The second piece of the puzzle you will need as you follow along with the cruise ship adventure is to get to know my cast. Working on ships is a really unique situation because you are living beside your colleagues, you are depending on them for work, for emotional support, for a social life, etc. These relationships can make or break your time on board because you have no one else to turn to most of the time. Coming into this contract I knew the cast was small (there are 7 of us total), and I was more nervous about having a good group of people than I was about anything else. All of those nerves were pushed aside, however, because I have been beyond blessed with my cast! What a group of loving people and individuals who I not only am so excited to share the stage with, but, more importantly, people who I am excited to call friends and my ship family, as well. I thought I would introduce you to them, since they will be the "characters" on this blog for the next 6 months. Below is the only picture of all of us together I could find right now. There are some goofy faces and things, but you'll see plenty from them in the future! Starting clockwise from top left:
ME
I'm the blond guy in the green pants there. I am from Louisville, KY and enjoy long walks on the beach…
TONYIA MYRIE RUE
Before the contract began I obviously tried to do some investigative stalking to find out who was going to be in the cast and Tonyia was the only who I found that had mutual friends with me. One of my cast members from 'S Wonderful, Kim Thomas, and Tonyia had been on tour together for the past year with Dreamgirls. I immediately called Kim to get details about Tonyia and was quickly assured that she was funny, dry and fiercely talented. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, Tonyia is a firecracker who really packs a punch in all of life. She goes big in her performance, which I always love, and her sense of humor kills me. She's sarcastic and dry and with that comes this great, direct honesty that I really respect. I love performing with her because she is always playing and giving you things to respond to and feed off of and her voice is so powerful and expressive. She was the first cast member I met and from day one I knew we would become close friends.
SARAH VAUGHAN
Sarah is sort of Elle Woods incarnate. Ha ha! She is so bright and alive and her laugh can brighten a room. You can easily think she is a pretty face on a silly girl and that may be all, but you would be wrong. Sarah is wickedly smart and a highly trained singer. Her knowledge of music is so great and she is always ready to work and make the shows be their absolute best. I have loved having her around, as well, because she has worked with Seabourn before and has brought a wealth of information for us newbies as we are thrown into this experience. Having Sarah around for a party or dinner or something is always fun, too, because her laugh and smile are contagious. She doesn't take herself to seriously either. For instance, at one of the first parties we had she rolled her ankle pretty badly just walking across the room and she was the first one to laugh it off and make jokes about how clumsy she is. (That is…before she headed to the Emergency Room. Ha!)
ANASTASIA RUCHYNSKA
Anastasia (or Nastia, for short) is one of the most kind-hearted individuals I've ever worked with. She is one of our two dancers (the other being her husband, Sergii, sitting just below her) and she brings a great energy into the room. She and Sergii are from the Ukraine and have been dancing together on ships for years. We really got so lucky because they are both wildly talented and trained in so many styles. I love watching Anastasia work because she always goes into things with 110% energy and won't back down for ANYTHING. Even when told to take it easy, she just doesn't know how. She is a machine in all the best ways, just giving her all to these shows and dancing with such enthusiasm and energy that is contagious. It's an amazing thing to see, though, how that wild energy is so different from her calm, put-together, humble demeanor in everyday life. She is so kind and loving and slow to anger. It's wonderful, and a great balance to Sergii.
DUSTIN KERR
Also calling America (and, more specifically NYC) home, is Dustin! He is originally from Nebraska and has trained for years as a singer. I am super jealous of his college acapella background and he brings that great training into his work everyday. Dustin doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He is the first to make a joke and laugh and the last to talk bad about someone or something. I love having him around because he makes me look at things from a much more positive perspective. We were roommates in England and I was so relieved to find out he was a night owl as well, and we have also discovered that he is quite the social guy. Dustin is the first person to learn people's names, he's the first person to make a connection with different crew members, he's the first person to head to the crew bar, and the last person to leave. We've already started to laugh at how many times in the day we say, "Where is Dustin?" He is always off on an adventure or hanging out with people we probably haven't met yet. His warm, kind personality is just so welcoming to people.
SERGII RUCHYNSKYI
Day one in rehearsals I knew that Sergii would be one of my favorite people. He has this silly, weird, but wonderful sense of humor that I love. Jokes from him come out of the clear blue that will be self-depricating or just bizarre, that we assume and chock up to Ukrainian humor. Ha ha! he is an unbelievable dancer and choreographer (he and Nastia do a lot of their own choreography for special events around the ship), and has a great eye for detail and the big picture. He also hold the position of company manager on the ship, which is a big job. The greatest thing about Sergii, however, is how he leads this cast. He is the silliest one of all of us, the one ready to laugh first and to play, but he is also the first person to carry your bags downy he street for you or to clean the kitchen without anyone noticing. He is the first person to say, "Don't worry about that. I'll do it." He's the first to lift your burden and show what it means to lead from a place of servitude and humility. The more I watch him, the more little things I notice and I respect him that much more.
KERI FLANAGAN
Last, but not least, is Keri, our lovely Scottish singer/dancer. Keri has also worked for the company before and has been a great asset for that reason. I have found that Keri and I have very similar views on many things in life and very similar personalities, so we've become really close and I have appreciated having someone to go to that knows how things work with this company and be able to give me a clear picture and a level-headed answer for questions I have. Keri is not only a great singer, but also I fantastic dancer, so her track in the shows is a little bit more of a crossover track. She is so smart and is even taking the time that we have on board to get another college degree in math! I love her Scottish sense of humor and goofy way of life. She is always ready for a good laugh, even at her own expense. Ha ha!
I am a lucky man. These people are so beautiful and talented. I love getting to perform with all of them for many different reasons, but to me, who they are offstage is FAR more important in a contract like this. I am so happy to call them my friends and my ship family for these next months. Here's to making huge, amazing memories! Love you, Sojourn cast!
Tripp
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