Archive for January, 2009
 Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
The very first contract I had aboard a cruise ship came about in May of 2000 when I boarded the MS ASUKA operated by the NYK Cruises Co., Ltd., a Japanese company with it’s head quarters in Tokyo, Japan. I was on for a grand total of about 48 hours and sailed between Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York City.
So how did I land this job? Well one of the CEOs from the company and his wife happened to see my show while I was performing at the Canal City Shopping Complex in Fukuoka, we exchanged cards and about about seven months later I was on the ship. Total fluke.
If you’d like to go the route of contacting the lines directly keep in mind that the Entertainment Directors for these companies receive a ton of performer promo on a weekly basis and unless you’re promo really shines and sticks out amongst everything else they’re looking at, they may not even give it a second look.
If you can get you foot in the door however and establish a good relationship with any of these companies you might save yourself thousands of dollars in agent commissions by going direct. The list below is by no means all inclusive, but these are some of the bigger companies that it would be worth submitting your materials to.
Bon Voyage!
Carnival Cruises
Attn: Director of Entertainment
3655 NW 87th Avenue
Miami, FL, 33178
USA
Celebrity Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL, 33132
USA
Web: http://www.celebritycruises.com
Crystal Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
2049 Century Park East #1400
Los Angeles, CA, 90067
USA
Web: http://www.crystalcruises.com
Cunard Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
c/- Carnival Cruises UK
Richmond House
Terminus Terrace, SOUTHAMPTON, SO14 3PN
UNITED KINGDOM
Web: http://www.cunard.com
Disney Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
P.O. Box 10210
Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830-0210
USA
Web: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com
Holland America Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
300 Elliott Avenue West
Seattle, WA, 98119
USA
Web: http://www.hollandamerica.com
Norwegian Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
7665 Corporate Center Drive
Miami, FL, 33126
USA
Web: http://www.ncl.com
Prestige Cruise Holdings
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1000 Corporate Dr. Suite 500
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33334
USA
Web: http://www.prestigecruises.com
Princess Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
24844 Avenue Rockefeller
Santa Clarita, CA, 91355
USA
Web: http://www.princess.com
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
USA
Web: http://www.royalcaribbean.com
Silverseas Cruises
Attention: Director of Entertainment
110 E. Broward Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
USA
Web: http://www.silversea.com.
Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities | 1 Comment »
 Where in the world am I today?: Vancouver, BC, Canada
As a juggler I need to have my hands free to manipulate what ever prop I happen to be holding. Over the years I’ve worked with a variety of microphone options and by far my favorite has been the Countryman ISOMAX Headset Microphone.
Now the thing to remember is that this is just the microphone and has nothing to do with the transmitter and receiver. I opted for a Sennheiser system when I purchased my system because I liked the robustness of the metal shells used on the transmitter and receiver at the time, but Countryman will include the appropriate adaptor for what ever body pack you end up selecting making this microphone a simple plug and play operation.
Why do I like this microphone so much?
- It’s robust. I’ve had the one I purchased for eight years and it’s never crapped out on me. Sure there are smaller, less visible alternatives, but I don’t mind the look of this thing and the fact that I can bang it around a bit with out it breaking is a huge huge plus!
- It doesn’t sweat out.’ I’m very active in my show and sweat a lot during my performance. I have in the past used microphones that seemed to jam out on me if they got in contact with the slightest amount of moisture. Sweat happens and the fact that the Countryman microphone can handle a little bit of moisture (don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to go swimming with it on) has been a huge plus.
- The fit is adjustable, yet secure. Initially I bent the microphone arm a bit so that it was positioned where I wanted it, but with the adjustable band that goes around the back of my head I can keep the microphone snugly in place and not bouncing around.
Apparently I’m not the only one for whom these features are a plus as just about every Princess Cruise I’ve worked on hands me one of these microphones when I ask for a headset. So, if its good enough for Princess Cruises and “The Checkerboard Guy” it might be worth considering if/when you decide to go shopping for your next microphone.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Technical Tuesdays, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: Home! North Vancouver, BC, Canada
I make a point of sending a thank you note to my clients after each of my contracts and when ever possible I send along a fun picture taken as part of the contract like the one to the left that was taken in Aruba while I was contracted to perform aboard the Coral Princess.
