BWW Blog: Surviving the Summer Stock Waiting Game

Audition season is about halfway over, yet a majority of us do not know what our plans for the summer are. We are either still waiting on an offer from a theatre who has not finished their auditions yet, or we have already heard "no". No matter what your story is, long story short, the waiting game is HARD. The question is, how can we survive the waiting period without driving ourselves into the ground and becoming certifiably insane (I learned the hard way last year...)?

The first thing is one of the hardest things to do at any point in this business: stop comparing your success to others. One of the greatest pieces of advice I have received since entering this business is that "comparison is the thief of joy", and comparison is the culprit of why people can become so negative while living the life of a performer. It's a serious fact: watching people close to you book jobs that you want is rough. Humans innately want success in everything they do. Unfortunately social media and the classic "So excited and happy to announce that I have booked (insert theatre and role) this summer/fall/for the next 8 months/whenever" Facebook statuses that come out this time every year make it harder to eradicate the constant comparison of oneself to others. One exercise I do that I have found helpful is to make a list of the things you like about yourself. It's simple, but it reminds me that I am different my friends who may have booked something that I either wasn't right for or I couldn't make it to the audition or whatever the reason may be (that isn't because I am not talented or smart).

Something I talked about in a previous blog that can apply here is to do something completely unrelated to performing: going to a professional hockey game, a concert of an artist you really like, even going to the gym to get out your anxiety. I find Bikram yoga super relaxing physically and emotionally, and the negative toxins just melt out of you. Likewise, reconnect with some of those non-theatre major friends at your university, from high school or in the real world, and go do something. Spring break is in 2 weeks and my friends from high school and I are going to Montreal for a few days (and a week before my last audition, so a great way to clear my head while I'm still auditioning).

On the topic of friends, also take this time to remember why you are friends with the people in your industry outside of the fact that you are all dancers or singers and are trying to achieve the same thing. Artists are humans first and doing things outside of theatre with your theatre friends can remind you of that and separate business from personal relationships.

The last piece of advice will make me sound like a broken record, but it still applies in everything we do as performers: everything happens for a reason. You will book where you are supposed and if you're not in a show this summer, continue to train and take class whether it's internship or open classes because with age comes more room for growth and improvement. And go to the beach!!!

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