partridge in a Pear Treeeeeeeee.....

Christmas and Boxing Day have come and gone, and now that the dust has settled, I can say that despite the obvious bummer that I am 5,000 miles away from my family, our little foursome of ex-patriots did pretty darn well for ourselves.

Chris, Annabel, and Meredith have family in England, so they left us on Christmas Eve after a blissfully shortened rehearsal day (out at 1pm!). We missed having them here, but we still had a nice Christmas.

We woke up late (!) on Christmas morning, then mosied on down to the kitchen for some freshly brewed coffee and Bailey's--both of which were luxuries. I finally broke down and just ordered a 10-cup coffee maker from Amazon because I just could NOT deal any longer with the terrible instant coffee here, nor with the substitution of tea. The American in me dies hard! While we caffeinated ourselves, I made Scotch eggs, Anthony and Heather made blueberry pancakes, and Dima cheered us on from the table. We settled upstairs with our breakfast and some Christmas tunes, then opened up the small gifties we'd gotten for each other. I continuted the Linberg tradition of putting lottery tickets in the stockings, and two of my castmates won £2 each!

After some family Skype time, we reunited in the early evening for an etravaganza of appetizers...crudites, roulades, homemade spanakopita, a bounty of cheese, and many a bottle of wine. We finished off the night with mince pies and chocolate yule log, tea, and Love Actually on DVD. It was a wonderfully relaing day all around, and we were grateful for it.

We were also grateful for the novelty of waking up late TWO days in a row! We spent the afternoon lazing about and doing a bit of post-Christmas shopping, then we got all dolled up to have a feast at the home our boss, Belinda King herself! She had invited us over about a week ago, and we were all a bit nervous about the whole situation, but it turned out be a delightful evening.

Plus, we clean up pretty good.

...some old habits die hard. You can put lipstick on a pig...

BK cooked us a full-on spread, with turkey, gravy, roasted veggies, stuffing, mince pies, cakes, cheeses, wine, champagne, the whole nine yards. Her home was lovely, her children were wonderful company, and it was just such a kind gesture to essentially adopt the four of us for the night. We came home with full bellies and happy hearts.

We had our final vocal rehearsal today with our MD (Musical Director) Andy, and we were all sad to leave the building with him for the last time. He has been an absolute treasure ever since Day One, and we have been trying to devise wily plans to get him a paid visit out to the Odyssey. Unfortunately, the only way that would happen is if our vocals became horrendously awful all of a sudden, and I think the repercussions for that might not include a trip for our beloved Andy...

From here on out, we are very lucky to have work weeks that are broken up into no more than three consecutive days, due to New Year's Day and our usual Sundays off. It's mental to think that we will be flying out in just 11 short days!!! We still have a couple of numbers to learn, but for the most part our days will consist of cleaning and tweaking our shows until they sparkle and shine, ready to put in front of our audiences on the Odyssey. It's also crazy to think we'll be in the dead of summer in 11 days as well...so long, winter coat, helloooooooo sorely-missed tan!!!

Toodles for now!

When the Moon is in the Seventh House

WOW, ok...so it's been over two weeks since my last post. Sorry 'bout that..

But it has been NUTS here. And I'm not just referring to the pistachios this cast seems to eat by the barrel (no but seriously, we eat pistachios like it's our job). I'm talking 6-day marathons of information being funneled into our brains and bodies, both of which seem to have dipped from 100% functionality to about 60%, three dress runs, costume fittings, re-blocks, company meetings, ship talks....I just CAN'T EVEN.

cue dramatic placement of the back of the hand to forehead, aaaaaaaand collapse.

It's really been a whirlwind, and I'm pretty sure I've eaten more chocolate in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years, but I feel like we've been in survival mode since my last post. Today marks the LAST day of the 6-day work weeks, which we are all grateful for. From here on out, our weeks are broken up by our traditional Sundays off, as well as Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. Now, I am aware 6 days is the norm, and I've done them in the past, but I don't know...maybe it's the amount of material, maybe it's the cold, maybe it's being in a foreign country, or maybe it's the fruitless hunt for decent coffee that has made this particular rehearsal process a doozie. We're doing some great work, and it's always eciting to see a show really come together, and I am SO utterly grateful for the cast I have, but--to use a Britishism--I will be WELL PLEASED to pop onto the Odyssey in the middle of a Southern Hemisphere summer and just get these shows up and running.