Getting a photo like this is easier during longer contracts like fairs, trade shows or cruise ships when there’s a bit more time involved and often it’s easy to capture some of the behind the scenes fun that this contract has allowed me to participate in.
Remembering that a client almost always has a choice when it comes to who they hire and that keeping a client happy starts well before you step on stage and ends long after you’ve stepped off stage will serve you very well and help build stronger business relationships as a result.
Juggling and performing have allowed me to travel around the world and I derive a great deal of joy from being able to make people smile for a living. Beyond doing the best job I can when I step on stage, I always make the effort to say a sincere thank-you to the people responsible for hiring me and giving me such wonderful opportunities.
Remembering to stay thank-you is a small investment of time and energy and leaves a lasting impression that may well result in more opportunities for both work and travel in the future.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Juggling, Marketing, Travel | Comments Off on Thank You Notes
 Where in the world am I today?: Woke up in Cartagena, Columbia and am headed home…
Watched “Man on Wire” again yesterday and was struck by a moment in the documentary where Philippe Petit has walked the wire between the World Trade Centers and the Police and Reporters all want to know “Why” – His response is fantastic – “There is no why.”
In the days leading up to Christmas it snowed a lot in North Vancouver where I live! Not just on one day, but on about four or five different days we got just dumped on. Initially it wasn’t the nice sticky snow that’s good for making snowballs, but rather a drier powdery snow that didn’t seem to want to stick.
My boys and I discovered that even though the snow wouldn’t pack the way we wanted it to for snowballs, we could create snow bricks by filling up a big bucket and packing the snow into it sort of like making bricks for a sand castle at the beach. The perfect snow castle of course seemed to be an igloo, so we set about constructing an igloo in our backyard – well a half igloo as we built it against the back fence.
There wasn’t really an obvious “why” involved, because who needs a “why” getting in the way of the statement – We’re building an igloo in our backyard. More important than asking why was the journey that was involved in figuring out how to make the bricks, dealing with the different textures of snow that fell from the sky on a daily basis and working towards the goal that we had set for ourselves.
We had setbacks. I woke up one morning to discover that part of the wall had collapsed and I had to go back several steps and spend a great deal of time rebuilding the section that had fallen apart. ‘Why bother rebuilding’ never really entered the picture… It was just supposed to be. My boys and I were going to have an igloo in the back yard and we weren’t going to let a little set back get in the way.
We had a huge breakthrough the day the picture above was taken when we built the first roof arches and it actually felt like this dream we set out achieve was going to become a reality. The day after this shot was taken the snow that fell from the sky was perfect sticky snow-ball snow and the remains of the roof construction were a breeze compared to everything that had come before.
The igloo only lasted about a week before the weather warmed up and the structure really did collapse but the length of time it lasted mattered less than the fact that we had achieved the crazy dream we had put before ourselves.
Be it igloo or some other crazy mission I hope I’m able to remember not to let a question like ‘why’ get in the way of the joy derived from the the pursuit of dreams.
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Posted in Family, General, Thoughts | Comments Off on Don’t let “Why” get in the Way
 Where in the world am I today?: Aruba
Prologue: I first met Kevin in September 2006 as we boarded the CROWN Princess in St. Thomas. Kevin was had a bouncy leprechaun-like step and we became friends in a heartbeat. His comedy primarily focuses on relationships and when he’s not doing comedy shows he also does lectures. He can often be found sitting at a round table in Horizon Court on whatever Princess Ship he happens to be performing having ‘round table discussions’ as he likes to call them.
Stats:
Birthday: September 28, 1951
Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: Austin Texas, 1981
Discipline: Stand-up Comedian
Website: http://www.staytogether.us
Video Link: http://www.staytogether.us/clips.html
Venues Worked: Cruise Ships, Comedy Clubs, TV, Radio, and one Industrial Film for Clark Equipment Corporation – Fork lifts (nice!)
