So I was recently in my school's production of the Wedding Singer and it was truly one of the most amazing experiences. This isn't a post about all the positive things though (although that may be coming)... this is a post about something I have heard called "post-production depression". I would define this as the intense feeling of sadness you get once all the shows of a production have been completed as a) you are going to miss rehersals with all your friends/2nd family/the cast b) you are going to miss perfoming the production c) for like a week you have been living in an almost different reality but now have to go back to school and work (ughh, maths methods sacs) and d) the realisation that you will never have another production with all the year 12's graduating this year.
Today is the day after our last show and whilst last night contained a lot of crying, today is more a bunch of sitting here doing nothing, consuming tea and chocolate and watching youtube videos but all with a hint of sadness and longing for what has passed. Whilst doing this I thought that I might as well actually contribute something positive to the world and so I have come up with 5 ways to deal with post-production depression (some of these will apply to the end of other positive experiences though).
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| P1 |
So if you don't go on facebook for 24 - 72 hours after the last show you will probably have a million notifications from being tagged in photos, goodbye posts and more when you finally log on but it will save you a lot of pain. Now I was given this advice but I did not follow and I can tell you from personal experience that when you are already emotionally comprised seeing a bunch of people feeling the same way and reminders of the good times passed is not going to help you feel better. Yes, it will probably still sting 1 - 3 days later but then at least you will have had some time to recover.
2. Remind your self you can still stay in touch with all the cast anyway.
No, you won't have an excuse to spend like 4 hours together every week but that doesn't mean you still can't see each other. You can always organise trips to the shops, meet-ups at people's houses, re-union dinners and more. After all families stick together espcially 2nd families because they are ones formed by choice.
3. If you miss performing, keep performing!
If you miss the rush of performing, the applause of the crowd or singing, dancing and acting then you can still do these things without prodution. There are multiple ways to do this. You can get involved in other music, dance or acting programs at your school, do productions out of school at youth theatre companies, play gigs, join classes for signing, acting or dancing and more.
4. Put energy into other things you enjoy.
If you can't perform or performing isn't the main thing you miss you can distract yourself from the pain by putting energy into other activities and hobbies you enjoy. For me this involves watching shows, brainstorming cosplays, reading and writing (hence the creation of this blog) but it can be absolutely any hobby or thing you like.
5. Smile because it happened, instead of crying over it ending. Yes, I am aware that is extremly cheesy but I believe it is a good saying to hold on to in situations like this. Thinking about all the good memories can make you sad it is over but I think we can all get a sense of happiness and fulfillment by thinking about how great it was, what you learnt and being grateful that you had this experience. After all being in a production is something we should all be proud of and feel lucky to have experience so instead of moping all the time we need to focus on how great it truly was.
So I hope this helps some of you and that you enjoy my first post! :D
- Signed Natasha B
Sources :
- Personal experiences
- P1 : http://www.mensxp.com/technology/internet/3517-the-anti-valentines-day-guide-to-facebook.html
- P2: http://bjhildebrand.aimsites.org/2013/07/24/dont-cry-because-its-over-smile-because-it-happened/
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