Hello world! It's me again!
This 14th April 2023 saw the start of a new opportunity for me. Back in March and April I auditioned for a play at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham called "Salad Days", a musical where a young couple, having both recently graduated from university, hire a piano where when it plays it makes everyone dance.
I auditioned and gained the role of Rowena, a shop assistant at Gusset creations who's a bit ditsy and finds herself out f her debt at one point. I felt I suited this role because as someone who is a quirky person in real life, I feel I can implement it into this character.
I've recently started rehearsals for the show (24th April to be precise) and is to be performed at the end of July. It seems physically impossible as whilst I did college shows in the past where I had under 2 months to block, rehearse, learn lines and perform, this was a completely different level for me.
How am I feeling about it at the moment? Like a lot of people in my brain are ganging up on me and scrambling everything. It's like a tornado is swirling around and around in my head and it doesn't seem to stop. When that happens it has often led me to panicking moments, which included having what I thought was a relapse of a heart condition, but really it was only a panic attack. But there have been ways to deal with it and calm my nerves, and here are a few tips incase anyone is feeling in the same boat:
Yoga:
I find it helps me relax and releases tension. I mainly use bedtime related Yoga's/breath meditation as I get stressed and anxious really easily. Since taking part in it I've really seen a difference.
Writing everything that's in my head:
Sometimes having lots of stuff in your head can be overwhelming, so writing it down can help release some tension from the brain
Colouring in:
It may seem like an activity for kids, but it can be jsut as relaxing for adults. I recently got back into colouring in, doing it once a week, mainly when I'm not at work. Yes whilst it's important to work on my craft to get closer to booking that first TV role or getting auditions from the castling director you admire, it's important to have other things to focus on. and along with other things, colouring in is definitely one of them.
Scheduling:
My favourite thing to do. And I feel having a schedule in place really does help. Whilst I sometimes forget what I'm doing on that day, having a schedule as a reminder does jog my memory. Sometimes I don't get chance to do all of the things on my to-do list for that day, but as long as I get 75% of the tasks on there done, I'm satisfied. And then adding in extra bits like rehearsals is key and where you can fit it in on that day.
I may have gone on a tangent and there are other things I do to keep myself sane and calm, but I feel what I've said is relevant. As yes I'm taking the opportunity whilst it's there, but having things to cope if things get too much is so good for me, physically and mentally!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and looking forward to sharing what I get up to next.
Until next time...
This is the Autistic Actress singing off :)
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