Dressing Room 6 - Half a Sixpence
Dinner Time Discussion
25th October 2016
I am now
within the tech period/rehearsals of Half a Sixpence at The Noel Coward Theatre
in Leicester Square, in preparation for opening night on Saturday
29th October! The cast have moved into the theatre this week as rehearsals
commence. I am very lucky to be sharing Dressing 6 with three very close cast
members and have already made ourselves at home.
Within our dinner break during rehearsals we were all relaxing in our dressing and had a big
discussion/informal 'question and answer' session regarding certain questions
within my Inquiry topic and subheadings. Due to being surrounded by fellow
performers varying in age and training I felt this conversation was incredibly
resourceful as I have gained new opinions and perspectives that I can collate
and compare with the rest of my findings.
This specific discussion
logged within my Reflective Journal will prove interesting when compared with
results from my 4 organised interviews.
Assuring that I am accurate
with my cast member's responses I gained consent to record the conversation and
only use it to analyse my findings.
HOW DOES YOUR DIET
IMPROVE YOUR WELLBEING? HOW HAS IT CHANGED?
One of the girls, Kim is
now a vegan so her diet has changed dramatically over the years. It makes her 'feel healthy for the inside
out'. Within our industry we need to have allot of energy and
the right nutritional foods thus making a difference regarding how you feel on
stage.
Jenny added to this
response that the way in which she eats and looks have stemmed from her
industry. She is still in that 'middle ground of finding a balance of eating the right amount of good
food that fuels me but doesn't hinder me'.
DO YOU FIND THAT
LIFESTYLE HABITS CHANGE SEASONALLY OR IN ACCORDANCE TO THE WORK?
Kim: Yes. In summer you
want to be outside with fresh air eating salads however in the winter you want
to be sat cosy with films, eating chocolate and warmer stodgier foods. You wear
different clothes therefore act differently.
Jen: Winter is allot harder
if your actively loosing weight or aware of what your eating as you want big,
hearty food but you feel you cannot have it.
WHAT DOES THE WORD
WELLBEING MEAN TO YOU?
Kim: 'Wellbeing to me means being
well on the inside out', for example your physical & mental
wellbeing and health.
Jen: Being well in your
mind, body and outlook on life.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR
WELLBEING HAS CHANGES OVER THE PAST 5 YEARS?
Kim: Yes, 'I feel like my career has
affected my wellbeing'.If she is involved in a positive job or
atmosphere her whole perspective alters. For example mental health improves,
less stressed.
Jen: 'Most definitely'.
Jen attended college within the past 5 years and expresses that its 'not necessarily a healthy place'. Before
she commenced training she wasn't healthy with her wellbeing, therefore
indulged allot as she didn't understand the term, however Jenny's
understanding developed at college. She stated that this new knowledge was 'dangerous, because my
understanding hurt me. I knew that I was hurting myself with food but
I wasn't stopping myself'. However Jenny
now believes that she has found a good balance upon graduation.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU
GIVE TO MAINTAIN A GOOD SENSE OF WORK LIFE BALANCE?
Kim: 'To maintain a good sense work
life balance try not to put too much energy into the job'. Kim
explains further that it’s vital that you need to have a life outside of your
job, therefore not making the job become your life.
We are very
passionate about our profession so we put our job in front of everyone
else. Due to experience within the industry Kim identified that finance is a
constant challenge that can completely impact healthy eating, living well
etc.
'As an actor having
a cold could mean the difference between performing and not performing'
-Have a great unit of friends around you that can
support you.
Jen: 'Put yourself first but not in a
selfish ways. You cannot go on that stage if you have run yourself into the
ground so you have to associate your wellbeing to your ability to perform'
ARE YOU AWARE OF THE
CONCEPT WORK LIFE BALANCE?
Kim: Yes
Jen: No
IS IT EVER
CHALLENGING MAINTAINING AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF WORK AND FAMILY/SOCIAL TIME?
Kim: 'Difficult', Kim uses
our 'Tech week' as a prime example as we cannot plan anything or see anybody
due to not knowing our call times for rehearsals the next day.
'Eradicate weeks of your life for your career'
However when the show is up
and running you have full day free to work, rest and play.
Jen: 'I am in a position where
I don't know what a work life balance even is. Work is my life at the
moment and has completely taken over'
Within performance
contracts the only way Jen can see her family is if they come to watch the
show. Her relationship has been affected due to work as 'work is everything',
however only because she has just graduated from college.
