Perception & resilience

Well, hello! It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?

Sorry I have been MIA: it’s been a busy fall season for me, on every level of consciousness. I let the blog release into the ether because I KNEW I could pick it up when it was time, and hoped everybody would still be here!

On a personal, physical level, I have been dealing with a year of chronic pain. Pain that all triggered from the car accident in 2011 - the gift that keeps on giving - and discovery, evolution and more.

On a professional level, I took on an academic appointment in the Theatre Department at Binghamton University and absolutely love it - the students, colleagues and program are exactly where I need to be. Being able to move easily between this program and working weekly with emerging, and established professionals in my professional studio is the balance I was seeking.

So, here comes perception and balance. Speaking with a medical professional who is an author and deals with chronic pain this week, he suggested this to me: a theatre professor (me!) … writing about perception as we/I write about resilience.”

That got me thinking… and thus, the blog emerges!

Perception and Resilience are very connected. perception influences how an individual experiences and responds to events/actions; resilience is the capacity to adapt and "bounce back" from experiences or changes that aren’t always ideal. Perception shapes resilience by affecting one's mindset and coping mechanisms; building resilience can involve developing specific perceptions like self-confidence, self-awareness, the ability to control, the ability to release control, and looking at challenge as opportunity.

As performers, we need to constantly observe our perception in order to build our resilience, simply as a mindset let alone anything else!

Viewing challenges as an opportunity for growth is so important: embracing experimentation, play, staying out of the “right vs wrong” mindset, allows us to create resilience within the perception of structure. Developing a growth mindset to explore “mistakes” and “challenges” as part of the process and not road blocks creates a much more realized perception of where we are, and not where we think we should be. Process over perfection needs to be foremost in our minds as we discover what is possible.

Adjusting our perception of self, the process and the audience, allows us to discover our personal resilience fully. This gives us boundaries without becoming resistant to change. Things like reframing perceived rejection; self-awareness and permission; embracing a larger picture and fascinating pathway; These perceptive qualities can allow for change in the moment, without value judgement.

These are the big picture possibilities. Often, with perception and resilience, it is more effective to draw from the larger picture and move inward. It allows us to exhale. It allows us to scan. It allows us to move through with gesture and freedom.

Perhaps the biggest connection in our craft between perception and resilience is self-care. We hear this term a lot, but what does it mean? How do we perceive self-care? How does it influence our resilience? These are questions only you can answer. Recognizing they are connected is key. Self-care isn’t delusional. It isn’t making excuses. It is the perception of what the artist needs in order for resilience to have a place to reside in the psyche, the craft, the physicality and the emotional and spiritual boundary.

We, as artists cannot mindlessly walk through the world. There is too much at stake on the boards, and off.

If it hurts, feel that. If it’s frustating, give it time. It’s when we can completely hold space for what the perception is, that we can name it, and give it a place to reside fully and build the resilience honestly to deal with it.

Whether it’s the industry, the craft you are building, and everything in-between, it’s okay to feel what you feel. The feeling needs to lead to the perception and the truth of moment. That truth indicates what the action needs to be for you. And that action builds resilience to move forward.

And we move forward, because that’s the way through!

with fondness,

Susan