Figuring out when to say yes and when to say no can be tough for performing arts professionals.
Whether you’re rehearsing, touring, performing, auditioning, teaching or working backstage, opportunities in the performing arts can feel hard to turn down, particularly for freelancers, whose work can be unpredictable or for early career professionals who are keen to build relationships and experience.
However, continually taking on more than you can manage can affect anyone’s physical health and mental wellbeing. This can also diminish your enjoyment of your work.
Knowing your personal and professional boundaries can help you recognise what you need to stay well, communicate those needs and make decisions that support a sustainable career. In this article, we’ll explore what this looks like for a career in the performing arts.
Understanding Boundaries: What They Look Like
Healthy boundaries in relationships create mutual respect between individuals, and setting boundaries helps us know what’s expected in the relationship. Boundaries show us how we can respect each other’s limits around time, space, energy, workload, and wellbeing. They are a form of self-care and can help you take care of your mental health and ensure that your well-being is respected.
For a performing arts professionals, this might mean:
- Asking for fair pay.
- Ensuring your access and health needs are supported.
- Deciding how many performances or projects you can realistically take on.
- Scheduling rest and protecting time away from rehearsals, practice and other work.
- Setting limits around when you respond to work-related messages.
- Being clear about what you are physically comfortable doing during rehearsals or performances.
- Protecting personal space or quiet time while backstage or touring.
- Deciding how you want to socialise with colleagues outside work, interact with your audience or use social media.
- Agreeing writing splits, credits and finances.
Remember that everyone’s boundaries will look different, and they may change depending on your circumstances. The important thing is recognising what allows you to work effectively without repeatedly compromising your health or recovery.
Let’s take a closer look at some common boundaries for performing arts professionals, how to recognise them, and how setting and holding boundaries will help you.
1. Recognise When You Need to Rest
Busy periods can make rest feel optional and sometimes even a hindrance, but recovery is an important part of performing well.
Persistent tiredness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, reduced motivation, or feeling you are not recovering properly between rehearsals may signal that your current workload needs attention.
Physical warning signs matter too. If pain, vocal overload, or another health concern persist or starts affecting your ability to perform, don’t just push through it. Rest and early professional advice may help prevent a manageable problem from becoming more disruptive.
2. Be Selective About Your Commitments
Saying yes to every opportunity is not always the best way to build a sustainable career. So, before accepting a new commitment, consider whether you genuinely have the time and energy to do it well.
You may want to ask yourself:
- Does it support your artistic or professional goals?
- Do you have enough time for preparation and recovery?
- What might you have to sacrifice to accommodate it?
It can also help to build some non-negotiable recovery time into your schedule, rather than waiting until you are already exhausted to take a break. This way, you can make sure you’re rested and do not risk burnout.
3. Communicate Your Boundaries Clearly
Communicating a boundary does mean creating conflict or shutting down collaboration. Many performing artists worry that boundaries will make them seem rude or standoffish. This is not the case. A healthy boundary enables effective communication, allowing open connections while protecting your wellbeing.
If you need to decline something, ask for a break or clarify your availability, aim to be polite, clear and specific. You might say you are currently at capacity, cannot take on the work within the required timeframe, or need time to recover before your next commitment.
Also, where possible, communicate concerns early and agree how you will work with employers and collaborators. It is easier to have a constructive conversation before tiredness, pain, or stress reaches a point where it becomes harder to manage.
4. Check In With Yourself Regularly
Though the name suggests concrete rules, boundaries are not fixed. What feels manageable during a quiet month may not work during an intensive rehearsal period, production or when touring. Because of this, it’s a good idea to regularly check in with how you are feeling physically and mentally.
Are you getting enough recovery time? Are you constantly feeling rushed or overwhelmed? Are you enjoying your work, or are commitments beginning to feel like obligations?
Signs that your boundaries are being crossed could be physical, emotional or behavioural. Muscle tension, feelings of dread or resentment, avoiding people or situations, are all warnings that a boundary may need attention.
Small early adjustments can help you protect your wellbeing. It can help to check in with yourself at least once a month, or sooner. Then you can build healthy performance training into your everyday routine.
Building a More Sustainable Performing Arts Career
It’s a misconception that setting boundaries means closing yourself off to opportunities. Instead, knowing your boundaries can help you understand your capacity and make choices that keep your commitments manageable and sustainable. Far from limiting your work or damaging your reputation, this will enable you nurture positive professional relationships built on realistic expectations.
If a physical or mental health concern is affecting your work, BAPAM provides specialist clinical support, advice and resources for people working and studying in the performing arts.
Get in touch with BAPAM for more information.
InTune, from PRS Members’ Fund and BAPAM, provides personalised health and wellbeing tips, resources and information, including expert advice on building work relationships in the creative sector and dealing with conflict.