Of the five-and-a-half shows our cast will perform, we have learned all the music, have learned the choreography for four, and have performed two in their entirety and in full costumes/makeup/hair for Belinda. The big news from that side is that Belinda is happy with our cast as a whole, and I cannot express to you how much of a relief it was to hear her give us the thumbs up. Not to say that we have rested on our laurels or felt like we don't still have a lot of work ahead of us, but to get the Stamp of Approval right off the bat was a huge accomplishment, and not one she gives out lightly. I am so proud to be a part of this group of uber-talented and all-around lovely folks, and I cannot wait to start our globe-trotting adventures in just a few short weeks (two-and-a-half, not that I'm counting.)

Apparently just writing about all this is starting to tire me out, so I'll try to wrap this up...

Outside of work (surprisingly, we don't just collapse in a useless heap EVERY time we come home), some of us took a daytrip into London last Sunday for Heather's 26th birthday. We had a wonderful day ambling around the city. It was especially lovely to see Anthony getting to see some of the big landmarks for the very first time--I will never forget the look on his face when we turned the corner from Whitehall Street and he saw Big Ben for the first time. There are few things more heartwarming than seeing someone you care about get excited about something you love.

We topped off our day with high tea at the Metropolitan hotel, and we ate outrageously delicious food and drank delicious cocktails and tea and just generally felt fabulous for a couple of hours.

also, this happened.

So that's about it for now, I'll try not to go two weeks without updating next time!!

Also, Dima is cooking us a Ukranian feast tonight, and I cannot WAIT to get a slice of "Fish in a Fur Coat". I have NO CLUE what it is, but I bet it's enormous and very very tasty and has something to do with fish.
#multicultural

Toodles!!!

3 Libras, 2 Geminis, an Saggitarius and a Virgo walk into a bar...

Sooooo....it's been about a week since my last post, hasn't it? Time is flying...

I feel a lot has happened since last week and yet very little has happened at the same time. It's hard to describe, I guess. Maybe it's just in contrast to the feeling of waking up in a new country every day, so the day-to-day travails here in Northampton seem to be unworthy of mention. And then I look back and think, no...we've put almost two whole shows up in a week, as well as vocally learned four.

My work ethic is impeccable, though it does require a lot of chocolate breaks.

 That's quite a lot of progress in not a whole lot of time. According to our music director and choreographer, we seem to be ahead of schedule and picking things up really quickly. They seem quite  pleased with us as a cast as well, which I think will serve us well when Belinda comes back to the studio.

Which is Monday.

Commence mild panic attacks...

But on many happier notes:

We had Thanksgiving!!
It was a total success, and everyone came away with full bellies and happy hearts. Especially for us four Americans, I think it was a nice way to make what could have been a homesick and lonely experience into a very positive and festive one. And personally, I'm such a sucker for introducing outsiders to things I love, so it was such a treat to see Dima and Chris so happy with everything that came out of that night. Perhaps we have a couple of converts..? :)

It was back to work as usual on Black Friday--which is apparently a thing in England as well! I was so supriursed to see signs touting their BF sales, and I couldn't help but wonder why on earth they would mark the same day as Americans for the beginning of Christmas shopping?/ England is full of mysetries.

On Saturday night, right after rehearsal, I successfully navigated the British Rail system and made it to the Young Vic theater in London's West End to see the my marvelous friend Kyle star in The Scottsboro Boys. The production was incredible, very moving, and a total workout for the entire cast! I don't envy the people in the front row/splash zone, let's just say. I had fabulous seats (thanks, Kyle!), and got to share many a congratulatory beverage with him afterwards...not only because of the success of Scottsboro (sold out through the rest of the run!), but because Kyle will be making his BROADWAY DEBUT as Enjolras in the revival of Les Miz coming back to Broadway this season. I know what I'M going to be spending some of my hard-earned cruise ship money on when I get back to NY!

Cuz nothin' says "welcome home!" quite like seeing your friends slung dead over a barricade.

