This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Tori Bullard: Before we begin this week's episode, we would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land on which we work, live, and record, and recognize their continuing connection to land, water, and community.

[0:14] Eliza Gunther: We pay respect to elders past, present, and emerging.

[0:22] Tori Bullard: Hi everyone, and welcome back to PS Meet Me at Stage Door.

[0:26] Eliza Gunther: Today we are discussing an important topic in theatre with the amazing Sophie Wright.

[0:31] Tori Bullard: But before we get into that, Tori, take it away with the bulletin.

[0:36] Eliza Gunther: In exciting news, Music Theatre Melbourne have revealed the identity of their international mystery guest Stephen Schwartz, who will join its four Australian judges to determine the winner of its exciting quest for a new musical that finds its inspiration in the challenge of COVID-19, which is titled COVID the Musical, which will be staged in September 2021.

[1:00] Tori Bullard: If you didn't already know, Stephen Schwartz is a three-time Academy Award and three-time Grammy Award winner and the living legend of the music theatre world, and the creator of landmark shows such as The Prince of Egypt, Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, and so many more.

[1:17] Eliza Gunther: The winning entry of Music Theatre Melbourne's COVID Challenge will be announced on 1st of November 2020 and will be staged in September 2021.

[1:27] Tori Bullard: Needing your kick of musicals, but also looking for something new, make sure to check out Sounds of Broadway.

[1:33] Eliza Gunther: They offer the most wide range of listening of music from off-Broadway, Broadway, and the London stages.

[1:40] Tori Bullard: Thousands of songs from hundreds of cast recordings streamed online 24/7.

[1:45] Eliza Gunther: Head over to soundsofbroadway.com to check it out.

[1:49] Tori Bullard: The Artists of Colour Initiative, also known as the AOC Initiative, have launched a scholarship competition designed to provide financial assistance and industry support to six exceptionally talented theatre performers based in Australia that identify as black, indigenous, or as people of colour.

[2:07] Eliza Gunther: Submissions are now open, and you can find out more info by visiting their website at www.aocinitiative.com.

[2:07] Tori Bullard: Be You Inc. is an arts organization whose mission is to empower theatre performers.

[2:20] Eliza Gunther: They have recently launched a grant program that aims to remove the financial barrier of applying for arts schools for young artists by covering their tertiary program audition fees.

[2:20] Tori Bullard: Be You Inc.'s school audition grant applications are also now open, but they will close on the 20th of September.

[2:36] Eliza Gunther: To learn more about the grant and eligibility, please visit buinc.org/schoolauditiongrants.

[2:43] Tori Bullard: To find out about more amazing initiatives like these, feel free to head over to our Instagram and check out our initiative highlight to get connected with more initiatives such as People of Cabaret, Stage of Change, and more.

[2:56] Eliza Gunther: Back over to you, Libby.

[2:58] Tori Bullard: Today we are excited to be discussing an important but not often discussed topic in theatre, mental wellbeing.

[3:05] Eliza Gunther: And we are very excited to be joined by the incredible Sophie Wright.

[3:09] Tori Bullard: Sophie has an extensive career in music theatre and in television.

[3:13] Eliza Gunther: In 2013, she made her professional debut in the Australasian Tour of Wicked as the Alphabet cover and a part of the ensemble.

[3:22] Tori Bullard: She has also appeared alongside Hugh Jackman in his one-man show Broadway to Oz, Avenue Q in the dual roles of Kate and Lucy, Gypsy with the Hayes Theatre Company as June, and was nominated for a Helpmann Award for her portrayal of Lauren in the Australian Tour of Kinky Boots.

[3:41] Eliza Gunther: Not only a successful music theatre performer, Sophie has most recently appeared in Mr. Black, a new TV comedy series produced on Network 10 and CJZ.

[3:52] Tori Bullard: Sophie is also a qualified wellness coach who helps performers to build confidence and resilience through positivity and mindfulness techniques to enhance their performing.

[4:02] Eliza Gunther: We are thrilled to welcome Sophie.

