Interview with The Diva
During my recent cruise aboard Virgin Voyages' Resilient Lady, I had the unique opportunity to sit down for an interview with the fabulous Gila Moonstar, the drag performer whose character is ‘The Diva’, one of the Happenings Cast members. Her insights into life at sea and the vibrant atmosphere on board offer a fascinating glimpse into an innovative cruise experience.
As we discussed her experiences, I gained a deeper appreciation for the dedication and talent required to engage an audience while navigating the challenges of life on a cruise ship.
The Role of 'The Diva' Onboard
The concept of 'The Diva' on Virgin Voyages represents a unique blend of glamour and performance and showcases perfectly the very inclusive experience onboard where talented performers, crew, and guests reflect the true diversity of our world. The Diva performances are part of the Virgin Voyage’s signature entertainment style, which is playful, edgy, and interactive, aligning with Virgin Voyage’s adult-only, vibrant cruise atmosphere.
To me, 'The Diva' embodies a charismatic and larger-than-life character who confidently captures attention with her artistry and charm. Her persona includes elements of elegance, passion, and the ability to connect with the audience during various performances that are strategically scheduled throughout the cruise.
“Around the World in 80 Minutes with the Diva” is an intimate cabaret-style game show with audience participation. “The Great Handbag Hunt” is a hilarious and face-paced audience participation show. I’ll never forget the funny innuendo-filled experience of “Bingo with the Diva”. The shows were captivating, with extravagant costumes, and showcased Gila’s talent for singing, dancing, and humour.
Additionally, The Diva often interacts with guests, with walks around the ship or hosting pop-up events at the shops or appearances at ship-wide events such as the Scarlet Night or Sail Aways. Guests can interact with her and share in the fun. And her incredible range of glamorous costumes is truly impressive.
The Diva, Gila Moonstar
Here is our chat that took place inside The Groupie, private Karaoke rooms that guests can book once onboard.
Kate: Tell me about the inspiration for your name.
Gila Moonstar: Hi, of course, I'm Gila Moonstar, and the inspiration for my name comes from a little bit of a pun. Originally, people might have heard of it, there's this lizard in the desert of the US called the Gila monster. I don't know if you're familiar. It's like a scaly lizard, but originally, actually way before that, it started off with just my name being Gila, and that means crazy in my native tongue, which is Indonesian. So, and then I added the moon star because social media wanted me to have, like, a last name to make it all succinct, and, you know, for stage presence and everything. So eventually I did Moonstar, because I do have an affinity for space and the galaxies. And it all worked out. And now I'm Gila Moonstar.
Kate: I love it. I see too on your Instagram bio that you refer to yourself as the Drag Glampstronaut.
Gila Moonstar: Glampstronaut, that's right, I coined that. It's a glamorous, campy astronaut. I love it.
Kate: I'm really impressed with the level of diversity and inclusiveness that's onboard the ship. Do you have any thoughts around that? Is that what attracted you to Virgin?
Gila Moonstar: Definitely, definitely, definitely! I think that all onboard, through all entertainment, I think Virgin Voyages is one of the companies that really, really highlights and like, supports diversity in all forms. You know, basically what you see is gonna be different from what you see anywhere else, even just like, from different countries, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, it's fantastic. And you don't really get that in terms of some other genres of entertainment, you see, just like, kind of cookie cutter people the same. And even some like limiting requirements, like height requirements, or, you know, body size. It's really refreshing to see that it’s different here.
Kate: That's awesome. So is that what attracted you to Virgin Voyages?
Gila Moonstar: Absolutely, yes, absolutely I knew that I would be able to not only fit in, but also be around people of so many differences that I could, you know, get to know and learn about their lives.
Kate: It’s a unique experience to perform on a cruise ship. How has the opportunity onboard been for you personally and professionally.
Gila Moonstar: It's been amazing. This is my second contract, so obviously I came back for a reason, because I had such a great time on the first contract, and with my career in drag, this is kind of the perfect position to not only really hone a lot of my skills, meet new people, network, but really grow as a professional. So it's beneficial for I think the sailors, because they get to see me perform and have fun, but it's also beneficial for me because it's basically my dream job. So, all in all, it's just, it's been a fantastic experience.
Kate: And what about the experience of being away from home. Do you miss your family life?