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite color? • Pink
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream • Vanilla
- What makes you laugh? • My Children
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • Bill Cosby, George Burns, Lucille Ball
- If you could describe yourself as a character from Whinnie the Pooh, who would it be? • The love child of Tigger and Owl
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • Soldier in the US Army – Platoon Sergent
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Fly a single engine plane from North Carolina to Bourget Field in France to retrace the steps of Charles Lindbergh
- What’s the best thing about being a performer? • Making people laugh
- What’s the hardest thing about being a performer? • Being away from your family
- Why do you keep performing? • How could you not??? Because it’s part of who I am be it on stage or off.
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
Kevin Huges’s Three Rules of Comedy –
- Nobody thinks they’re funny, your friends think your funny. So you’ve already proven you can make someone laugh.
- Since you can make your friends laugh, consider your audience your new friends
- Don’t write what you think the audience thinks is funny, write what you think is funny and convince the audience to see it your way.
–Kevin Huges
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Interview, Performance | Comments Off on Kevin Hughes • Interviews from the Inside
 Where in the world am I today?: At Sea aboard the Coral Princess (Caribbean)
Over the past several months various friends have told me I should check out “Man on Wire,” the 2008 documentary that tells the story of Philippe Pettit’s historic tight-wire walk between the World Trade Center Towers on August 7, 1974. Well, I finally did and it was fantastic and haunting all at the same time!
While watching the film I was reminded of a conversation that I had had with fellow performer Glenn Singer years and years ago… Glenn and I were talking about various performers and the philosophies that motivated them to pursue careers as performers. Then… right smack in the middle of the conversation he drops a bomb on me –
“Ya know Dave, if we didn’t want to make money, we could make history.”
In that one statement Glenn seemed to put me on trial for some of the choices that I’ve made and continue to make. I know he wasn’t directing it at me in a bad way, as an insult or criticism, because the statement, on some level, made me question the path that I had chosen, it had a profound importance and stuck with me.
Watching “Man on Wire” brought up those feelings of doubt again because the story so clearly documents the story of a guy who chose the other path – the path to make history.
Admittedly when Philippe Petit started his journey –
“as a poet conquering beautiful stages”
– (as he states in the documentary) the world was a different place and it would be hard to imagine a similar feet in today’s world of ultra tight security, but the documentary does an amazing job of showing the lengths to which he went to conquer the obstacles and the sheer impossible-ness of the act and the resulting emotion in having pulled it off.
Of course it was against the law, but again, as the documentary states –
“Against the law, but not wicked or mean.”
Philippe’s walk between the world trade towers captured the imagination of the World and history was made. The 45 minutes he spent on the wire between the towers is about the length of an average show for many performers, but setting an impossible dream, accepting that it was impossible and achieving it anyway is a sort of poetry that very few performers give the world. It left me feeling like I should hold myself to a higher standard and perhaps shift my priorities a bit…
Hmmmm…food for thought. If you get the chance I highly recommend you check it out.
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Posted in General, Performance, Thoughts | Comments Off on Man on Wire
 Where in the world am I today?: At Sea aboard the Coral Princess (Caribbean)
So… Working on Cruise Ships… There seem to be two popular options as a performer wanting to work on cruise ships.
- Work through and agent.
- Work directly with the cruise lines.
I’ve done both, but today’s post as the heading indicates is going to focus on the Agent route… I’ll get into contacting the lines directly next week.
The only down side to working with an agent is parting with a percentage of your salary for every contact you do. My first contract with Princess Cruises back in 2001 was through an agent in Vancouver who charged 15%, but when I switched to working through Don Casino Productions who are out of Miami, that figure dropped to 10%. Having spoken to various acts on ships it seems that most agencies that people want to work through also seem to be at the 10% rate, so if you contact an agent and they’re asking for a larger percentage I’d say steer clear.
For many cruise lines the option of working though an agency has several advantages the biggest of which seems to be that if something goes wrong and you have to cancel a contract last minute an agent will be able to draw on their stable of talent to find a replacement more quickly than you might as an individual. In short, there’s less risk for the cruise lines when working though an agent, especially if they’ve never seen your show live and can’t really gauge from your video how your show will go over with their passengers. In this situation having an agent working for you to give the cruise line that extra push and smooth the way for your first contracts can and does make a huge difference.