[4:05] Sophie Wright: Thank you very much. What an intro. Thanks, guys.

[4:08] Tori Bullard: That's right. I mean, like, we've got to, you know, be true to your name, and that's certainly what I think of when I hear your name.

[4:16] Sophie Wright: So thank you.

[4:17] Tori Bullard: Thanks, Tori. So obviously, you recently had a bub, so you weren't necessarily performing at the time that quarantine hit. But how has quarantine been treating you just, I guess, as a person in general and as a performer?

[4:34] Sophie Wright: Yeah. For me, yes, exactly. I wasn't plucked from a show during quarantine, but I think being a new mum is kind of equal to being in quarantine. Because you're at home a lot, you're with the same people. So it's kind of been a very different experience for me, just learning how to be a new mum. In terms of performing as well, I guess it's a whole new experience because one, I can't audition as much, but also I've got to learn how to practice again and practice my singing and try and stay creative as well as this new role of being a new mum, I guess. So it's had its ups and downs, like everyone, and I think everyone's going through a different experience, but collectively we're all feeling some days a little bit lost and some days a little bit angry, and we've just gotta try and stay connected with everyone and try and stay positive.

[5:46] Eliza Gunther: Now you've had an extensive career, obviously, and you've gotten to do some incredible roles and get to be, you know, do the performing side, and you're also now a wellness coach. What do you feel has been like the most impactful moment in your theatre career so far?

[6:00] Sophie Wright: I there's so many I guess there's so many different moments depending on the show and the people you work with. As a general I I'd say as a general rule, and this is kind of I guess a boring answer. But I kind of thought about it's really the people that you do get to work with and the friendships that you make along the way. It's such a different career being able to work with people very intimately for a long time. You become very, very close and you develop such great friendships. And as I quote unquote get older, I often think about it and I think about the different casts that I've gotten to work with and crew and everyone, and you realize how amazing those friendships are and how connected you do feel in a show.

So I'd say on a whole it's definitely the connections that I feel with people and just the silliness backstage and not just the show. Yeah, and not just the shows that you're doing, but yeah, all the stuff that you get to do backstage appropriately, of course. Just all the great mates that you get to meet along the way. I'd say it's been the most impactful, especially as I get older and think about the shows that I've done and being away from performing as well, thinking about the shows that I've done and the people that I've met along the way.

[7:27] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, I think it's not always about necessarily it is about the work that you do, but it's about how you live that life and the things that encompass, like surround not only your career, but you know, making sure that you have good friends and that sense of community, which definitely comes with theatre, and that's probably why a lot of people love it as well, because it's not just, oh, we're doing what we love every day, we're also surrounded by like-minded people and it's like an exciting atmosphere and you get to meet some incredible people along the journey.

[7:59] Sophie Wright: Absolutely, and it's not just when you're performing as well. I think if you learn that during a show, then when you're in the down times and you're auditioning, then you can still remain friends and stay connected to performers and still feel like you're in the industry because you are talking about performing or you're talking about being creative, so you're not completely disconnected from it just because you're not in a show.

[8:23] Eliza Gunther: Exactly.

[8:23] Sophie Wright: Most definitely, and it definitely I think that connection that you do have with people in the industry and fellow performers and fellow creatives, it makes such an impact, especially during times like this as well, because you have those people that you can talk to and relate to, and whilst everyone across the world is going through this situation that's been brought up by COVID, it's impacted performers and the arts so differently that it's great to have that little like almost spider web of connections and creatives that you can talk to.

[8:56] Eliza Gunther: And so you're a mindset and wellness coach for performers. What does that actually entail and how did you kind of decide to delve into that particular line of work?

[9:09] Sophie Wright: Yeah, so mindset and wellness coaching, it can be for any industry really. I guess I started off it was something that came up in my first show which was Wicked. Once I quote unquote got the show, I'm loving this quote unquote by the way, I've realized I've used it got the show. I actually yeah anyway. Once I got into my first show I thought the work was done and once I started the show I realized there were so many facets of the industry I hadn't learnt about yet and being on stage every night adrenaline I was also covering Elphaba, it was I was thrown into the deep end majorly and I realized there were so many things I needed to learn. And as I went through the contract and I did it for two years, I realized it was not just dealing with my mindset, but it was dealing with touring learning how to be with the same group of people, learning how to tour around Australia and be away from your family, learning how to overcome sickness and getting back on stage after you've been sick, learning how to go on stage mid-show and just stay present and stay mindful.

