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Gemma Wilks
Technical Director of Entertainment | Royal Caribbean
Gemma Wilks was working as Stage Manager on land in 2013 when she came across an intriguing advertisement for Royal Caribbean International’s Technical Theater Careers at Sea.
Soon after, she landed a role as Stage Staff onboard Vision of the Seas and embarked on a journey that has taken her to heights in the entertainment field she never could have imagined.
“I joined Royal Caribbean as part of the Stage Staff, which was a drop in career level, but even with eight years of experience as a Stage Manager on land, I had never seen the kind of advanced technology that Royal’s ships had,” she said. “I knew before joining that I wanted to work my way up to Production Manager.”
In her first role, she mopped the stage, took out the trash and started working closely with the Production Manager to learn about stage automation and the differences between theaters onboard our ships compared to those on land. Over time, she advanced to higher roles as Stage Manager and Senior Production Manager. Now, she is proud to serve as the Technical Director of Entertainment onboard Odyssey of the Seas.
“I was lucky to have inspiring leaders who saw my potential and coached me in the role,” she said, “Before Royal, I had always felt like a woman in man’s world — a lady in a technical field. But I’ve never been held back [at Royal Caribbean Group]. They’ve never said, ‘You can’t work with robots or run the Aqua Theater.’ They know I have the skills and knowledge, and now I’ve been promoted to the top of my team and division, and it’s cool.”
In her role as Technical Director of Entertainment, she makes sure the show’s Technicians feel supported and are expertly trained to operate Royal’s unique, ever-evolving technology, which can’t be found anywhere else on Earth.
“In my career, I moved from Main Theater to Aqua Theater and then to Two70 where I loved the challenges and skills required to handle the robots, and Royal never held me back,” she said. “I am proud that I can take all the knowledge and skills I have acquired over the years to develop the next generation of Technicians and prepare them for the coming developments in Entertainment Technology.”
Sometimes people ask her when she’s going to transition back to a shoreside role, perhaps working in the West End. Her reply? “Why would I go back to working in the West End? They don’t have half the things I’m working with daily here.”
“I came from land where we were still hauling things on ropes and now, I get to work with a system that follows performers by the tags in their costumes to make sure that the lights are where the performer is without needing another six people holding the lights,” she said. “I like that the company is at the cutting edge of entertainment technology, and we have the best performers in the industry. I really believe that anything is possible here.”