As a performing arts professional, looking after your health is critical. But caring for your health doesn’t only involve getting good rest, eating a balanced diet, and checking in with your body.

that social relationships affect our mental and physical health, help us form healthy habits, and even decrease mortality risk. Getting out there to connect with others has never been so important. However, you also need to be able to navigate socialising and networking .

Scroll down to learn more about how you can network and socialise with others without overwhelming yourself now. Let’s dive in!

 

Putting Yourself First

Being a performing artist often involves many social connections, which is a perk of the job. But after living in a tour bus for weeks on end, spending long days working with others, and constantly being surrounded by people, you might crave some alone time.

It’s crucial that you understand this desire for solitude is normal, especially after spending lots of time with others. So, if you notice yourself becoming tired, crabby, or less-social, understand that it might signal that you need some time to rest and relax.

Never feel guilty for needing this time! Taking a breather when you can to rest and relax is essential. This could include being screen-free after work, practising mindfulness, walking, journaling, or even .

It’s also essential to remember that the performing arts industry has a higher proportion of neurodivergent people. Social overwhelm is an issue for many professionals, and it’s nothing to feel self-conscious about.

 

Relaxing with Friends

Relaxing alone might work for some, but it’s also a great idea to have a trusted friend or family member to connect with outside of work.

Spending time with non-industry friends allows you to take a breather from intense performing arts situations. Keeping your friendship circle broad means your work isn’t at the centre of your social life, and therefore, you can clock off and reset your mind when you’re not working.

Additionally, if you’re touring or working long days, having a friend on call can be beneficial to vent to when needed. This way, you can beat any loneliness and talk to an unbiased loved one if work becomes stressful.

 

All About Networking

Networking might seem like socialising, but remember that it’s a form of work.

Hunting for gigs and meeting other professionals can be mentally and physically draining. It’s also challenging to complete if you’re experiencing mental health issues. So, separate networking and your own social life to ensure you can approach it with a healthy mindset, energy, and self-esteem.

The more you look after your mental and physical health, the more conscience you’ll have to tackle networking.

 

Finding Space for Yourself

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to socialising. Finding space for yourself is a journey you must undertake to realise your needs.

Whether you schedule some self-care and alone time into your week or make an effort to connect with non-performing arts friends, navigating social overwhelm looks different for everyone.

Attending workshops and seminars catering to performing arts professionals might also be helpful. These expert-led events provide toolkits to help you manage your mental and physical health while working.

For example, BAPAM frequently hosts events and training sessions for all performing arts professionals. From physical health-based seminars to mental health workshops, we work with other creative industry partners to provide helpful and accessible sessions.

Upcoming workshops include:

• 14th February — Career Transitions: Change, Loss, and Playing to Your Strengths – It’s Okay to Grieve
• 14th February — How to Prioritise Self-Care When Working in Music: Anxiety
• 21st��February — Career Transitions: Change, Loss, and Playing to Your Strengths – What’s Next & How to Get There
• 28th February — How to Prioritise Self-Care When Working in Music: Self-Esteem & Self-Doubt
• 6th March — BAPAM Healthy Practice: Physical Health and Injury Prevention
• 13th March — How to Prioritise Self-Care When Working in Music: Building Relationships
• 14th March — BAPAM: Looking After Your Voice: A Guide to Vocal Health
• 27th March — How to Prioritise Self-Care When Working in Music: Negative Thoughts

 

The Takeaway

Getting out there and meeting others isn’t always straightforward. But hopefully, this blog has provided a guide to looking after yourself as you network and communicate with others. Keep your non-industry friends close, take time when needed, and invest in yourself through BAPAM’s expert seminars.

Want to explore performing arts articles? Visit BAPAM’s blog.

��When was the last time you joined an online event? Never? Don’t worry if online workshops are a foreign concept to you. You’re not the only one!