So there were so many things that I was thrown into the deep end in the show and I'm so grateful for it because I learnt how to I guess I learnt tools and skills that helped me. And from there, I realized, oh, maybe I can start to talk about this with other people. And I think I shared a few things maybe on my social media. And as people kind of maybe started to take notice or ask me about different things, I thought I'm gonna do a bit more research. And I was reading everything, and then finally I came across wellness coaching, and so I did this wellness coaching course, and it was all about facilitating people with their goals and what they want to achieve. So that was the general way to go about it.

But in terms of performers, I realized there was a really specific niche that performers needed help from not only auditioning, but once they're in a show as well, to stay positive because that's not realistic all the time, but to just have those skills that they can use every day for auditions, for various and also after auditions, how to learn how to bounce back from rejection, you know, what all that kind of stuff. So in a nutshell, that's how it started, and now I'm at a point. I mean, I've had a break from it at the moment, obviously because of having Bub, but I started to work with a lot of performers who have just graduated from WAPA and VCA, but who also want to audition for it too. So I'm kind of working with a lot of different performers and creative people, which I absolutely love.

[11:57] Sophie Wright: That's incredible. It's definitely a topic I think that we need to discuss because it's not often talked about in theatre, like how to deal with those specific, you know, how to deal with rejection and how to deal with the, you know, past. You know, when you get in, there is all that stuff that you talked about when you get into a show, then that you think, oh, it's fine.

[12:23] Sophie Wright: I'm I'm I will be completely fine once I have made it, I've made it into my show, I'm gonna be a mental rock, I've got this. But um, a lot of performers really struggle with mental health. Why do you feel that mindfulness is so important in a performer's day-to-day life? Mindfulness is something I I believe is is quite a simple tool. It's not easy, but it's a simple tool that can be used. And and the more I kind of performed in various things, I realized how how important it was. When you're performing and you're in the zone, I guess you can call it, and you're really just taking on each line, each word. And then maybe if something I'm sure you guys have been through this before, you make a mistake, and you you fuck up a line or something happens, you're still singing the song and you're thinking about the line, right?

So in that moment, you've completely plucked yourself from the present, and you're thinking about what you did previously, and that keeps happening. You keep making mistakes, you keep thinking about the line that you've fucked up before. Um, so you're completely you you're not being in the present. And I I believe that performing, you honestly, to get the best out of it, to get the best out of yourself, but also to listen to the other performer, the other actor, you've got to stay present, you've got to stay in the moment. So things like mindfulness training and and simple things like practicing breathing, um, or doing a meditation, going for a walk and staying in the present moment can really help performing, but also auditioning, also daily life as well.

Learning how to deal with our emotions in the moment, so that we're not going through this movie in our mind about what happened last week, what happened yesterday. We can actually learn to be in the moment, feel the emotion at hand, and then learn to let it go.

[14:23] Tori Bullard: Yeah, which is really important because I think that is something I know personally I constantly do, like whether it's in an audition or it's on stage or even in the podcast, I'll say something and then look back on it, and I'm like, oh, why did I like it will be one of those things like as you're falling asleep at night, it comes to my mind, and I'm like, why? Why am I I don't need to be thinking about that, but you can't necessarily shake it, which then impacts you what you're doing in the present. So I think that's it's such an important thing to learn, and I learnt a lot because I did do mindfulness with you a long time ago now. But what do you think are some of the bigger issues that performers face in terms of their mindset and mental well-being?