So how do you convince an agent to start representing you? Well, start with the traditional route of sending in your promotional materials is a good start. Your package should include 8 x 10 photo(s), a Bio, Press Release, and testimonials from past clients and/or news publications attesting to your greatness. The kicker though will be your video – ideally a DVD showing you performing in a venue similar to what typical performance spaces are like on a ship – this means, either a theatre, club or perhaps a cabaret venue. If you’ve got footage of you working in a variety of indoor settings great, but they should all be lounge/club/theatre settings, venues that will allow the agent to look at your show and go – ‘Yep, this act knows what they’re doing and will easily be able to transition into the sorts of venues that cruise ships offer.
In my case I sent my promotional materials to the Don Casino Agency in Miami (based on a suggestion from fellow juggler Reid Belstock) and followed up the mailing about a week later with a phone call to make sure that they had received the video. It was then that I also learned a very valuable lesson. The video that I had sent down was a compilation video that had seven different videos of my work in various settings. Though one of the chapters specifically showed me performing on cruise ships, the agent popped the video in their DVD player and didn’t want to have to navigate to find the video that I wanted them to watch. It would have been far better to simply include a DVD with just the cruise ship promo reel on it, so keep this in mind when sending your info in.
When I made the follow-up phone call I discovered that the agent hadn’t actually seen the cruise ship section of the video and they had determined that I wasn’t going to be appropriate for ship work. Though the course of the conversation I indicated that no, I actually had worked on ships before and that yes, a part of the video did actually show me in that setting. I ended up couriering another copy of the video down to them and followed that up with another call, which eventually lead to me being invited to perform as part of an annual showcase that the Casino Agency puts on in Miami.
February 2005 I hopped on a plane, flew down to Miami and was one of 20 acts each given 10 minutes to strut their stuff on stage. The audience was made up of about 500 people mostly retired from around the area where the showcase was held. Also sprinkled in the audiences were representatives from various cruise lines who were brought in specifically to scout the new talent that the Casino Agency was looking at representing.
The full story of that experience may make it into another post at some point, but for the sake of actually getting some useful information out I’ll cut to the chase. Shortly after doing the showcase the Casino Agency started sending me out for contracts and have done a very good job securing me work ever since.
So…there you go.
Below I’ve listed the four names that seem to come up the most when I talk to other guest entertainers about who they work through. I’ve also included a link to a site that lists a number of other agencies that might be worth looking into, but that I know less about. Good luck!
Barry Ball Artists / Spotlight Entertainment Productions, Inc
http://www.barryball.com/
Attention: Barry Ball
2121 N. Bayshore Drive, Suite 908
Miami, FL, 33137-5135, USA
Phone: 1-866-902-2255
Fax: 305-573-5457
Blackburn International
http://www.blackburninternational.com
Attention: Johnathan Blackburn
Suite B
26 Craven Court
Stanhope Road
Camberley
Surrey GU15 3BS. UK
Tel: 01276 686661
Don Casino Productions
http://www.doncasino.com/
Attention: Wendy Garvis
20880 West Dixie Highway, Suite 105
Miami FL 33180, USA
Tel: (305) 935-0137 or (305) 935-9094
First Class Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.gotofirstclass.com
Howard Beder
483 Ridgewood Road
Maplewood, NJ 07040-2136 USA
Tel: (973) 763-0591
Fax: (973) 763-0570
More agents can be found via this link –http://redbirdstudio.com/AWOL/CruiseShipAgencies.html
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Job Opportunities, Marketing, Thoughts, Travel | 6 Comments »
 Where in the world am I today?: Port Everglades, FL, USA
Got this tip from Willie Tyler the other day and thought it would make a good tip for a ‘Technical Tuesday’ entry. I work on cruise ships a fair bit and often I fly into ports in foreign countries and am picked up at the airport by a representative from the local port authority. The port authority is a local representative who looks after details for cruise ships that visit that particular port. When a new guest entertainer arrives, it’s often the port authority, who ensures that you get picked up, taken to what ever accommodations have been arranged and/or takes you directly to the ship you’ll be working on.
When I arrive in a country where I don’t speak the language, with a ton of props in tow I sort of stick out and people who are looking for a “Guest Entertainer Type” don’t usually have a hard time finding me.
