On my recent maiden voyage on the enormous  Royal Caribbean ‘Voyager of the Seas’ I was reminded of the importance of versatility for the professional comedian.

I also paused to think about the difference between the comedian who spends years building their niche vs the comedian who works more commercially.

In a 2 week period I performed 4 Children’s Shows, a 5 minute Family Friendly Welcome Aboard Show and 6 Adults Only Comedy Shows in the Comedy Club on one ship and  then performed a 35 minute Family Friendly Welcome Aboard Show and a 45 minute Adults Only Show in the main theatre on another ship. This required lots of preparation to ensure the right material and appropriate style was delivered for each show.

 

I also needed to be ready for eventualities. As it turns out I was meant to perform a 15-20 minute Welcome Aboard set but due to other performers being unavailable I was asked to carry the whole show by myself and perform an extended 35 minute set. Preparation is everything and luckily I had the material at the ready.