Sunday morning I had the pleasure of gallivanting around London with Peter and Sue White, whom I've known since I was a wee lass. They are two of the kindest, funniest, sweetest people around, and I'm so fortunate that we were in town at the same time. I got a great walking tour of London, had delicious cheeses, drank a tot or two of tasty wine, and just generally had a grand ol' time. It was a little bizarre to be touring London again after having not been there for 11 years. Very little came back to my memory, much to my displeasure. BUT, it meant I got to experience everything almost as if it were the first time, so it was still completely magical.

I mean....c'mon. Trafalgar Square at sunset. MAGICAL.

So after that fabulous weekend, it was back to Northampton and learning and dancing and singing and laughing and drinking far too much tea and just getting back down to the grind. It's been so nice to have the full company together, and I am a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit infatuated with our dancers. They are so graceful and gorgeous, and I have been entranced to the point of distraction more than a few times during run-throughs.

wheeeeeeeeeee!

Ugh. Stunners.

 So that's pretty much it from the homefront. We finish staging our second show tomorrow, have Saturday to drill it in, and then have a glorious day off on Sunday. Hopefully I'll have a bit of time to update then.

Lots of love to you all!

And Dima makes Seven

Our little family is complete!

Anabel met us at the studio in the afternoon, and Dima's visas from the Ukraine arrived and he flew in this afternoon. Having them at last in the house was like suddenly finding those last two little missing pieces of a puzzle turn up under the couch when you're vacuuming.

You can totally tell that piece is a dancer...it has a killer point. :-D

Hmm.

Maybe I should have re-thought that analogy.

Whatever. YAY, OUR DANCERS ARE HERE!!

So, since they were supposed to have started last week while all us singers were learning music, they have quite a lot to catch up on starting tomorrow. Which actually works out well for the rest of us, since we had our first day of choreography today and it would behoove us to have a day to let it really get into our bones. This is pretty much the first time I've been in a cast that is primarily populated with singers, so a lot of the jazzysnazzy staging falls on our shoulders. I've always prided myself on being a pretty good mover for a singer, but it actually is a bit exciting/daunting to know that we're going to be basically carrying the shows. So far the choreo hasn't been overly complicated or taxing, but there is a decent amount to learn and not get confused with other bits of other songs and oh also sing flawless 5-part harmony and/or belt my face off. It is a challenge I very very willingly accept. As usual, my cast is staying on top of everything like a bunch of champions, and we surprised our choreographer by how much we managed to learn and at least semi-gracefully bumble through today. It gives me high hopes (DANGER! DANGER!) to think that once Belinda King herself returns to the UK and actually gets a chance to see us perform, that she'll be--as the Brits say--"well pleased."

Lord, that reminds me...I'm so tickled to be hearing all this new British vocabulary. Some I knew already (lorry=truck), some make me stop to think for a second (half seven=7:30, not 6:30), and some make no damn sense at all (pudding=dessert, custard=pudding, creme gelatine=custard or something, and I can't find sugar-free Jell-o mix anywhere! this is wrong. wrong wrong wrong.). On the other hand, I did discover today that the Brits say "sh*t hot", whereas we say "hot sh*t", and frankly, that just amused everyone. We're building bridges here, people. #diplomacy

Oh, and I have SO been loving the picture the Euros have of us Americans. So far we as individuals seem to be well-received, but it does dampen the spirit a bit to see "People of Walmart" become the standard by which all Americans are measured.

I mean, these are some majestic creatures.

Though maybe this does us a service...the standard is set SO low that we can very easily impress the rest of the populace, simply by showering and having the ability to string full sentences together. Go us.

In an effort to ingratiate American culture to our own possibly disenchanted Euros, we are doing Thankgiving tomorrow!! I joke..we collaborated as a cast and put together a pretty traditional menu: turkey "joints" (sort of a de-boned half bird? kinda?), gravy (homemade and jarred), cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet/regular potatoes, brussels sprouts, biscuits, and a pear/rum-soaked sultana cobbler. And wine. Much wine. Anabel, though a Brit, actually lived in Florida for a few years, so she's excited to get a proper Thanksgiving again, but Chris and Dima (as far as I know) have NEVER had one, and it's always a thrill to get to introduce the greatest of all American holidays to newbies.

