The Audition

The next 2 posts will be dedicated to the 2 A's: Auditions and Agents.  Again, this will pertain to orchestra musicians, because solo entertainers and bands will have a different process.  This will be dedicated to the first A, the Audition...

During Jonathan Kane's show, a tribute to Sir Elton John

Like almost all music jobs, working on a cruise ship requires an audition.  The reason is simple in that both sides will be investing money before the musician even steps foot onto the ship.  For the cruise line, they will be doing quite a bit of admin work to put the new employee into the computer system and to make sure all of the paperwork is in line.  The cruise line will also be paying for the employee's airfare to join the ship and also for a hotel room for the night before.  In order to allow for delays and small travel issues, the cruise lines generally choose to fly all crewmembers one day before they will sign on the ship and then put them up in a hotel for the night.  I have had 2 instances where I was flown the day of joining, but those are pretty rare.  Once onboard, the employee will be given a long series of trainings onboard so there is quite an initial investment on the company's part.  On the employee's part, they will be getting a background check, filling out a lot of paperwork, and then they have to pay for a pretty intense medical.  Once the musician is on the ship, their health insurance is covered 100%.  Add to that the fact that it is hard to deal with medical emergencies while at sea and you can understand why the cruise line would want to make sure that every employee is healthy and fit for duty.  The medical is very thorough and is a lot more in depth than the traditional annual physical exam.  In addition to a physical examination, the employee will get a chest x-ray, drug screenings, and full blood work.  The medical is valid for 2 years and can be used for multiple contracts.

On stage during a production show with singers and dancers

One kind of unrelated topic is the contract length.  For almost 100% of new hires, the cruise line will assign the musician to a ship for a full 6-8 month contract.  The musician will stay on the same ship for the full contract and then go home for a 6-8 week vacation and then either return to the same ship or go to a different ship for their next contract.  Obviously somebody has to cover the position during those 6-8 weeks during the musician's vacation so there are possibilities to do what is called a "vacation fill."  Usually these opportunities go to musicians who have already proven themselves and have a few contracts under the belts.  Since these contracts are only 6-8 weeks long, the musician must adapt well and be able to learn production shows very quickly.  The length of full contracts scare off a lot of people, but that's just a part of the gig.  Don't expect to get assigned a short, 6-8 week contract right off the bat.  It might be a possibility in the future, but you have to prove yourself to the cruise line first.

Now back to the audition process.  The actual process was kind of strange compared to the many other auditions I have had in my musical career.  For one, an audition to work on a cruise ship is typically done over the phone.  I had never done a sound check on a phone before!  I'm not sure if the auditions have evolved into using Skype or video conferencing yet, but mine was just over a regular phone line.  There are some live auditions offered at different locations, but in order to accommodate more people and also to cut down costs, most auditions are held over the phone.  I was asked to play a lot of different styles just to make sure I was well versed.  Then I was asked to do different transitions between style and appropriately set up the transitions.  For instance, I think I was given 8 bars of bossa nova and then transition into 8 bars of swing.  It went on for a few more styles and more transitions.  Then 8 bars of bossa nova into 8 bars of double time samba.  The reason is that playing on a ship is a very musically diverse job and you can't just play rock or just play jazz.  The next part of the audition was sightreading.  They emailed me 3 charts and then gave me 10 minutes to study them and then they called me back and asked me to play them straight down.  The examples were relevant to playing on a ship as they were 1) a musical theater excerpt (similar to what a musician would play in a production show), 2) an up-tempo swing chart, and 3) a disco/rock chart.  While it's impossible to audition for every possible scenario, I think my audition did a good job at covering the key areas.  It takes being able to play a lot of different styles correctly and also being able to read well.

A photo backstage with the 9-piece orchestra

As soon as I finished my audition we discussed my background and experience and at the end I was offered a position on a specific ship starting on a specific date.  For those people who plan to audition for a cruise line, just remember that you may not start right after you complete your audition.  But then again, a friend of mine auditioned on trumpet and had less than a week to get everything together and join a ship.  In my case, my audition was in early June and they offered me a position starting at the end of August.  The reason is that for orchestra members, there is only one position each on the ship.  Meaning only one lead trumpet, one drummer, one guitar, etc. in the orchestra.  Unless somebody gets fired during their contract (it does happen, unfortunately), the office has to wait for somebody's contract to end in order to put another musician there.  There are other factors the office has to consider as well, such as whether a musician wants to return to the same ship (the general rule is that a musician can finish their contract, take a vacation, and then as long as they are in good standing can choose to return to the same ship) or if the shows and demands of a specific ship are good for the musician (if the ship has production shows that require heavy doubling for woodwinds, putting a weak doubler wouldn't be a good choice).  My recommendation for those who audition is don't be picky for your first ship if you want the job.  Some musicians try to demand a certain itinerary right from the start and it will give the office a bad first impression.  Remember your main priority is work.

The audition for a cruise line is like any other audition.  Before the audition even starts, make sure you are prepared and that you show yourself in the best possible light.  If you have an audition scheduled, don't schedule anything else that day.  Even if it is over the phone, it is very serious and will mean the difference in getting the gig or not.  Pick a time when you know there won't be any background noise and you won't have any distractions happening.  Give the office a landline number to call if possible so you aren't worrying about your cellphone signal, especially if you are in a basement of place with a weak signal.  Make sure your internet connection is strong as you will be receiving sightreading material through your email.

One of the benefits: my wife and me visiting the pyramids!

On the personal side, be respectful and courteous to the person auditioning you. As the economy continues to struggle along and land gigs are harder to come by, there are more and more musicians heading to ships as they offer regular paychecks and come with lots of other benefits (traveling the world, time to practice your instrument, meeting lots of people.  This means there is more competition out there and you want to give them a reason to hire you.  As with nearly every other gig, people want to work with others that are easy to work with and respectful, even if they are slightly less talented.  A cruise ship is a very closed environment (think, how far away can you get from a person), so the office knows how important it is to hire people that will work well with the other musicians.  The person auditioning you has most likely been a Musical Director on a ship before so they know the demands of the job, meaning they are probably imagining you playing onboard during your audition.  If you make a mistake, continue going and don't let it affect you.  Some musicians have a tendency to stop and apologize for their mistake during an audition.  But keep on going, you can't stop because of a mistake in the middle of the show.

One more recommendation is to always be honest with the people auditioning you.  You might be able to pull one over on them, but you will pay for it in the end.  I have seen musicians onboard who might have "fudged" their resume a bit or told a white lie during the audition process and then they might get put into a bad situation and struggle once they start the job.  For example, if you play trumpet, be honest with your range and experience.  If you are not a legit lead player, don't offer yourself as a lead player because it will come back to bite you once you sign on.  Better to be honest from the start.  If you play tenor and struggle with your clarinet doubles, better to be honest.  I worked on a ship where the tenor player had to double on clarinet and play the entire opening solo to "Rhapsody in Blue."  Imagine trying to pull that off if you play clarinet at an elementary level.  We had one tenor player that had to be moved to another ship because he couldn't play it; not a great impression with the office for future contracts.  Just remember, honesty is the best policy.


Well, that covers the basics of the audition process.  It may vary depending on the cruise line and whether the audition if for the cruise line or for an agency.  And that brings me to the next post, which will cover the next A: Agents.