Q: What should you do if you get sick in the middle of a project? Do you stay home and ask them to reschedule, or power through? Won’t it affect your performance?—@Brent, Backstage Community Forums
There are a couple of things to be mindful of in this situation: How sick are you? How does your role affect the project?
For the first question, measure how ill you feel on a scale from one to 10, with one being the healthiest and 10 being the sickest. Are you at a four? A nine? If you’re at a four—a slight headache, a cough, an upset stomach—you’re probably healthy enough to function and do the job well enough. If you’re at a nine, chances are you’re at risk of not being able to fulfill your potential and could put others at risk of getting sick.
In the grand scheme of things, if you’re so ill that you can’t perform at the level that got you hired in the first place—what you did in the audition—no one wins, and it’s best to stay home. Just let the people in power know as soon as you realize you’re too sick to perform so they can rework the schedule if possible.
Movie sets are a lot like other jobs; it’s inevitable that people will get sick and miss work, and the executives are usually equipped to handle such extremes, should they arise. Simply knowing this can take the pressure off of you and allow you to take care of what matters to you and the production: your health.
If you get sick and are too ill to perform, your focus is to get back to 100 percent as soon as possible. Don’t worry; trust that everything will work out for the best—it always does. Never lose sight of that, especially when your health is concerned.
Shaun Grant is a dynamic “entreperformer” who is a recognized authority in personal performance and transformation. He is the author of Prosperity Secrets: How to Live the Life of Your Dreams.” He is also the creator of The Vibrational Actor and hosts his own podcast called The Actor’s Area. Shaun has been acting, writing, and coaching for the past 10 years. He teaches the concept of vibrational acting and vibrational consciousness to performers around the world. His soul purpose is to inspire, uplift, and motivate actors through cutting-edge mental and spiritual practices. He’s at his happiest when his students experience successful breakthroughs in mind, body, and spirit as it relates to their acting careers. Shaun has acted in over 40 projects, working alongside some of Hollywood’s brightest stars, and has written and produced his own projects as well. When Shaun isn’t acting, writing, or coaching, he enjoys engaging in his love of travel and creating life-changing content through his blogs.
Visit www.shaungrantacting.com and www.uplifterentertainment.com for more career information. Find Shaun on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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