Kim replied to Jenny to say
that our work life balance changes throughout our career. As we get older we
aim towards different goals such as to settle down, have a family.
WHAT SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF YOUR JOB MAY PREVENT YOU
FROM HAVING A GOOD SENSE OF WORK LIFE BALANCE?
Kim:
·
The hours
·
The
strain on your body
·
The
strain on your mental health
‘Most of the
people within the rehearsal process have colds possibly due to rehearsing for a
week in a studio that was either hot or cold’
·
Brutality
of the job
‘As an actor
you put yourself out there, you are your product’
‘Your made to
stand in a line and your told sorry you look this and we need something else’
‘You’ve got a
great voice and you’re a really nice person but your slightly too old’
These scenarios can have an
affect on our mental health as a performers.
HOW IMPORTANT IS SLEEP, REST AND LIESURE TIME TO YOU?
(Devon enters the
discussion)
Jen: ‘It is extremely
important. If you can’t sleep you cant do your job. If you don’t treat yourself
well you can’t do your job’ In order to get that rest you have to
find the specific balance between work and lifestyle. ‘Try and make it
part of your routine and your job’
Kim: ‘Leisure time is very
important but the reason we find it difficult within a show is because the
people who you are working with become your life’. That is the reason why it is vital to have friends
outside of our industry that you can have that leisure time with. ‘They force you to be away from that environment that we are in at the
moment’
HOW DO YOU PRIORITISE YOUR WORKING DAY?
Jen: ‘I’m at the point now in my
career that if it’s a two show day that is my day. I’ve been told by allot of
people to have a life outside of this and not become consumed but right now I
am really have with it consuming me’
She assures to get an early
nights sleep and the most she will do in the morning is go to the gym.
Kim: Kim’s response
differed as she has another job as she lives with a family that she Nannys for,
therefore that pays her rent resulting in her saving money as she would not be
able to job work within the industry we are in.
She has a diary which she
will always use and try to plan ahead as much as possible. Mostly working
before shows on a Monday and Tuesday and Friday to pay for her rent. Time
management plays a huge role within Kim’s work life balance.
Devon: Devon agrees with
Jen, that she makes sure she gets an early night. ‘I find that when
I am doing a show I can’t eat too much before going on stage as nerves get the
better of me, so on a two-show day I prioritise being confident in the show
over eating’
‘My nerves are
being fed’
Kim responds to Devon by
agreeing that this is a big obstacle especially with wearing a corset
throughout the shows. Due to wearing these it is challenging to eat a proper
meal before a show therefore we have to ‘Plan what you eat, when you
eat, how you eat’
DO YOU FEEL LIKE OUR WELLBEING IS BEING COMPROMISED
WITHIN THE 21st CENTURY?
Jen: '100% I think that social media has really been a massive help and detriment to our wellbeing. Help in the fact that your aloud to be more sociable, your aloud to have a ridiculous amount of friend all over the world and keep in touch with everyone.'
'However it stop people living in the absolute now. So you don't appreciate that amazing meal as much because you took a photo of it to put on Instagram first'
Kim adds that social media can also be detrimental to people's confidence
'All your doing is constantly comparing yourself to other people.'
'You've got inspiration right at your fingertips viewing pictures of performers and their lifestyle, however if your not in a position to have those things they have it makes you feel worse about yourself'
'People instantly become consumed by social media. For example 20 years ago the iPhone didn't exist, now all of us in this dressing room have one which we are constantly scrolling on and looking on.' In a way this technology prevents conversation and verbal communication to happen.
Dev: 'People only put online what they want you to see'
Devon has previously followed fitness trainers and personalities and have caught them out. For example 'she didn't do a work out, she put a sports bra and her sweat pants on, tipped water on her face and posted ''what an amazing workout this morning''
Some people would look at a blog/status like this and feel bad about their eating habits and health. All they are doing is taking that photo or writing that post to create the impression to the world of the things that they are doing but in reality they're not.
ARE YOU INFLUENCED BY ADVERTISEMENTS/POP-UPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
Kim: 'I wouldn't say I'm influenced by them because allot of the time I just close pop-ups'
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYER HAVING A DUTY OF CARE REGARDING OUR WELLBEING?
Kim: 'From having a good company manager is the route of all happy companies'
We need that mother hen figure within the company and middle man between us and the producers as they are thinking about the money and in some cases the cast are not their priority. They should support our mental wellbeing as well are physical.
All girls gave the example of the flu jab that our company offered us as a brilliant way companies can look after our wellbeing, however some companies and producers are not as providing.