Quite often they’ve got a sign with my name on it along with a sign that indicates which cruise line they’re working for. When I see a sign like this I breath a small sigh of relief that there’s actually someone there to pick me up (I’ve had a few instances where there wasn’t) and quickly walk over and introduce myself.
Ventriloquist, Willie Tyler took this concept one step further and travels with a sign that has his name on it so when he gets past the immigration formalities and has collected his baggage he can hold up a sign that helps identify himself to people who might be looking for him. Though not overly complicated, this sign has apparently saved his bacon on more than on occasion and I’ll be crafting a sign of my own when I get home from this current trip.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, General, Technical Tuesdays | Comments Off on Bring a sign with your name on it.
 Where in the world am I today?: Woke up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, will go to bed in Miami, FL, USA
This whole trading card thing started for me back in November of 1995 on a trip to Japan. That trip also happened to end with me getting engaged and I’ll happily admit that my now wife saying ‘YES’ was a far more historic event in my life, but the idea to create a trading card to promote myself also happens to have been one of the best marketing decisions I’ve made ever!
The full history that lead to the creation of Super Star Performer Cards and the website can be seen at here: http://www.checkerhead.com/history.html, but what the site never really conveyed fully is how much fun these things are.
The reason you spend money on promotional material is so you can give it away, and the more you give away the better. Sure it costs you money to do this, but I’ve run across performers who, after spending a ton of money on their promo, have a hard time parting with it… This completely defeats the whole purpose of spending the money in the first place… The whole point is to give it away.
Now I can understand wanting to be somewhat selective, targeting your market for maximum effectiveness etc. etc. etc., but in the end, the whole idea here is to give this stuff away–Period–end of statement.
This is what makes trading cards so much fun. Depending on how many cards you order, the cost per card works out to between about 4¢ and 13¢ a pop and with a price tag like that you can afford to hand them out like crazy thus creating a buzz and hype about your show before the recipient of the card even really has any idea of what it is you do.
Some might argue that it costs next to nothing to send out an email, but there’s a satisfaction in handing someone something, and unlike most business cards or, as in the above example, an email, a trading card seems to be an instant conversation starter.
For some bizarre reason, my experience has been that people seem to want them more than a business card, and again, for some bizarre reason seem to hold on to them. I can’t tell you how many times someone has come up to me, pulled out their wallet and pulled out a trading card that I had given them years ago.
Perhaps these are particularly well suited to the fun nature that I try to promote during my show and I’ll happily admit that these aren’t for everyone. I’ll also admit to having crafted the beginning of my show so that I can use the hype that these cards generate to wind a crowd up and get them excited about what they’re about to see.
There’s something quite ridiculous about having your own trading card and suggesting that others might want to collect them, but this seems to suit the ridiculous nature of my show and people, for the most part, seem to enjoy getting swept up in the hype and the enthusiasm and isn’t that what most entertainment is all about anyway?
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Posted in Marketing, Thoughts | 1 Comment »
 Where in the world am I today?: Holiday Inn, JFK, New York, New York, USA
It all stared off looking so promising… I checked with the ship’s purser on Thursday and was thrilled to find out that I didn’t need to wake up at the crack of dawn on Friday to get off the ship, which was great. Often you need to get up and out of your cabin between 8:00 am and 10:00 am so that the room steward can clean it and get it ready for the next performer who usually arrives between 10:00 am and noon. My cabin wasn’t needed until the day after my departure so there was no rush to get out–great! Got up, had a nice breakfast, finished packing, got off the ship with the port agent about 1:30 pm and he helped reschedule my flight from Cartagena to Bogota (that’s him next to me in the picture…never did catch his name) just in case I needed a bit more time in Bogota–perfect!
So things started off well. Even after I landed in Bogota I was optimistic even in spite of an inhumane 6 or 7 hour lay over in Bogota. I had a plan goldarn it. I discovered a free Wi-Fi connection and plopped myself and attacked a pile of emails and such. I also realized that I hadn’t picked up anything for my wife and kids in the way of souvenirs, so picked up some real Juan Valdez Coffee for my wife and a few odds and sods for the kids and a bottle of Vodka for the guy who hosts my website in Duty Free then plopped down and watched a movie on my iPod fully expecting for it to finish about the time I needed to be boarding.
