Background

Angel Clairmont was born in the sunny city of San Diego, her earliest years were steeped in light. The coastal culture of the city gave Angel the baseline sense that life was meant to be something to enjoy. Her parents were supportive, often trying to teach Angel to value balance over the hustle of life, School was always something they pressed as being important, but so was having fun and enjoying life. Angel learned early on that smiling, being polite and friendly and that striking up conversations with people were the normal, social way to be. During schooling Angel was often exposed to programs that were focussed around the local arts scenes, she took a shining to the musical theatre and knew from then that was what she wanted to be. Angel would always partake in any school musicals or festival performances, usually being on of the first to sign up. As Angel began to get older, she soon realised San Diego was a comfortable place, but it would be something she'd need to leave behind to realise her dreams. When she was old enough, Angel moved to live in LA, trying to make her dreams a reality within the musical theatre scene in the city. Angel would go on to live in LA for the next four years, trying to really give the dream its best shot by applying to every audition that should. To pay for her expenses whilst she lived there however, Angel would work parttime at a bar for a few years. She was then faced with the brutal grind of big city auditions, the constant rejection and competition clashed with the way she was raised. This made burnout hit hard and fast for Angel. During this period of burnout, Angel would often tell herself that 'I'm just taking a break.' or 'I need to fall in love with it again.'. She stops attending her dancing classes, feeling some sense of relief in doing so, and that scares her. She feels guilt in how easy it was to step away. She continued with her parttime job in the bar, realising that she actually enjoyed the work. She was good at it. She found it easy to remember regular patrons names, anticipating their needs and would easily chat with them whilst she worked. She found her customers often complimented her more sincerely than any casting director ever did. The contrast sticks with her. One evening one of her co-workers mentioned about a job working for Evercrest as one of their servers. Angels time in LA seemed to be stagnating, nothing was really overly interesting to her anymore and the promise of a new adventure whilst doing aa job that she enjoyed enticed the young woman to apply for the job. The logical promises of a steady pay check, build in accommodations during each cruise with clear start and end dates really sealed the deal for Angel, though deep down it was something more than that, she thought she could really shine in this job, without being judged. After being accepted to the company, Angel would embark on her first cruise. The first few shifts were a revelation for her, the rhythm of service felt much like one of her practiced choreographies, the bar felt like a stage and her theatrical instincts came back to the forefront, but this time without fear. The joy floods back into her. Though her musical theatre dream had gone bust, she refused to label that time as a failure. It taught her how to read people, how to hold her voice and posture, developed her confidence and it gave her the courage to leave home and pursue bigger and more enjoyable things. Approaching the age of 28, Angel feels stable in her job and role. She feels competent and valued by both her job, and the people that she served on the cruises, reclaiming the spark of joy she always had for performance and performance-adjacent ways. She'd still carry the dream in her heart, always telling herself 'Maybe someday' though it no longer burned as brightly as it once had. She's no longer running from her dream, Angel is now walking alongside it.