Feeling Lost After a Great Performance?

Rehearsals were intense and stressful.  The show was magnificent and everyone, cast, crew, directorial and management staff, and most especially the audience were enthralled by the performances.  So then, why so glum?

"After the show blues" are common, and more often than not, a natural part of the performance process.  After weeks of dedicated rehearsals, preparation on and off the stage, it's strange to have all this free time again.  Performance prep time is filled with building team rapport and a rigorous personal and group schedule to meet a common artistic goal, and when the performance is done - all those activities come abruptly to an end, after the last curtain has fallen, and hopefully, a cast party.  Kerry Hishon of Theaterfolk has a few suggestions on how to cope with this seismic schedule change:

1. Give yourself time to kick-back and relax
2. Spend some time really delving into your theater experience, take pride in what you did, play around with aspects that you could consider trying in another performance, and perhaps start a journal about your experience
3. Take the time to spend with family and friends that you might have inadvertently neglected due to your hectic calendar
4. Catch up with the things that you have left undone while you rushed around for the last few weeks
5. If you miss your theater friends, stay in touch with them and really catch up outside of the crazy theater timetable, and always remember to thank those who helped make the event memorable
6. Create a scrapbook of memories or make an Instagram collage

Before you know it, you will be well past the post-show blues and onto another adventure!

Read more: How to Deal with Post-Show Blues

Image Credit: Future Stars Camps