The New York Times: “You start to question your own mortality in a way because all you can hear is your heartbeat,” says Alex Brightman, the star of “School of Rock,” referring to what he calls his “crazy bath.” It requires him to almost completely submerge himself in a tub with the “hottest possible water you can stand,” an entire bag of Epsom salts and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide up to his ears.
7 comments:
I feel like I've seen countless articles about how Broadway ACTORS stay healthy. I definitely understand why this is, they're not only the stars of the show but their work is incredibly physically and mentally exhausting when you're working 8 shows a week. At the same time, I wonder where the techie health is? There is such a stigma about the culture of exhaustion that exists in the techie world that I stand out because I attempt to keep myself as healthy as possible while surrounded by people who think that less sleep is better and you should constantly be "treating" yourself with unhealthy food because of the amount of stress that you're under. I find myself under the complete opposite impression. I feel better knowing that I prioritize my health in such a stressful and hard working environment, and try as much as I can to promote healthy eating and exercise to my classmates.
Having just read the article not that long ago about the push to get AEDs installed in tour buses, it makes me wonder why this article was written, and not about those that do not perform on stage. I one-hundred percent think that actors should take care of their health, however I feel as thought they are taught that as they are trained. At least with my past two years here, learning about technical theatre, I’ve only had one conversation with someone about taking care of myself as a stage manager and technician. This is a problem. Technicians are just as critical to make a show run, so they should be taught to take care of themselves, especially on tour. In fact, I wish almost that it were a common conversation topic between technicians and performers, personal health that is. We are all in this together and we should support each other.
Health is extremely important in theatre because it is a very intense and demanding art form. Actors need to stay healthy because they are performing 8 times a week on Broadway and that can be very draining to the body, especially if your body is not at 100%. It is also important to keep yourself healthy in order to keep everyone around you healthy because theaters are pretty small and everyone is very close together backstage and onstage. If one person is sick, there is a good chance they could give it to other people in the cast and it will spread around. Though it is very important for actors to be healthy it is also extremely important for technicians and stage managers to stay healthy. Those people are often ignored in the people that need to take care of their bodies. Many people think that it is not as important because those people are not seen. Without them the show will not be able to run. I think it is important to teach the people working backstage how to stay healthy and take care of themselves as well.
As all the previous individuals have mentioned, there is no doubt that the theatre industry a physically and mentally demanding one. On Broadway where you're expected to perform 8 shows a week if you're an actor, is a serious and incredible feat of human resilience and talent. It's vital that actors and actresses stay healthy and in tip top shape if they expect to perform to the highest degree that they can every night-- that's no doubt. Some of the techniques sound really night too, especially that Epsom salt bath one...that sound quite tempting. However, my sentiments resonate with the previous people who commented on this article. Where's the article about techie health? Why is it that those who run the show backstage are overlooked and those on stage, glamorized and praised for their intense work? Techies backstage and running and giving their all just as hard (especially if you're run crew). It's just as tough to keep up with maintaining your health if you're a techie and yes, while you're not required to belt or dance your way on stage 8 times a week, I can guarantee you the techies are just as exhausted and strapped for down time.
Staying healthy is so important for everyone, but especially for people in the performing arts. I think a lot of people today don't pay a lot of attention to keep themselves healthy by working out or making healthy meals is saying "I don't have time for it". These actors do 8 shows a week and they still find time to work out 14 times a week or figure out other alternative ways to keep their bodies healthy, which is something worth learning. As someone who immediately got sick after rube ended, I definitely took some good tips & advice from this article. One thing that one of the actors mentioned which I think is super important (not only to actors but to all professions) but often overlooked is that when you're sick, sticking through instead of staying home/getting better it is not heroic - it will get other people sick. We can easily forget how much we interact with people every day, and how other people can get sick too.
One of the biggest things an actor has to do is take care of themselves. They can't get sick, they can't get hurt, and they can't go missing. I am always so interested in what Broadway performers do to take care of their bodies and stay healthy. Just yesterday, an actor friend Henry was driving me and a few friends to watch a thesis performance. I have been getting a cold and don't really sound too hot. When he heard me talk, he asked me "wait Javi, are you sick?". I literally wanted ti jump out of that car because I felt so bad being sick and being that close to an actor who takes pride in taking care of himself. My favorite story is that of Seth Stewart, the original Graffiti Pete from In the heights on Broadway. He is a hardcore dancer but has hardly any cartilage in his knees so he takes care of himself every day with a butt load of vitamins and amino acids, he exercises his knees and constantly wore knee pads through the run of In the Heights. He wanted to do what he loved but if he didn't take care of his knees which were already not so great, he wouldn't be performing and busting out those crazy moves.
It is very important for actors to stay healthy, and this is something I never realize until they are sick and cannot perform. The first time I ever had to deal with an actor being sick, it was as a stage manager and I had to deal with every possible way to fix the issue. It was a stressful process trying to figure out all the options, because the director had not cast an understudy. It is something I often look over. Something that is also often overlooked is technicians staying healthy. While we do not have to stay onstage and perform our hearts out, we do have to do the best performance we possibly can backstage. The stage manager for the last show I worked on physically couldn’t do the show about three days before tech, and the stress that everyone was put under was incredible. It is just as important for technicians to stay as healthy as the actors can in order for the production to go as smooth and easy as possible.
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