[15:06] Sophie Wright: There's a lot of I mean, we know now that it's it's talked about a lot more now, which is fantastic, but there are a lot of depression and anxiety that is compl that is very common among the industry. And there's I mean, there's there's a lot of you know, different dockos and things like that that you can watch that explains that in detail, but I would say it's a lot to do with the inconsistency and the ups and downs of being a performer. We're not we don't earn a normal wage, we don't have consistent work years on end unless you're in a regular show or a regular TV series. So the ups and downs of that affects us. It it does, it affects us mentally. We could be in a show and everything's amazing and we're enjoying what we're doing, and then we finish the contract, and the next day we're literally at home, maybe working at another job or doing doing something completely different from performing and what we love to do.

So that's got to affect us mentally. It's it's it's just that up and down. And I think also it's I've been thinking about it as well. We often think, oh, I should be okay with that. I should be, I should learn to deal with that. But ultimately, we don't get taught how to deal with that. We don't get taught how to stay sane during the times that we're not working or we're not auditioning, and especially now, this is a completely different time that no one's ever been through. And I and I kind of can't even tell give advice or anything on how to deal with this during COVID because it's never happened before. But this is we definitely need more people sharing skills and tools for performers to know that one, it's it is okay to feel down and upset and anxious and depressed during those times, but also that there can be help and there is help and we can learn skills and we can come together because I think thinking that we should be okay with it is is the issue as well.

[17:11] Tori Bullard: Definitely, I think it's uh it's definitely something that's not talked about enough, especially in the formative like uni days of of being a performer. It's um it's uh I think lots of people go through that when they're at uni as well, like the you know, the pressure of it and all of these different aspects and struggle with mental health that way. Because I definitely did myself, but it wasn't discussed at all in uh in a class in a let's do a class about your health, but like not just physical health, like mental health, because these are the things that are so important as performers because they are you know, um, we are our product, our our mental well-being, our physical well-being, like that is what we're ultimately selling someone.

So for us to be um, you know, the most strong and and confident in ourselves, that will ultimately feed into our work. As well, I think because uh during uni as well, you are often you know, you go through a lot of different acting techniques, whether it be uh straight acting or through song, that require you to bring up um memories, and sometimes uh quite often, especially for really emotional stuff, they're gonna be memories that aren't really good. And something that I know a lot of us struggled with was then great, you've brought it up, you've done your bit, and like you you cried, you left it all out on the table, and then after you just are kind of left sitting there in it, and we were never necessarily taught how to then take care of yourself after, like when you look at shows like Dear Evan Hansen, like for Evan in that show, he lays it just all out on that stage.

So many shows do that, and often like I can't help but think like how do they then and they do that every night. How do they take care of themselves after so that they can then go and do that again and again and again? And I do think it is something that needs to be taught. Like it would be you know, often in drama school, you see people randomly just break down and start crying because they've been just like holding everything in. So I think it is so important that we can, whether it be a class, like you know, you do fitness classes, you do dance classes, having a class that's just, or even just like a sit-down once a week all together where you can just talk with the professional, lay it all out, say what you need to do.

So you're not just sitting there holding it together because I feel so often as well, performers are looked at as being like these really physically fit, strong people, like they have the best lives, their careers are amazing, they get to perform. And I'm like, well, it's actually from the outside, yes, and it is, it's an amazing career, and it's an amazing job to have, but there is so many downfalls to it as well. And one of those big ones is mental health.

[19:56] Sophie Wright: Absolutely. And I always compare it to well, not compare, but I always think about the sports industry, if you want to call it. And they have they have mental health coaches, they have psychologists, they've and so I always think, well, we need the same. We're athletes in a different form. We need the same, we need the same support. And it is, and it is starting to happen. There is more support out there. But I I would love to have um shows with psychologists or counselors that is available to all performers to, yeah, you're right, like once a week doing something to discuss as a group or individually. That would be something that you know later on would be amazing, I think. Because you can also at the same time, you can have that in your head as I know this is not I didn't get this part because of of what I I did.

It you know, there's so many things I can't control in this situation, and you can have that and you can write that down, but it still freaking hurts. It's still disappointing. There's nothing, you know, and it's absolutely it's it's human nature. It's absolutely okay to feel upset, disappointed, and often say, Why the hell did that happen? Like again, or you know, why isn't this working out?