Well the film ended (Shrek 3 in case you’re interested) I got into the departure lounge around 10:00 pm for the 11:15 boarding time and underwent my third security screening…
Man if you thought getting through and airport and the TSA in North America was getting ridiculous you should see what it’s like in Columbia. I went through what would be like a regular TSA screening just before I got to Customs and Immigration. Then I passed through the immigration station and was screened again after my passport was stamped, this time by guys with Columbian military uniforms on and dogs sniffing for ‘SPECIAL’ souvenirs from Columbia, then I one more time for good measure, as I entered the actual departure lounge they had the x-ray and screening set up again…
Once inside the lounge I figure the next leg of my journey was about to start, but no… Boarding was delayed due to some sort of mechanical problem. We’re terribly sorry about this delay, but please come up and get a snack (at least I think that’s what they said in Spanish). First time I’d been served mini-sandwiches, munchies and drinks before getting on a plane…
When I saw more munchies arriving I took it as a bad sign…
Somewhere around two hours after we were supposed to have left it was clear that I wasn’t going to make my connection in New York, JFK, so before we actually left Bogota the service agents for Avianca Airlines rescheduled my Air Canada Flight from 7:00 am Saturday to 7:00 am Sunday.
Pretty uneventful flight although the seats ahead of me seemed a bit closer than I’m used to. The lack of legroom really didn’t matter though because by the time we left at around 2:30 am all I really wanted to do was sleep anyway.
Woke up about 45 minutes before we landed and did the US Immigration two-step, got my luggage, wandered to the Avianca counter only to discover that because the flight was booked by an external agent and because Air Canada wasn’t a partner, they didn’t feel any need to cover the Hotel I was going to require as a result of the delay with their Aircraft… Doh!
Made a couple of calls to the emergency numbers that I had been given for just such situations and discovered:
- There were no other options for flights from New York to Vancouver that they could get me on and
- I could head myself over to the Holiday Inn and cruise line would pick up the tab and provide food vouchers…
All went smoothly with this plan and I’m actually in my room at the Holiday Inn as I type this. Hot water doesn’t appear to be working in the room, so no shower for me yet, but engineering is apparently looking into it–Ha!
Now the irony of all of this is that had all gone smoothly from start to finish I would have gotten in to Vancouver at about 10:30 am local time (January 3) and am scheduled to leave again at 9:00 am on Monday (January 5), so a grand total of 46 ½ hours later. Now, assuming all goes according to the rescheduled plan, that number will drop to 22 ½ hours and that’s from arrival in Vancouver to departure from Vancouver. By the time I get through the airport and home and have to leave for the airport again I think I’ll get something like 18 hours at home.
Now here’s the kicker–I’m flying back to the ship I was just on.
I disembarked at about 1:30 pm on January 2nd will join the ship at about that time on the 6th, about 96 hours in total and all but 18 hours will be spent in transit.
Like I said, it’s not the shows it’s the travel that you really get paid for when you work on cruise ships.
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Thoughts, Travel | Comments Off on It’s not the shows it’s the travel…
 Where in the world am I today?: Cartagena, Colombia and on my way home.
I make no apologies for the fact that this segment was inspired by the interviews done on “Inside the Actors Studio.” Beyond just the biographical information that James Lipton provides on the show, he also managed to capture a snapshot of the artists on his show at a given point in their career. I wanted to do something similar on my Blog because I’m fortunate enough to run into some pretty amazing people in the industry and wanted to capture a little snapshot of who they are and what makes them tick. The interview is done in three segments – Stats, Hot 10 Questions, and what I call The Nugget, a choice bit of information that each performer has picked up along the way. (***If as a reader of the blog you have ideas for different stats or questions that you’d like included please do let me know***)
Today: Ventriloquist, Willie Tyler
Prologue: I first met Willie Tyler in January 2008 when we worked together on a two-week run aboard the Diamond Princess. His career has spanned over 50 years and he and his partner Lester have worked with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Pryor and Sammy Davis Jr. He is, with out a doubt, one of the classiest performers I’ve ever had the chance to work with.