You were a close second, National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I'll definitely be missing my family tomorrow, as I'm sure all the ex-pats will, but to have a lovely meal with lovely people will be a decent substitute. Also, COBBLER.

That's all for now, gotta go review choreo for one show and music for two others.

I love being busy...especially this kind of busy. It's bliss.

Four days in

What a completely unsettling feeling.

I just came back from watching the new Hunger Games movie with three of my castmates (#4 left to visit family upcountry), and I was just struck with the oddest sensation when the movie finished. I had a sudden flash of realization that I had just watched an American movie while sitting between a girl from Texas and a boy from Northern England, in a theater in Great Britain. And that I would be leaving the cinema and taking a cab home--which I will pay for in money that is symbolized by this wacky-looking symbol: £ --and going to sleep in a beautiful flat that will only be my home for the next 46 days. It was a weird duality of having a certain level of familiarity (American friends, American movie) suddenly have the rug pulled out from under it by my simple existence in England.
This is not by any means to say that I am unhappy here--on the contrary, I'm really amused by the whole adjustment process so far--but I guess I was just thrown for a loop by the sudden realization that I am not in my native country, and the reason for my not being there is totally bizarre and slightly unreal.

Anyway, enough of that.

We've just wrapped up our first week of rehearsals, and I'm feeling very confident about this cast. We are all hard workers, talented, and professional, and we know when to focus and when to laugh. And laugh we did...
We had our first "self-learn" day, which is a BRILLIANT thing put in place by the BK formula. Once a week, each cast gets a day at the studio to just solidify everything we've learned that week, go over old material, hash out harmonies, plunk out parts, and really dig deep into our shows to nail everything down. It has really been an onslaught of information since we began, having learned the vocals of almost two shows in only three days. When we get back on Monday, we'll have two more vocal days to finish learning the second show and dive into the third, before we start putting the first show on its feet. Which is to say, by end of business on Wednesday, we'll have learned the music for three shows and have learned the choreography for one. Which is fabulous, considering we have five full production shows and two smaller shows to learn entirely before we get on the ship on January 10th, with only 39 days of rehearsal (well, 35, now). Quite a tall order, but from what I've experienced so far, I know the cast can handle it, and I have full confidence in the skills of our musical directors and choreographers. I really get a sense of family and cohesiveness at BK, and not only toward ourselves, but within the staff itself. It's so refreshing to be somewhere where everyone seems to be on the same page, and care about the well-being of everyone involved. I've been so pleased with the process thus far. And I know it will get more and more intense, and that I'll probably be ripping my hair out in a week, but I think it will be from sensory overload, and not from internal politics and attitude problems.

...WHICH IS SAYING A LOT, considering this industry!! Amiright??

So, tomorrow is our first day off, and I plan to be completely lazy and indulgent and only vaguely consider changing out of my pajamas. It's going to be fantastic.

The Fifth Cast Member

We began our day feeling like rockstars as we were picked up at the house in a van to drive us over to BK Studios. This will be the LAST time we'll be picked up for free, tragically. And with the winter setting in (it MASSIVELY hailed this afternoon), I think I'm going to have to withdraw a bit of cash to pay for cabs. A 3-mile walk in the snow does not a happy singer make.

We arrived at the studios and were warmly greeted by the entire staff, and we even got a bit of a peek in at the Rotterdam and a Cunard cast. Lovely folks, every one of them. The studios are lovely, very modern-looking, and stocked to the brim with tea and toast. It's completely adorable.

After our tour, we got an overview of the rehearsal schedule and a breakdown of each of our shows. There is some wonderful music with some killer arrangements--I'm really excited to begin (tomorrow! ack!)! There is a lot of belting in my future, make no mistake about that! ;-) I also learned a new phrase from our choreographer: "to go tits up". I rather like this country...

Then we were whisked off to London to get our medicals. We stopped at a small highway turn-off for a bit to eat, where I learned all about the odd difference between English and Ameican Diet Cokes, as well as a new word: "bap". Apparently, it's a bun.

pictured: a bap.

pictured: most of an English breakfast, piled into a bap.

It was glorious.