[21:12] Tori Bullard: So it and I think as I'm I'm actually studying psychology and I'm up to my honors degree now. Um I often think more and more about how it is such a niche, and I I would love to have a psychologist who knows what it's like to do eight shows a week, who's been there and who understands, and yeah, you're right. That rejection thing, it's not about someone physically rejecting me. It's not, it's it's about that disappointment and that um learning how to deal with that and learning how to almost reset. It's a reset, isn't it? Every time you kind of go, okay, yes, have that time of being disappointed, reset, watch something, you know, watch a comedy and then try and start the day again.

[22:00] Sophie Wright: Do you have any advice for those who are dealing with rejection? It's shit. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it's shit. Um it's it's so hard for different it it's honestly it's it's so hard for everyone, but it different situations. So I think it depends on how much pressure you put on that various audition. It depends on how much you I guess think you're right for the role. I guess it depends on how you felt going into the audition. If you felt that you did absolutely everything you could and you got rejected, then some sometimes it's easier to kind of let it go, or sometimes it's harder. I think in terms of advice, perhaps allow yourself to feel like shit because it it's not fun, but also allow yourself to when you when the time is right and when you're ready to sit and if it's still on your mind, sit and write down things that you thought were good in the audition, things that you thought you could improve, and then move forward, try and move forward and and go to the next thing, the next audition, and and know that this is all a learning process, as much as some people and you know, sometimes I even roll my eyes at myself sometimes, as I know this is so hard, but I know I'm gonna learn the most out of this because this is where I this is where I get better, this is where I get stronger, this is where I I learn more skills.

[23:30] Tori Bullard: Definitely that's um some great advice for for dealing with rejection because we all go through it.

[23:37] Sophie Wright: We definitely do. And I mean considering now COVID-19, it's been quite tough on a lot of performers. Do you have any advice for those who are feeling like they're stuck in a rut or just struggling with you know not getting to perform at all?

[23:54] Tori Bullard: Well, for me, I'm being a new mom, I've had to really really kind of reevaluate how I get my creativity fix because I'm it's a completely new identity for me. So I'm I'm really learning that and I feel maybe this could help others. But for me, I'm I'm trying to add in, and it doesn't have to be amazing, it's it doesn't have to be I think giving ourselves a bit of slack is is very needed, but just adding in little things that make us feel good.

[24:31] Sophie Wright: Like for me, it's doing a scene like having a scene, and maybe and I did a single, I had a singing lesson this morning and I was singing and I thought, oh God, I love singing, and I just it was just that reminder that I needed um yeah and whatever that means for you if it means just listening to a musical or going you know going to watch a really nice movie or going for a walk or just having something that makes you feel creative and makes you feel joyful um and remind you of of why you love performing in the first place.

[25:05] Sophie Wright: And I guess who you are as well it's just a reminder that okay yes we're we're stuck in this weird different time of um you know we're used to being quite social as performers I think uh we're we're quite social butterflies so to be like stuck inside and then also to also take that creativity almost away can be really a tough thing for us to deal with but just to go back to what makes you happy what what like you know going through the motions of why do I do this like is this the right thing for me like going back and actually um having time to almost evaluate your life and decide where am I going from here it's almost a bit of a quiet time to go great alright let's let's go for it as soon as COVID's off let's go yeah absolutely I I also feel during this time I I don't know if you've seen it but all those social media posts on how to do COVID right how to get the most out of your COVID day so I find it quite frustrating because it's one quite unrealistic and two no one knows how to deal with this.

[26:12] Sophie Wright: No one knows like we're all just we're all in this weird bubble, and I I feel like it it's okay for us to just be at home and and to have those times where where we do struggle a bit, but also if we can just add in something little just to make ourself feel good, you know, something something tiny.

[26:35] Sophie Wright: It doesn't have to be this amazing plan of how we're going to achieve each goal. At the beginning of this lockdown, I mean I'm in New South Wales now, but at the beginning of the New South Wales lockdown, I had I I was like, I'm gonna go back to my Italian, I'm gonna sing blah blah blah three times a week, I'm gonna do this, do this, and it didn't happen. It didn't happen.

