Student Blog: Dealing With Burnout Pt. 2
My experience with dealing with and preventing burnout after working on a show.
Dealing with burnout is not enjoyable. You want to have enough energy to do what you are passionate about. Still, it's hard, and in my personal experience, especially when you are a student with loads of homework, projects, classes, rehearsals for the shows you are working on, and work.
This has been especially true learning how to balance all these things over the past couple of months working on The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nighttime as a part of the stage management team. And, especially as a stage manager, finding a balance is crucial (and very difficult), especially in school. I love what I am learning about stage management, but sometimes it is hard to be at rehearsal almost every day. Ultimately, it is 100% worth it to see this fantastic show come alive right before your eyes from the beginning of the rehearsal process to opening night. But, I am glad to have a break from working on any more shows this semester.
The ways I am trying to fight burnout is to find time to spend time with friends, take naps (lots of naps!), take up old hobbies such as drawing, take things slowly, and more. There are so many ways that you can deal with and/or prevent burnout. I also have more time to focus on homework and my classes, which is definitely a plus of closing a show.
Overall, I would not say that I am burnt out, but this show taught me a lot of things in many different areas of stage management and beyond. This show had its rough spots, that's live theatre for you, but all of the performances went well. So, I may not be able to tell you how to deal with burnout because its different for every person, but I hope I can help in some way with my personal experience.
Videos
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The Wasp by Morgan Lloyd Malcom Albion Theatre (6/12-6/28) |
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Terms of Endearment Clayton Community Theatre (7/23-8/02) |
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Gary Hoey - May 28, 7:30 pm The Wildey (5/28-5/28) |
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Gateway Dirt Nationals – 3 Day Pass The Dome at America's Center (12/03-12/05) |
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SPRING TO DANCE Festival 2026 Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center (5/22-5/22) |
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St. Louis Cabaret Conference Celebration The Sheldon Concert Hall, Presented by The Cabaret Project of St. Louis (6/06-6/06) |
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Guns N’ Roses at Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (8/16-8/16) |
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16th Annual Missouri Chamber Music Festival June 10-21 at The Sheldon The Sheldon Concert Hall (6/15-6/15) |
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Jim Caruso’s NYC Cast Party The Sheldon Concert Hall, Presented by The Cabaret Project of St. Louis (6/04-6/04) |
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The 2026 WSIE Music Series presents Jeremiah Johnson The Press House (5/23-5/23) |
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