Tech week is an incredibly stressful time of the theatre process so here are some tips to help you stay sane and have a great and memorable time.

1. Maintain your basic functions

You cannot function without sleep. You cannot function without food. You cannot function without water.

Get more sleep, bring more food, and drink more water than you think you will need. You will have so much going on in your brain and you will be using your body so much so the more you can attend to your basic needs the better. If you take care of yourself you will have more energy, patience, and a higher ability to pay attention.

2. Surround yourself with supportive people

Set yourself up in the dressing room with kind and positive people. If you’re in a situation where there’s multiple dressing rooms put in a special request to be with people who can support you or if you’re in a situation where you’re crammed in one big dressing room set up your station next to people who are supportive. You will need the type of people who will give you a hug when you are having an extra hard day and who will hype you up when you’re feeling insecure during this hard week.

3. Learn to disengage

It is inevitable that people will get on your nerves so just remember that you don’t have to spend extra energy on people who make you feel drained. You should still be professional but you are allowed to disengage and maintain distance with people when you’re not in rehearsal. Also remember the value of taking deep breaths when emotions get high, this will help you reset and not lash out.

4. Take your breaks outside of the theatre and dressing room

You will be in the dressing room and theatre so much and it will be so fun but also you need to remember there is stuff outside of this show. Go outside for a walk or eat lunch in the lobby. This also goes for seeing people who are outside of the show. You will be spending so much time with your cast that even your best friends will start to get on your nerves a little bit so remember that you can always take time away from the space of the show and the people in the show.

5. Bring a support object

I love bringing a little stuffed animal and my noise cancelling headphones to tech week because these things help me be my most regulated self. I used to feel insecure about bringing stuffed animals to rehearsal but I’ve noticed whenever I bring one everyone loves it and wants to hold it. It is honestly a great moral booster. So bring whatever you need to succeed and don’t feel ashamed about it.

6. Remember it will be over soon

The show you’re in is temporary. You being at a theatre till 11pm every night is temporary. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and all your hard work is about to pay off because show week is right around the corner! Make sure to have fun and even though this will be one of the most stressful times in the experience it will also be one the best times.

I am currently going through tech week so I’m going to do my best to follow my own advice. Also you can expect some performance week tips in the next blog post.

Thank you for reading I hope you have a great week.

Camryn