[26:58] Sophie Wright: But I've learnt now, okay. Well, maybe it's once a week I do this. Okay, I'm gonna try this once a week, I'm gonna try this. And it's adding in little things, it's just being realistic. Um, but not feeling like you're not doing it right, so to speak, because no one knows it does it kind of I think everybody did that, and I have weeks where I'm like, okay, like I'm planning everything out, like I have certain days that you know I'm gonna do this workout on this day. I am going to get this amount of writing done, and some days I just wake up and I'm like, I I just can't, I can't do that today. That's not gonna happen.

[27:36] Sophie Wright: And then there are days where I'm like, great, I'm gonna get all of this work of like the week done today. Because there are just it's I think one of the greatest things that I've learnt during this time it is taking it day by day. Um, because as as great as it is to plan, and I love to plan and in my normal everyday life that works really well during this time where everything just feels so like suspended in time, it's kind of like just taking it day by day. Some days are gonna be like the most creative I've ever been, and some days I I'm literally not going to leave my bed.

[28:11] Sophie Wright: Yeah, I'm just gonna stay in bed all day and just watch docos all day. Um so I I agree, like there is there isn't I don't think there's any way you can do it right, in quotes. Um, because we've not done this before. I'm sure in 10 years' time or even in a year's time, there's gonna be a self-help book about COVID-19, but for now, no.

[28:34] Sophie Wright: So, and I guess on that kind of uh talking about this all and everything you have to give, where can people find your coaching and your courses once you are back and working again?

[28:46] Sophie Wright: Yeah, so my website's probably the best way to way to go is um I love when people say the website, www.sophiewright.com. Um so on there you can go to coaching and and have a look at what I offer. I'm going to start in the next few months.

[29:07] Sophie Wright: So if you're interested, you can just send me an email. Um, give me a bit of information about you and what you want in your coaching and what goals you have in mind, and we can start from there.

[29:17] Eliza Gunther: Amazing. And look, I can vouch that um obviously again it was it was it feels like so long ago, but the coaching really was worth it and it did have a big impact. Um I remember actually you gave me this advice before I went for one of my um university auditions about giving myself an alter ego, and you named it I think Vivacious Victoria or something, and like the day the morning of my audition, I like screenshotted it. It was my background, I had a meditation that I had to listen to, and it it made such a difference.

[29:49] Eliza Gunther: And I got into that university, didn't end up going there, but I got in, and it was one of those auditions where you know those rare ones where you walk out and you're like, that was just amazing. Like, yeah, I knew and you just walk out, no questions, nothing. There's no like nagging in the back of your head, you just walk out and you can just let it go. So that made a huge huge difference for me. So I can definitely uh vouch for Sophie's coaching. Obviously, from what we've said, you already know that she's just an amazing person and performer, but the coaching is definitely um once she starts back up again, definitely look into it.

[30:24] Eliza Gunther: Because I think it really is important for everyone to whether you do an actual course or coaching that you do just take care of your mental well-being, especially during these times. So, to wrap things up today, we always do a little bit of a bedtime story, which is always a lot of fun. So, this is a stage mishap. Obviously, you've been in some incredible shows. So, have you got a sort of um bedtime story for us today?

[30:51] Sophie Wright: Yes, I do. I hope it's alright. Um, I'm kind of remembering it as I tell it, so chookas. So basically, it was when I was playing alpha bar. I was on for my ensemble track, and I was sitting on stage, and I had to I I was told by Backstage they had to run off, and I was told that the um alpha bub would be going off.

[31:16] Sophie Wright: So basically, I'm a hot mess, I run off stage, I'm running around the corner, and I'm like, okay, I think I'm going on now. And in that moment, I run to the dressing room, I take my ensemble clothes off, I shove the alphabet clothes on, someone's shoving green paint on my face. I'm looking in the mirror, going, what is my life right now? And I all I had all I could do in the moment, and I've told this to many of my coaching clients before because it was a good lesson. All I could do, I I knew my mind was about to go off and go, you can't do this. What the hell? You're gonna have to go on for defining gravity. And in the moment, all I could do is breathe.

