Studying in the Dressing Room Dungeon

 Blessed as I am to be in a theatre and performing during this time, it is making staying on top of all of my work slightly challenging... even as I am writing this I'm sat watching my opposite cast doing their first costume run of our upcoming production. Long days rehearsing in the theatre mean most of my work is being done in rehearsal, backstage between shows, or if I have an off show during the show as I sit backstage as an understudy. This in itself produces many challenges.

Firstly, being in an underground dressing room our wifi connection is patchy at best. Myself and the other girls in my dressing room who also do online uni have shared many moments of frustration as the wifi cuts out in the middle of trying to upload or save a piece of work. Imagine you've just finished section 5 of the MORE form and just as you go to click 'save' the wifi cuts out and all that work is gone. More frustrating still is that it sometimes doesn't reappear for up to an hour, reducing my already limited spare time even further. This has been especially annoying during module 2 as so many of the sources and books I am using I am accessing online. 

Another issue that arises trying to study in our dressing room dungeon is the lighting. Naturally in our dressing room we have mirror lights so we can see to do our hair and make up but since these lights get super hot we have a general rule that unless you're actively doing your hair or make-up you keep them switched off. Obviously we have a main light and don't just sit there in the dark however the main light is really strange and dim which really messes with your eyes and gives you a pretty bad headache if you're trying to read or work on a laptop. Oh and if for some reason nobody moves for 5 minutes it switches itself off so you find yourself in a weird kind of daze flapping your arms around like a maniac. 

It can also be pretty difficult to focus backstage. Between shows there is the constant buzz as everyone discusses the previous show or rehearsal before everyones individual pre-show rituals begin. Mine usually includes some form of snack, a nap, doing or touching up my make up, and re-doing my hair. This point marks the end of study time for me if I am performing that afternoon/evening. Once the show has started there is the constant music and calls playing over the tannoy so I find myself getting distracted and marking the choreography I would normally be dancing meaning it's extremely hard to focus. 

On top of all this one must factor in tiredness. During theatre weeks we can start as early as 9am (if we are rehearsing two productions simultaneously) and normally don't leave the theatre until 10:30pm after notes. Working such long days combined with the constant adrenaline from performing is a recipe for exhaustion. With ballet being so physically and mentally demanding it is important for me to make sure I allow my body and mind time to rest and recover. This means that even if I do have 3 or 4 hours free in a day or even an entire show off I am still extremely limited in the time I can actually spend working.

Regardless of this I am super grateful to be back in the theatre not just after the pandemic but also after my surgery and I am enjoying every second, no matter how tired I am!