Gila Moonstar: I know I get a little bit homesick but it's something that I think you know, you have to just mentally prepare going in. Luckily, this being my second contract, I already knew what to expect in terms of, you know, mental preparation and things that work for me on the ship to kind of lift my mood, like being around my friends here, being social, definitely getting off the ship when I can, feeling like a stable earth under my feet, yeah? But otherwise, yeah, it's, it's really just been an incredible experience.
Kate: Do you think that this has given you opportunities kind of beyond the contract?
Gila Moonstar: Yeah, I think so, in a sense that, like I said, the networking has connected me with a lot of people from all over. So it's really expanded my social media presence as well, which I think, in terms of all entertainment, especially drag, getting your name and face out there more kind of makes you more recognizable, more bookable, more aware to different markets and stuff. So, yeah, yeah, even just like, when I'm off the ship, off contracts, I feel like it's helps me, just like getting the presence and connections that I have here.
Kate: What do you think has been the most surprising thing that you've taken off this whole adventure?
Gila Moonstar: The surprising thing, you know, and I get this a lot on the ship, is that I am people's first ever drag show. Oh, so like, from all over the world, I hear people all different say like, “You're the first drag queen, drag show that I've seen”. Like, especially with my show Around The World In 80 Minutes here at The Manor. It's just really exciting. And then you get some people, they're like, “you’re my husband's first drag show and he's never really been around drag queens, but you were really fantastic. It was really fun and made me see all of this is just fun”. So it's nice to, like, you know, shift people's point of view of what drag can be, and especially what you know, the community I'm part of can be. So that's, that's always a nice surprise that I hear.
Kate: And then, so what does a typical day look like for you?
Gila Moonstar: Typical day for me, I'll say like a very standard day, because our schedules do fluctuate a lot depending on entertainment programming, but generally, you know, the Diva and the Hostess are on similar, like, singer-vocal tracks, so we're not as much doing a lot of like heavy back-to-back activities, like a lot of the Happenings cast who do like games and workout classes or dance classes. The priority for us is performing in our shows, kind of being present, like I'm here now, I'm doing what we call a walkabout, so just walking around networking. But I like to sleep in a little bit if my schedule allows for that, because it also works out that we tend to work pretty late, so if we're having, like, a club activation that goes until 12:30 I probably don't get to bed until like 2am so I like to go 10am to get breakfast. I like to go to the gym here on deck 15. You know, sometimes get stuff I need to do done, like laundry, but then eventually get ready for drag. Do what I need to do, whether it's bingo, my show, karaoke, anything, and then go on with my day. I always make time for meal breaks; I never, never go without. But then just kind of take time for myself on my social media, or watch a movie, watch some new TV shows. But it's, it's not so different than my drag career on land, either, but there is a nicer routine, especially on some of the repeat itineraries, right?
Kate: And how have you found the guests on board? Have they been really receptive?
Gila Moonstar: Like, yeah, and it's really just always a mixed bag in terms of what people have experienced. So particularly, like I said, because this is my second contract, I get a fair amount of people that are like “we saw you last year on Valiant Lady”, and so that's always nice to come in as a return and that you are a familiar face for them. But it does, it does always depend. With all people, they come from different, you know, different types of lives all around the world. So sometimes I am a shock with the Virgin Voyages brand that things are a little bit different than standard, traditional experiences. So absolutely, yeah, it's fabulous. And you know, people aren't perfect. Sometimes, you know they've had too much to drink, or sometimes they haven't the best day. So we treat it just like any customer service position would be, and just do our best to make sure that you're enjoying your holiday or vacation, because that's what people are here for.
Kate: Okay, and the last question, what's your favorite space on board?
Gila Moonstar: My favorite space on board, I would say, I love deck seven’s outer areas, the sitting areas, they're like, outside of the ice cream and future voyages. Those are really great places to just lounge around. But otherwise, if I have some time to myself, I really like to go on deck 16 to the track. That's where I clear my mind. That's where I just like take in some fresh air. But then I would say, you know, some spaces where I can eat; Extra Virgin, my favorite restaurant, the pasta there is fabulous. And then The Manor, obviously, is kind of my home, because that's where I perform on stage. And then also the rest of the ship but those are my favorite spaces.
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To see more of Gila Moonstar, be sure to visit her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/gilamoonstar/
