Behind The Scenes with Robert Dean    

Welcome to Behind the Scene with Robert Dean. My guest today is Nic Doodson. He is the creator, producer, and director of The Choir of Man, currently on Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Encore.

The Choir Of Man on Norwegian Cruise Line

How and when did you start your entertainment career?

I can trace my interest in singing all the way back to High School in New Jersey, where I had a very inspirational choir teacher who always encouraged me to perform as much as possible and taught me so much about singing, performing, and in particular, singing in a group. After high school, I studied in London and whilst at college formed an a cappella group (they didn’t really exist back in the 90’s in the UK, and there was certainly no college a cappella scene like there is today) which, after we graduated went on to be signed by EMI records. Back then, we were one of the only a cappella groups to have a major record deal. We ended up releasing four records and toured all over the world.

How did you transfer from performer to creative director?

After 15 or so years of touring and releasing records with the a cappella group, I decided that I wanted to create my own projects. One of the great things about the a cappella group that I started was that we always worked collaboratively …everyone had their say, and we moved together as one unit; the downside of that was that we compromised on everything, and if someone had a very strong idea of what we wanted to do, it was always diluted by the opinions of everyone else. It meant the group stayed friends and stayed together for a long time, but after I while, I wanted to try out my own fully formed ideas (like The Choir of Man). So, I sat down and wrote down an idea for a show called “Gobsmacked!” and with great trepidation started to show it to people I’d met over the years of touring. One of those people was Andrew Kay, my co-producer of The Choir of Man. He liked the idea and agreed to work with me on it. Suddenly I found myself producing my own show …and I was a creative director.

Where did you get your concept for your show?

The Choir of Man is the culmination of a number of ideas I’d had over the years. I’ve always really enjoyed the UK’s pub culture; not necessarily the drinking part of it, but what a pub is to a community. It’s an alternative home …a place to laugh, to cry, to celebrate, to commiserate. You have wedding receptions, funeral receptions, birthday parties, and breakup parties all in the same place. With such a rich seam of emotions to tap, I always wanted to base a show in this unique space. Then, from the musical side, my background was in male a cappella singing, so I wanted to make a show with very strong and rich music. Working with my amazing creative team (Jack Blume, Musical Supervisor & Arranger, and Freddie Huddleston, Choreographer and Movement Director), we created The Choir of Man.

Where did you get your concept for your show?

We are fortunate in our artform that we have an international language of dance, no spoken words, so all our communication with our audience is through dance and music. So, it is always the music that we work closely with. The music needs to relate to our audience. When we were offered our contract onboard the Epic, which was European based, Richard Ambrose and Robert Hertenstein explained the international breakdown of the passengers and explained they were very different than our US based cruise passengers. With this knowledge behind us, we study the music culture in each country first and then build a show around this.

What was your mission, and what makes your show important to you?

Over the recent years, there has been a lot of press about the big and real problems of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and (certainly in the UK) a real stigma around male mental health issues. Whilst recognizing all of those issues it wasn’t my experience of “masculinity” and wanted to present another view of what it is to be a man. The Choir of Man is supposed to be, onstage and off, a safe space for anyone to come in and have a drink and a chat; whether that’s a man or a woman, a cup of tea or something stronger …we welcome everyone. I wanted the show to feel like a great big warm hug wrapped up with some great songs and a few beers (if that’s your thing). It’s this antidote to toxic masculinity which is so important to all of us at The Choir of Man

How did the show get to NCL?

In the US, The Choir of Man is represented by an agency in New York called The Road Company. This agency had a relationship with NCL and introduced us to Richard Ambrose, who came to see the show in Australia with Robert Dean Hertenstein. They liked the show, and the rest is history!

Why collaborate with NCL?

Ah ...so many reasons. First of all, it’s a wonderful way to introduce the show to a much wider audience than we could simply by touring! Over 5000 people see the show every week on board, which is more than we can accomplish on a bus and truck tour. Secondly, working with NCL pushes us to improve and continually develop the show; until the Encore, we didn’t have a second level or live band integrated into the show. The biggest and best version of the show is with NCL! Without this collaboration, that wouldn’t have happened.

What are the strengths of this collaboration?

I think the principal strengths of the collaboration with NCL are working with a great team that brings wonderful ideas and opportunities to the show. At The Choir of Man, we certainly don’t claim to “know it all,” and we’ve always been open to people making suggestions that could improve the show for everyone. NCL has some of the most experienced and brilliant people working at the Creative Studios – we’d be mad not to listen to their ideas. There have been creative ideas that have been brought to us by NCL that we’ve adopted and rolled out to our land-based shows and cast. That’s part of our ethos …it’s all about collaboration; we certainly don’t have a monopoly on good ideas. Because NCL has lots of creative staff who’ve “been there and done that”, we have benefitted from their experience, and so has the show.

What do you attribute to the success of your show with NCL?

People like the show, quite simply, because it’s real. The cast on stage really means what they’re saying, and they live and breathe the show. They’re all playing themselves and bringing their own personalities and talents to the roles. The Choir of Man is only as good as the people who are in the show, and it’s our job as the creative team to prepare and elevate them to shine on stage. When the cast does that, the people respond. Audiences are smart …they can see when the cast is phoning it in or when they don’t believe what they’re saying. We work very hard to cast people who fit the ethos of our show.

If you had one piece of advice to someone starting out, what would it be?

Always be yourself. Always, always, always. Don’t try to be something you *think* a casting director or creative team wants you to be. Sure, you might be acting as someone else, but bring something of you to the part. That’s what is going to connect with the casting team, and ultimately the audience.

What is your fondest memory with NCL?

Oooh, so hard! Probably it was at the end of the very first install with The Choir of Man when we were sailing into NYC at the end of a deadhead journey. It was around 11 am, the sun was shining, and we sailed past the Statue of Liberty, and I thought to myself, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe our little show is on this huge amazing cruise ship, and I’m getting to see iconic sights such as this.” It was surreal and amazing.