Post Show Depression: One Actor's Guide to Dealing With It (Involves Vodka, Mamma Mia!, and a Cell Phone)
Situation: You've just closed your show, and you feel like crap. You just spent your drive home from your final cast party sobbing, and when you get home, your cat looks at the mascara running down your makeup caked face with an empathetic murp?
What you'll need: A bottle of good vodka or whiskey (not the cheap kind, 'cause then you'll be sad and have a terrible headache), Mamma Mia! the movie, or some other really happy film (Abba always makes me happy, but other faves include The Devil Wears Prada and Enchanted), your cell phone, your cat (or dog, or pillow, or boyfriend, or something else to cuddle/squeeze the life out of), a notebook, and lastly, chocolate.
What to do: Put in the movie and open your favorite booze. If I'm feeling better by the time I get in my house I'll make Irish coffee. I put the cat on my lap and hold it there (because she actually hates me, and if I don't she'll leave me alone to wallow in my show-less misery), and try to go brain dead watching Meryl Streep. Taking your mind off the show really helps, especially if it was a really memorable one. About half way through Mamma Mia! I'll text my favorite cast mates, if I had any, about how long it's been since I've seen them (all of 2hrs! *gasp!*).
When the movie is finally over, I'll write down all the fun things that happened during the run, thinking I'll eventually work that situation where my friend and I spent half of the first act flipping each other off in the wings - much to the annoyance of the rest of the cast - into a blog post (never mind, I just did!). In reality, though, writing it all out ensures two things: 1) that you won't forget some really good memories, and 2) it's therapeutic.
Finally, the chocolate is to be used throughout the run time of Mamma Mia! and the writing exercise as a calming agent. Its effect is even greater if the chocolate hails from the Aero Bar Company, because everyone know that's the best.
Lastly: There are a few things to remember when you close a show. Firstly, there will always be another one, whether rehearsals start the next day, or in a month. There will always be something coming up. Second: every show is a learning experience. It could be the show where you finally learn onstage combat, or even something as simple as that you are never going to audition for a Moliere play again. And finally, you've gotten to (probably) meet some great new people and make new, theatre-y friends. Be sad it's over, but don't be sad for so long that you can't look forward to what's coming up next.
What you'll need: A bottle of good vodka or whiskey (not the cheap kind, 'cause then you'll be sad and have a terrible headache), Mamma Mia! the movie, or some other really happy film (Abba always makes me happy, but other faves include The Devil Wears Prada and Enchanted), your cell phone, your cat (or dog, or pillow, or boyfriend, or something else to cuddle/squeeze the life out of), a notebook, and lastly, chocolate.
What to do: Put in the movie and open your favorite booze. If I'm feeling better by the time I get in my house I'll make Irish coffee. I put the cat on my lap and hold it there (because she actually hates me, and if I don't she'll leave me alone to wallow in my show-less misery), and try to go brain dead watching Meryl Streep. Taking your mind off the show really helps, especially if it was a really memorable one. About half way through Mamma Mia! I'll text my favorite cast mates, if I had any, about how long it's been since I've seen them (all of 2hrs! *gasp!*).
When the movie is finally over, I'll write down all the fun things that happened during the run, thinking I'll eventually work that situation where my friend and I spent half of the first act flipping each other off in the wings - much to the annoyance of the rest of the cast - into a blog post (never mind, I just did!). In reality, though, writing it all out ensures two things: 1) that you won't forget some really good memories, and 2) it's therapeutic.
Finally, the chocolate is to be used throughout the run time of Mamma Mia! and the writing exercise as a calming agent. Its effect is even greater if the chocolate hails from the Aero Bar Company, because everyone know that's the best.
Lastly: There are a few things to remember when you close a show. Firstly, there will always be another one, whether rehearsals start the next day, or in a month. There will always be something coming up. Second: every show is a learning experience. It could be the show where you finally learn onstage combat, or even something as simple as that you are never going to audition for a Moliere play again. And finally, you've gotten to (probably) meet some great new people and make new, theatre-y friends. Be sad it's over, but don't be sad for so long that you can't look forward to what's coming up next.
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