I don't understand how Broadway performers do all that 8 times a week. I had 5 this weekend for the show I'm in and I'm physically and mentally drained by it. Tips for when you're starting to feel burnt out?
Doing multiple performances in the same day or same week is definitely an acquired skill. It’s something you develop over time because you’re learning to build up stamina. It’s very easy to give everything you have to one performance and then go home and crash for the night. It’s difficult to give the same energy to multiple performances in the same day.
At least for me, sometimes the hardest part of a multiple show day is keeping my mind in performance mode for a long period of time, and focusing after the adrenaline rush of performing.Between performances, give yourself some time to wind down a little, and for your mind to relax. Have something to eat, maybe re-stretch your body a little, chill your way through touching up your makeup/hair and getting ready for the next performance. Also use this time to focus back up and to get yourself back into performance mode. Consider this “thoughtful rest.”
Find different ways to bring energy to your performances. During the process, you developed your character and analyzed them in the context of the show, and figured out their motivations for what they’re saying and doing. You’re going to need that the most on double show days. Tap into your dramatic intentions and interpretations, and bring new things to the character with each performance. This helps keep things fresh, and helps keep you focused and dramatically energized. It’s more effective to find different ways to mentally energize your performance than to use the same exact way multiple times. ***By this I in no way mean changing what you do in stage in a way that throws off your cast mates, I simply mean to bring something fresh to your mind on stage.
As far as physical stamina, you just build that up over time. Being able to dance and sing for a long period of time is something that you develop as you train in those things and practice. Your body gets used to doing those things, but you also learn how to do them in a healthier way that is less taxing on your body.
Similarly, you need to pace yourself. This is easy to say and hard to do (and even harder to explain so bear with me here). Finding the balance between giving 100% to a performance and still having enough steam for the next one the same day is tricky, and you really only learn it through experience. As you train as a performer, you learn a lot about your body, and that’s what’s at the heart of learning how to pace yourself.
Multiple show days and weeks are one of the situations where you’re going to need your technique the most. Dancing and singing technique is what makes you look and sound pretty onstage, but it’s also what holds you afloat when things get tough. It’s easy to perform under optimal conditions, but that’s not always going to be the case. Learning technique, tedious and frustrating as it can be, is what makes you able to perform multiple shows in a day or in a week or to perform when you’re not feeling 100%.
All of that being said, feeling burnt out happens. Even under the best circumstances, performing can be very taxing. When you feel drained, and don’t have the immediate demands of a rehearsal or performance, allow yourself to rest. Get your mind away from the show at hand, so when you go back you have a fresh mind.
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