Stats
Birthday: September 8, 1940
Place of Birth: Red Level, Alabama, USA
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: 1950, Detroit Michigan
Discipline: Ventriloquism
Website: http://www.willieandlester.com
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB6voBzbvsQ
Venues Worked: Cruise Ships, Theatres, Comedy Clubs, Vegas “The Sliver Circuit,” County/State Fairs, Film and Television
Hot 10 Questions
- What’s your favorite color? • Grey
- What’s your favorite food? • Spaghetti
- What makes you laugh? • People who are funny who don’t think they’re funny.
- Who would you consider your Role Model or Influence? • Paul Winchell and Edgar Bergen
- What song puts a smile on your face? • Smile – Charlie Chaplin
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • Newspaper Boy
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Astronaut
- What’s the best thing about being a performer? • The true enjoyment of being on stage
- What’s the hardest thing about being a performer? • Getting to the gigs, the travel
- Why do you keep performing? • It keeps me happy (and as an aside – The show must go on, well at least if you want to get paid)
The Nugget
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“Today can be wonderful yesterdays once you reach tomorrow. That way you can enjoy looking back on it.”
–Willie Tyler, Ventriloquist
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Posted in Cruise Ships, Interview | 1 Comment »
Where in the world am I today?: The Panama Canal
Years ago… Many many years ago at the tender age of thirteen years old I was putting laundry away and started messing around with three bundles of rolled up socks – tossing them around, trying to keep the aloft. My brother had shown me the basic move behind a three ball cascade several weeks prior to the laundry basket incident, but it wasn’t until that fateful day in September 1981 that something clicked and the skill of juggling combined with an already peaked interest in performing gave birth to what has served me well ever since. Served me as a passport for seeing the world, the key to unlocking some amazing doors which have lead to some amazing adventures, friendships, my wife, and the resources to provide a roof over head, clothes on backs, food in tummies for myself, wife and our two boys and a pretty amazing life.
I’ve been reading some blogs over the last year or so and have noticed a few things – some blogs are straight up comedy, some are a bit preachy, some seek to teach and inform. I know myself well enough to have figured out that I like to catalogue and document things – people/events/information and thought that this might be the best way to hack out my little corner on the Internet and allow me to spew the contents of my brain into a somewhat cognitive arrangement.
Mondays – Marketing • For years people have commented on the fact that I seem to be able to market myself well and have a plethora of promotional materials at my disposal. On Mondays I’ll have a look at some aspect of the world of promotion and/or marketing that has either worked for me or impressed me for some reason.
Tuesday – Technical • I certainly don’t know everything, but in the nearly three decades of performing I have picked up a few bits of information about props, costumes, sound equipment, computers, etc. and will explore these aspects of the biz on Tuesdays.
Wednesday – Work • I seem to work a lot. Not as much as some performers, but enough that I’ve been able to make my living from nothing but performing for a long time. Wednesday’s will deal with some aspect of getting gigs and impressing the client so you can get the gig again.
Thursday – Thoughts from inside the Checkerhead • As the heading suggests, Thursdays will be my day to pull out some random nugget that pops into my head. It may relate to one of the daily topics, it might be a story from the road or it could, quite possibly, be something completely unrelated. It’s my ‘free pass’ day to talk about what ever I want.
Friday – Friends, interviews with folks from the inside the Industry • I’m lucky that I get to travel around the world and share the stage with some pretty amazing performers, work with some amazing producers and agents, not to mention world-class technical staff. I’m going to attempt to profile a different industry professional each week with a standard-ish format of stats, questions and comments in an interview format that will hopefully grow to be a catalogue of the folks I’ve run into along the road each with a different take on the industry and what it takes to make it as a professional in the entertainer world.
I’ll be taking the weekends off to let my brain wander and come up with content for the week ahead and be right back at it on Monday again.
This is the plan anyway…
How long I’ll be able to keep it up, whether this format, which seems do-able and a useful way to organize info will hold up or whether I’ll change things remains to be seen, but I’m hoping that this becomes a daily habit that will help me share some of the information that’s in my brain with folks who might want to know…
Like that!
d. – checkerhead
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