Today, we’re looking at the many advantages of online events and what to do if you’re anxious about joining. We’re also highlighting exciting upcoming BAPAM sessions, so don’t forget to scroll to the bottom. Let’s get started!

 

Why Should You Attend Online Events?

 

From training sessions to workshops, BAPAM’s online events bring evidence informed practice, the latest research and performing arts health experts to your home.

If you’re unfamiliar with online sessions, you might not understand why they’re so popular — or relevant to your career. Online events are a great way to learn about new topics, nurture your skills, meet new people, and access support.

You don’t have to leave the house to tune into these digital sessions, meaning you tune in at the click of a button. Perfect.

 

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What if You’re Nervous?

 

Attending online sessions can be intimidating, so you’re not alone if you feel nervous. However, with BAPAM’s online events, you can join in the conversation as much or as little as you want. Whether you want to share your thoughts in the chat box or simply want to watch with your camera off, we’re happy as long as you’re comfortable.

 

Can you join from anywhere?

 

Yes! We welcome international audience members to all our education sessions but please note that BAPAM can only provide clinical services to people who are based in the UK. ��

 

5 Benefits of Online Sessions for Performing Arts Professionals

 

Wondering how online events can benefit you? Here are some quick pros of joining digital workshops.

• Accessibility — You can join from anywhere in the world if you have a Wi-Fi connection, and a live transcript is available for participants.
• Advice from professionals — BAPAM’s online workshops are hosted by experts in healthy creative practice, ensuring you receive high-quality, evidence informed information and trustworthy advice.
• Connect with peers and share knowledge — Online events connect you to a diverse creative community — but only if you want! There’s no pressure to chat, but hearing others share experiences of challenges and successes, problems and the solutions that worked for them, can be reassuring and inspiring.
• Affordable — Online events save you money on travel costs, accommodation, and other expenses associated with networking events.
• Develop your professional & personal skills — We host events for everyone working in the performing arts – on stage, backstage, on set, in the studio, teaching, on tour, at college – we focus on practical advice and skills for healthy and sustainable creative careers, and help you maintain your best physical, vocal, hearing and mental health.

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Upcoming BAPAM Sessions

 

BAPAM delivers expert health and well-being services to performing arts professionals. We work with professional researchers, artists, educators, clinicians, and creators to deliver empowering content.

Here are some of our upcoming online events:

31 Jan 1-2pm Stress & Burnout. Psychoeducation self-care session with Help Musicians.

Suitable for musicians who are feeling stressed or are/have experienced burnout. Lots of information on what stress is, how it can lead to burnout, what burnout looks like, how to avoid burnout and what to do if you are burnt out.

How to Prioritise Self-Care When Working in Music: Stress and Burnout – BAPAM

7 Feb 11am-1pm Mental Health with the Royal Society of Musicians.

Also suitable for musicians, this is a deep dive into mental health – what mental health is, why you might become mentally unwell, what to do and where to go and lots of advice for staying mentally well. There will also be a section on performance anxiety and breathwork for anxiety.

RSM and BAPAM Present: Healthy Minds – BAPAM

14 Feb 10:30-11:30 Career Transitions: It’s OK To Grieve.��

The first session in a brand new series of three workshops for performing artists who have had a diagnosis of an illness which will prevent them from performing. This series is there to provide support for their change in career with their mental health and some practical guidance on what transferable skills they have and employment support.

Career Transitions: Change, Loss and Playing To Your Strengths – BAPAM

 

The Bottom Line

 

Online sessions are an excellent tool for performing artists. Whether you want to learn from experts or connect with others, there’s always an upcoming event to sign up for. Remember, there’s no pressure to turn your camera on or speak. You can take online events at your own pace — and we’re always glad to have you!