[31:57] Sophie Wright: That was literally the only draw card I had at the time. I just had to breathe. I had to just concentrate on my breathing while people around me were putting on a mic, putting green makeup on, putting a wig on, and I was side stage, and then I had to go on mid-show. And it was just one of those crazy, crazy stories that afterwards I always think about because I I think I remained pretty calm, but it was one of those moments that it could have gone the other way. I could have freaked out. But ultimately I couldn't go anywhere. I couldn't run off stage. No, I had a job to do. I don't know if that's like a funny story, but it was definitely a um a learning, a learning curve for me.

[32:39] Eliza Gunther: Yeah. And I think that that I can't even begin to imagine, especially like it's not even like intermission. Okay, now we have to swap over. It's literally like midway through the first act that you're like, great. And now there's just gonna be like I can't even imagine watching it because I would just have loved to see the people that are like, wait, who's that? Like, I'm sorry, what's that? And like it wouldn't define gravity.

[33:06] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, it wouldn't even necessarily be like uh um, oh wow, like I don't even know what I'm trying to say. But I can't even imagine what that would be. What a moment like just being like, Great, just cool. I'm going on mid mid act. Cool. And I guess that is the thing, you can't, there's nothing you can do. It's not like you can be like, no, somebody else has to do it. I can't. You've just gotta just take a deep breath and be like, cool, this is happening.

[33:29] Sophie Wright: Yeah, exactly. I mean, you have a job to do, and that's what happens. And there was no there was honestly no time to even have negative emotions about it. There was no time. It was literally, and that was where staying present and staying uh in the moment really helped me because I had to just concentrate on what I was doing at the time.

[33:49] Eliza Gunther: That is incredible. What an and what a great story. That is um, oh that's the stuff that you you try not to think about. But it sometimes happens.

[34:01] Sophie Wright: Yeah, it gives me nightmares now, but you know.

[34:04] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, I was gonna say, I was like, that's the stuff of like nightmares where you think about you're like, oh, oh no, and I just got shoved on stage, and you're like, but I don't know anything. At least I need a line.

[34:14] Sophie Wright: But yeah, I always have that dream where I don't know.

[34:16] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, exactly. Like, I don't even know this show.

[34:20] Sophie Wright: Yeah, look, well, so much for not only sharing that story with us, but sharing all of this information just about it, it really is mental health is uh um insanely important in in the arts and in general, and um yeah, just thank you so much for just talking to us about it and kind of I guess putting some of it into perspective that is like it can be the small things that have the largest impact as well, like the small thoughts that you think you know, you think every every once in a while, but they will just slowly start to build up and they can kind of overcome you, especially as a performer when you get that one rejection that's just a little bit too much for you, and you just throw it all out the window and just want to quit.

[35:02] Sophie Wright: Yeah, and also if anyone feels like they need to talk to someone, there's always support that out there, friends, family, um, there's beyond blue, lifeline. Definitely get support out there because this is a this is as we said, a crazy time, and and it's definitely um talk to your mates, talk to your family, talk to your friends, make sure everyone's okay.

[35:24] Eliza Gunther: Thank you so much for coming on and being with us today. We absolutely loved it. But you guys will be back in two weeks with another new episode. But until then, remember to stay happy, healthy, and safe. And we will see you next time.

[35:40] Eliza Gunther: Thank you so much for listening to today's episode, and we hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a rate and review on Apple Podcasts and to send us your bedtime stories and stagedoor Sunday pics.

[35:52] Eliza Gunther: We also would love to hear your feedback on the episode and what you'd like to hear from us in the future. You can let us know on our Instagram at ps.stagedoorpod via our email at ps.stagedoor.podcast at gmail.com or contact us via our website pstageddoor podcast.com. We love hearing from you, and we will see you next time.

[36:14] Eliza Gunther: Bye.