Avoiding Burnout in Live Entertainment, a conversation with Brian Smallwood

Carlyn Rahusaar Routledge

"The show must go on” is a phrase most, if not all, live entertainment artists have heard. Brian Smallwood, Associate Professor and Production Manager for James Madison University’s School of Theatre and Dance, asks us to reimagine what those words mean. In his conversation Avoiding Burnout in Live Entertainment, he discussed why we burnout and ways to evade those situations. The main talking points Smallwood approached were the money/time/quality concept, destigmatising destressors, sleep deprivation and it’s harmful effects, knowledge labour versus work labour, work week productivity, and workload equity. Smallwood aimed to unveil an ugly truth behind the entertainment industry, in his words “we prioritize what goes on in front of the stage, not behind it,” (2021) As artists we must learn the balance between creative impulse and productivity.

Zev Shoag

When I was younger, I remember talking to a stagehand who had just worked 80 hours in a week - they were not happy. I didn’t understand them: isn’t that the dream? You make a bunch of money and get to spend all your time in a theatre. How wrong I was. One point from the presentation I found very poignant was that, while a person may work for 80 hours a week, they will only be productive for half, or less, of that time. When we overwork ourselves, we end up making mistakes, having less motivation and being okay with ‘done enough’. It is worth it to take the time to rest to make sure we can thrive in what we do. Work is not and should not be the only thing we focus on in our lives we should not have to miss weddings or other important events, the show will go on no matter what - we always find a way.