See all upcoming BAPAM events now

 

Emma Risley is a Postgraduate Researcher from the University of Sheffield investigating the wellbeing of professional musical theatre performers in the UK. She is particularly interested in the role that identity plays within performers’ experiences of the industry. The central aim of the project is to make recommendations and raise awareness of health and wellbeing within the industry. During the first phase of the project, Emma interviewed senior creatives and campaigners within the industry, and she is now seeking to engage with performers through a survey and invite them to interview. The more people take part, the greater the chance of a lasting impact from the project.��

Have you got a few minutes?

Complete a short questionnaire for professional Musical Theatre performers.

Contribute your experiences to a PhD project investigating the wellbeing and career identities of MT performers in the UK. Findings will shape recommendations made to production teams, training institutions and industry organisations to improve the wellbeing of performers.

To find out more and take part in the survey use this link:

This project has ethics approval from the University of Sheffield.����

Have you ever heard anyone utter, “The show must go on?”

If you’ve worked in a creative field, you’re probably nodding your head. Whether there’s been a costume malfunction or the set has collapsed, performers and artists are always ready to give their all.

However, this mentality raises more complex questions concerning performers’ mental or physical health. Often, artists push themselves through illness, leading to burnout, anxiety, or many health issues. Unlike other careers, a well-needed rest or sick day isn’t always available in the arts.

This problem becomes even more worrying for artists who work on a freelance basis. The gig economy has no time for rest days, and performers continually push their health boundaries to ensure ongoing projects are lined up.

 

Challenging the Status Quo

Some may think of this mentality as a dedication to the craft. But it’s also essential to optimise performance and rehearsal schedules as much as possible and rest when needed (managers take note!). Committing to a sustainable artistic practice means recognising how to prioritise your mental and physical health, and balance the demands of your career — only then can you give your best performance!

It’s time for artists and employers to prioritise wellbeing and recovery. We’re seeing a positive about the current system and how it can be improved with healthier work and rest boundaries. From raising awareness to implementing change, artists across the UK are ready to revolutionise the industry.

 

Wellbeing Tools For Performing Arts Professionals

BAPAM is a team of clinical Ģ��tvs dedicated to providing wellbeing and health services for performing arts professionals. Learn more about what we do today.

Want to take your health into your hands? Jump to our health resources to get started. From mental health assistance to performance health guides, we offer educational factsheets for all disciplines.

Most performers and many other workers in the performing arts are freelance and will be working in many different environments as we return to work following the COVID-19 lockdown. The environment you will be working in will be doing their own risk assessment, but if you are a freelancer, you should be doing your own. Thanks to our expert occupational health doctors at BAPAM, and in particular, Dr Finola Ryan, we have published a risk assessment template for freelance performers which we hope will be helpful in considering any risks in returning to work.

Download Risk Assessment for freelance performers returning to work during COVID-19��(Updated June 23, 2021)��

We also have a list of Frequently Asked Questions which cover some of the key issues, but if you have other queries, please email them to info@bapam.org.uk with the subject Risk Assessment and we will put them to our team of experts and publish them.

The UK Government��have issued specific guidance for the performing arts sector:��

If you are an employer, a workplace or contract performers and would like support from BAPAM’s��Occupational Health service, please contact claire.cordeaux@bapam.org.uk

Are you a freelance performer, regularly working on short contracts and short-term engagements? BAPAM in collaboration with the����is organising an event looking at Occupational health in the performing arts. The industry is commonly termed the original gig economy as a huge proportion of the��workforce are composed of freelance performers. There is also unfortunately a high number likely to become injured or have other health problems as a result of their work.

In traditional settings occupational health teams keep people well at work – physically��and mentally.��But when it comes to the gig economy the healthcare support for a performer may not be as certain.

Amongst other things this event on 27th March 2019 will be looking at the health and work needs of the self-employed, especially those working in this gig economy. As well as the current needs and experiences of performers when they are faced with ill health and also performance-related injury and how they can be treated back in to work.

��on to the event which promises to be a very useful day for all performers and clinicians working with performers.

• Interested in finding out more about occupational health and performing arts, there is a collection of resources on the subject on the����website.