We were a bit early in arriving to London, so Mark (our lovely driver) gave us a bit of a tour of the NW corner of London, cruising down Park Lane and near Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. 

Also, Baker Street!

The medicals were short, efficient, and painless. We were all approved and cleared and hurried on our merry way in less than an hour for all four of us. Definitely the easiest pre-employment medical to which I have ever been subjected!

We stopped off for a bit of lunch and coffee, then all the Americans fell promptly to sleep in the end-of-day traffic. We have gotten quite good at napping! We ended up at a Morrison's grocery store, where I mystified two separate employees by asking for hydrogen peroxide (the initial follow-up question from BOTH women was, "what...like hair dye?") as well as held up the line for a good 10 minutes because the English machines couldn't read my credit card. Seriously, America, we have to step it up! So many countries use the microchip in the cards! Swiping is SO 2003. I eventually was able to pay with my debit card, but Friday and my cash paycheck cannot come soon enough.
In addition to the essentials, I definitely indulged in one of my most favorite of culinary sins: ENGLISH CHOCOLATE. I don't know what it is, but English (and by way of England, Canadian) candy bar chocolate  is just a concoction worthy of endless praise. No wonder Roald Dahl was inspired to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is where dreams are made. I bought three bars I had never tried before, and I have to say--the Double Decker is pretty phenomenal. The jelly candies are pretty good too, and there is a lot to be said for English candies of that nature, but man.....THE CHOCOLATE.

pictured: excellence.

So once we had some proper groceries, we headed home, where we were joined shortly thereafter by our fifth and final singer, Chris Cook! Chris just got off the Seabourn Sojourn literally four days ago, and I am so impressed that he is going to just jump right into rehearsals with us tomorrow. We all chatted over some tea, and now we're all about to turn in and get some rest before our first big vocal rehearsal tomorrow. It's going to get real messy real soon, kids! Stay tuned!

Day the First

WOW.
I am in England!

why am I craving scones all of a sudden?

ENGLAND!

It's been four months since I was offered this gig, and now I'm finally here, about to begin a whole new adventure.

The flights over here were long, but not terribly uncomfortable, and I arrived at London Heathrow unscathed.

Also, fabulous.

 I met one of my male singers at tht airport and we were driven over to the apartment here in Northampton.

Though frankly, calling it an "apartment" (or should I say, "flat"?) is a bit of a misnomer.

This place was once a shoe factory back in the Victorian era and I am completely in love with all the exposed brick and open-air floorplans! It's like a hipster's dream.
The entire bottom floor is the boys' bedrooms and a large kitchen with tons of fridge space and countertops. They even provided us with bread, lunch meat, cheese, tea, and biscuits for our arrival! The second floor is a huge living area with access to a bricked-in patio outside. Upstairs are the girls' bedrooms, two beds in each, but each room is massive. We could stage a show on just the carpeted area in my room alone!

My room

gigantic mirror!

Mmmm...exposed brick...

View from my room, with the sweet suncatcher my mom snuck into my suitcase!

Everything smells clean and fresh, we have in-house laundry facilities and detergent, and we even get a housecleaner every Friday! One denizen of the BKCP team greeted us and showed us around the place, and later, another gent came by and briefed us on the fire exits, extinguishers, and emergency contacts--including informing us that general medical care during out stay here is free. FREE. WHERE AM I!!?!? I can't get over how well-provided for we have been so far. I'm not looking forward to the 25-minute walk each way to/from the studios in the dead of the upcoming English winter, but for the time being, I am pretty stoked on life.

I met the two other American girls, Heather and Meredith, and we all got to chatting for a bit. My jet lag caught up with me and I went down for a hours while they took a stroll into town for some lunch and shopping. We later ordered pizza for dinner and lamented the stark difference (coughcoughSUPERIORITY) of American v. British Domino's pizza. We are on the forefront of the cultural vanguard, we are! Also, I now know what a "Cumberland sausage" tastes like (protip: like a glorified hotdog). So, you know, there's that.

Tomorrow we have a very well-mapped out day of touring the studios and meeting with the creative teams to discuss the shows, then it's off to London for our medical exams--and hopefully a spot of sightseeing! I haven't been to London since 2002, and I am hungry to lay eyes on the beautiful city again.

Cheerio for now!