Here I Go!!!!!!!!

Im leaving on a jet plane..dont know when I'll be back again! Wow, words can not express how excited I am to be sitting on my plane right now. My cast and I left our apartments at 4:30 AM this morning to catch our 7:00 AM flight to Vancouver! It was an incredibly short night for all of us due to packing and cleaning after we got out of our final rehearsal around 6 the night before. I am running on only 2 hours of sleep and unlike my other cast mates who are dreaming away at the moment, I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs and pondering if this is really happening right now. Am I actually heading out to sea to live on a ship and sing while traveling all over the world? I mean in my mind it kinda seems unreal.

I am relieved to have made it through the rehearsal process. I had heard some scary stories about people being let go during rehearsals if they were not cutting it. Stiletto Entertainment runs a tight rehearsal process. We worked 6 days a week from 10-6 and learned 4 production shows and one welcome aboard shows (we call em bumpers) in a little under a month. I didn't want to get too excited about things before I actually boarded the ship because I was fearful of not making it all the way through rehearsals. Leave it to me to always expect the worse so I can feel amazing when things turn out better. Now the excitement is beginning to flow and I couldn't be happier.

I feel incredibly blessed to be working with my cast. They are all wonderfully talented and during rehearsals I remember thinking, "how did I end up here, with all of this talent?". My mom had to remind me that I was just as talented or I would not have been there...she is wonderful and always knows how to make me feel valuable. We all get along quite well for 10 complete strangers who all lived together in a 3 bedroom apartment (talk about the Real World), thrown into rehearsals, and then added stress from learning all our material. We knew we had to stick together and I have grown to love my cast because everyone is easy going and bring something unique to the mix. Later I will do a meet and greet so you all can see who I am working with and it will give me something to write about while I am quarantined at sea=)

I am ready now to grow as an artist and performer. My vocal coaches, Doug and Jubel, have already taken me to a new place vocally (this would be a good place to mention that we had the best teachers during rehearsals. Casey, Gavin, and Erika were just a pleasure to work with as well as my vocal coaches. Stiletto makes you feel like family!). Now back to my thought, I want to push myself further in the entertainment industry and understand my full potential as a vocalist. I also want to grow in culture. I am looking forward to meeting all of the people who are going to cross my path over the next 8 months. My crew, the passengers, all the unique people at my ports...I have such an amazing opportunity to invest in so many people and learn about living life to the fullest. Seeing things from different perspectives and taking in spectacular moments of value, laughter, faith, hope, and love in the human life.

I am so thankful that the Lord has placed me here for the next chapter of my life. I want to continue to dream and continue to set goals for myself. Last April, I told myself that I was going to do a cruise ship within the next year. One month past the year mark I started rehearsals for my ship. It is an incredible feeling to accomplish a goal. It ignites a passion within me to keep going. I couldn't do it any of it without the support of my friends and family. I am so grateful for all of you.

We arrive in Vancouver at 9:45 AM and have the whole day to rest and prepare for the crazy schedule of cast change over on the ship. I hear it is pretty intense with little sleep and lots of blocking and tech runs. I am ready to get in costumes and play on the set with lights and sound. I am most excited about having an audience to captivate and share the beautiful gift of music. The exchange of energy that occurs between the entertainers and the audience is invigorating to me. It makes me love what I do. To put smiles on the faces of many and brighten the spirits of the over worked human life. It is time to enjoy! Time to bring it....GET IT ZAANDAM cast! Time to begin an incredible journey!

till next time
-bradley