Defining Closure

"Closure" is an umbrella term that refers the various practices we can use to separate our work lives from our personal lives, to distinguish character from self. Closure can be broadly separated into:

• Bracketing, bookending, or Tag-In and Tag-Out: to separate contexts
• Self-care and community-care: activities to resolve physical and psychological stress, and for “emotional fitness” (like cardiovascular fitness)

These practices can help us to engage with emotionally demanding stories, and then disengage from them, returning to our social and personal lives with minimal "bleed-off" from the work. They help our minds and bodies to manage the energy available in our "body budget". Closure practices and respectful workspaces can help us to tell stories of trauma without taking on the trauma ourselves. Just like a dancer has warm-up/cool-down routines and training to support better performance and longevity, actors can have practices and routines to support better -- physical, psychological and emotional -- performance and longevity.

"Bracketing", "Bookending", or Tagging-In and Tagging-Out

Commonly, this is a short action to define the beginning and end of the scene work. It's a way to mark the moment between being in character and out of it. With continued use, Bracketing can help the body to recognize when it's time to be vulnerable and when that ends. While, on camera, we have the convention of "action" and "cut", it's helpful for the actor to have their own Bracket which is under their own control.

When actors to do this as a partnered action, it denotes when the "in character" time begins and ends, and therefore when the consent for agreed-upon actions begins and ends. It also denotes when we are Craftspeople in space together, ready to have conversation and debate about the scene, in contrast to being in character where it's our job to react, to affect and to be affected by the people around us.

The recommended Tag action is a gentle "high ten" with eye contact and easy breath. It's a moment of partnered mindfulness, and a physical connection to encourage being grounded. It's a short action, so that it's repeatable, and clearly denotes a moment of transition. A useful Bracket or Tag-in/Tag-out practice is connected (doesn't need to be physical), short, and repeatable. Often, my students have enjoyed creating a paired Bracket that is specific to this partnership.

When actors to do this as a partnered action, it denotes when the "in character" time begins and ends, and therefore when the consent for agreed-upon actions begins and ends. It also denotes when we are Craftspeople in space together, ready to have conversation and debate about the scene, in contrast to being in character where it's our job to react, to affect and to be affected by the people around us.

The recommended Tag action is a gentle "high ten" with eye contact and easy breath. It's a moment of partnered mindfulness, and a physical connection to encourage being grounded. It's a short action, so that it's repeatable, and clearly denotes a moment of transition. A useful Bracket or Tag-in/Tag-out practice is connected (doesn't need to be physical), short, and repeatable. Often, my students have enjoyed creating a paired Bracket that is specific to this partnership.

When to use Bracketing?

I recommend tagging-in and -out around each repetition of the scene, just like "action" and "cut" would be called. This helps the body and mind use the Bracket to separate being in character, and being a Craftsperson in the workspace.

They're also recommended at the beginning and end of a work session (for instance, the hour-long block when a specific scene is the focus of rehearsal), to help establish clarity that consent for particular actions has been given, and will not apply outside of this bracket of time.

As individuals, partners or groups, performers may also choose to have a bracketing ritual:

• when entering and leaving the work space (rehearsal or performance),
• at the beginning and end of work day,
• around times of working the script outside of rehearsal times, and,
• at the end of a project.

Self-care and community-care

These are the warm-up, cool-down and maintenance activities to resolve physical and psychological stress, and for increasing “emotional fitness” (like cardiovascular fitness).

We recognize that acting is a demanding practice: actors are "emotional gymnasts". This work is a strain on the body's energy budget. We can't avoid it. Part of the actor's skill is to ride the ebb and flow, and learn regulation, to be prepared for the work at hand no matter what else is happening. This regulation includes being ready for the work, and returning oneself to the levels needed for social and personal life.

Care practices can be broken down into:

• Preventative Care
  • Planning ahead, and preparing for upcoming stressors
• Acute Care
  • First Response to overstimulation and unforeseen events
  • Self-Soothing
  • Psychological and Mental Health First Aid when needed
• After care or “Cool downs”
  • Likely a mix of consistent practices, as well as practices that are responsive to the day’s events.
  • Self-soothing can also be used here
• Maintenance
  • Building emotional fitness: practice your various closure practices.
  • Fill the well with inspiration: music, going to an art gallery, being alone, having fun… the list is immense

How you can activate this in your studio/classroom

Within your studio or classroom, you can introduce the skills, and provide your performers with the opportunity to integrate self-care and community-care into their process. This might look like having the studio available for 15 minutes before and after class, short instruction on regulating, and a list of resources. Encourage experimentation with different types of activities. Be sure to encourage performers to pay attention to how difference scenes and activities affect their energy, so they can build their own "library" of activities to support them in the various work they'll encounter throughout their careers. Normalize this awareness and preparation as part of a healthy actor’s process.

Further reading:

• For more information on Body Budget, read 7 Lessons About The Brain or How Emotions Are Made, both by Lisa Feldman Barett.
• For more on completing stress cycles, read Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA
• For more info on regulating, research “regulating” and "polyvagal theory"