Occasionally, I hear magicians
speak poorly about those that work on cruise
ships. This attitude surprises me. The fact
is, much of our kind of show business has moved
out to sea. The cruise industry continues to
grow, with new fully equipped showrooms that
need entertainment nightly.
Nearly all ships use some kind
of variety entertainment on each cruise. I would
guess that magic is the most common, with instrumentalists
and jugglers a tie for second place. On a typical
ship you might see a cast of (6-12) production
show singers and dancers, a comedian, a magician,
a juggler or instrumentalist and a feature vocalist.
Many cruises have started to buy "name" acts,
as well.
So why is there this bad attitude
toward cruise ship acts? I can think of several
reasons, some justified and some not.
Could it be because of the
isolation required by sea travel? You don't
get a lot of press while working a ship. No
one except the cruise passengers come to see
you work. You may be a headliner on the ship,
but once the contract is over you are relatively
unknown. This could definitely contribute to
a lack of recognition, but the problem maybe
deeper than that.
Could it be that ships are
not considered as legitimate showplaces, compared
to a hotel casino in Las Vegas? Well, much like
hotels, there are all types of cruise ships.
There is the Ritz Carlton, then again there's
Motel Six! It would be unfair to judge the industry
with a blanket statement that cruises are second
class.
Indeed, Kellie and I are currently
working on the top rated luxury cruise line
of its class in the world. The company has actually
defined a new level of service and amenity,
to be considered by ContÈ Nast a "six star"
facility. Even with this air of sophistication
the ship has personality and the guests (we
never call these people "passengers") are fun
and approachable. The average cost for a cruise
is $1000.00 per person per day, and the current
cruise is eighteen days long! It is definitely
First Class all the way.
As guest entertainers, Kellie
and I have full use of the ship and all its
luxury. We live a suite with a double bed, picture
window, TV/VCR, video library, a stocked refrigerator,
a walk-in closet and marble bathroom with tub!
All our food and drinks (even alcohol) are provided.
Plus the ship travels to the most interesting
places on Earth accessible by sea!
Is this standard for cruise
ship magicians? No. Without being a "name act,"
this is as good as it gets for me. And it took
years to build a reputation in the industry
to arrive here. I started by working the mass-market
cruises and my living conditions were nothing
close to this standard. My first job had me
in a cabin that was only a foot longer than
the bed and not much wider!
If not the conditions, could
the problem with the cruise magicians' image
be; that they're just not very good? Hmm, this
is perhaps a subjective matter. But I'm willing
to stick my neck out a little. Again, just as
there are degrees of professionalism in any
industry, it is hard to paint with a broad brush.
That said, one must consider the situation.
According to its marketing, the cruise ship
attracts a vacationing crowd from a cross-section
of North America, the UK and sprinkles of other
nationalities. The material you choose must
be appealing to that audience. It doesn't matter
what other magicians think of it, your material
has to please those people or you don't work
anymore!
At the end of each cruise,
the passengers fill out "Comment Cards." These
forms ask them to grade the performance of many
things on the ship including the magician! Who
else in the entertainment field gets a "report
card" for each show? Typically, the passengers
rate you as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair
or Poor. These are given a number value and
an average "rating" is tabulated after each
cruise. You must maintain an overall excellent
rating. If you don't make the grade you're gone.
So the case can be made that
those that work consistently must at least be
good for their venue, regardless of their peer's
opinion of them. Furthermore, many cruise lines
hire through agents as a screening process.
Agents, like Ron Wilson, have strong reputations
because they consistently provide the right
acts for the right ship. Their livelihood is
connected to those comment cards too!
Okay, so what IS the problem
then? Well, here's the deal, to do a good job
you need a minimum of 80 minutes of material.
Does this material need to be entertaining?
Yes. Does it need to be artistic? Not really.
Does it need to be original? No. Does it need
to be toast of the magic community? Not even
close.
That minimum of eighty minutes
is a real grabber, too. Not that many acts have
that much "A" material, especially three openers
and closers. There are some fantastic performers
that have 10-20 minutes. Incredible acts, yet
when they need to fill more time they can really
fall apart.
Having said all that, it maybe
changing. Cruise passengers are generally well-traveled
people. They have been to Las Vegas, Broadway
and the Palladium. They have also been on many
cruises. They have seen a lot of entertainment
and a lot of magic. This new "golden age of
magic" can only be maintained if the performers
keep the audiences engaged with quality and
novel performances.
I must plead guilty. I was
trained on the, "It's not what you do, but how
you do it," school of thought. "Classics done
well" is the way to go, I thought. However,
nowadays it is wise to make sure your act doesn't
look like everyone else. Ask any cruise entertainment
director about magicians' videotapes, they all
look alike. Same routines, same patter, too
many card tricks.
This I believe is the problem
with the reputation of today's cruise magicians.
If you have thought of working on a cruise ship,
don't be deterred by naysayers. But at the same
time don't think it is not a professional venue.
With eighty minutes of performance material to
develop, it is not a job to be entered into lightly!
