Sunday, October 05, 2008
Alexander Technique for Technicians
Sightlines: "Ever felt a kink in the neck, a sore shoulder, or a tight back after painting for hours on a drop? How about screw gun elbow or carpenter's knee? Planning doctor visits after every light hang due to wrist pain? Unable to perform job-related tasks that were easy just a few years ago? The list goes on, and many who have been working in technical theatre have experienced some form of repetitive stress injury. Countless tasks in theatre cause pain and stiffness during and after the project. Since most can neither afford a weekly full body massage nor expect to find completely safe and side effect-free pain relievers, what can be done? There is a solution to these physical ailments: the Alexander Technique."
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7 comments:
This is super helpful. Personally, I do have a few sore spots, and after a few days of 10 out of 12s, they really start to catch up with you. I think the techniques that this practice provides is very beneficial, and shows that we can get just as much out of exercises that actors do.
After a bit of searching to find out exactly what the "Alexander Technique" is, it appears it would be helpful to all of us. It is taught as some major universities in the country. How can we get something like that here. I know there are day when I hurt from sitting at the computer so long, but then there are the long days on the deck that hurt more. If a program like this existed and was more widely spread, then we could increase productivity, and reduce injury. (Which makes any employer or institution happy!)
If you are interested here is another website to look at:
http://www.alexandertech.org/misc/whousesit.html
Its things like this or daily yoga that just seem like a great idea for anyone to do. However, this seems like an especially useful thing for us technicians. Actors and actresses are intentionally trained to take care of their bodies -- to stretch, to work out, to eat right, to practice every move and ensure minimal strain. This is absolutely necessary given the highly physical nature of their profession.
Many technicians forget how physically demanding and punishing our job can be -- and even more of us refuse to do anything to keep in god health. We'd rather just complain about the aches and pains. This sounds like a great habit for theater technicians to get into -- ritual and conscientious care for our bodies. I'd try just about anything to not be limping by the end of the day!
I agree with you guys! I think that taking care of your body is very important for technicians, because, let's face it, it is one of your tools. You work with your hands, you do heavy lifting, there's a lot of repetitive movement. The stress of a technician's job on the body is a lot like the wear and tear on an athlete's body throughout the season, and they do a lot of "body maintenance." I think that we all could be a little more aware of that, and try to take better care of our bodies.
During one year at summerstock we did group stretches despite lots of grumbling before a few scenic change-overs. Worked like a charm. I noticed a huge difference after just a few times. So for those that grumble about this kinda of thing (I'm one of those too) it really works.
last year in Basic PTM, in one of the PINO sessions, we had a chance to work with Matt Gray to do some stretching body awareness. there were some activities that i really enjoyed and thought it would be absolutely great to do before crew or even during crew. it is not uncommon for a student to get hurt regardless of the severity, but i think these little preparation can really help students reduce these chances
First off I am really hoping to be able to make it out to the conference this year to attend this and other sessions. It seems like a very valuable skill for technicians to have in out proverbial tool bag.
One thing which Jeremy touched on was the technicians 'unwillingness' to take care of our selves. We will often spend more time than what is considered normal or safe working, sacrificing meals, sleep and even school work to get that extra light hung or set piece built. We need to remember to take enough time to care for ourselves as we do for the art that we create.
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