{"id":2118,"date":"2019-12-12T15:23:14","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T15:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=2118"},"modified":"2025-11-14T15:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T15:32:34","slug":"how-to-handle-stress-on-a-film-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/the-essentials\/how-to-handle-stress-on-a-film-set\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle Stress on a Film Set"},"content":{"rendered":"

A film set can be a stressful place to work. Writer and performer Kit Pascoe offers practical tips and advice to help ease the pressure.<\/h3>\n
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You are not alone if you\u2019re stressed or suffering<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

An actor\u2019s life is so uncertain it makes Brexit seem predictable. We spend so much time training, auditioning and crossing our fingers that it\u2019s easy to think the stress will drop away the moment we secure a role.\u00a0In fact, we focus so much energy on\u00a0trying\u00a0to get cast that we forget to consider what happens after. It\u2019s not until reality sinks in that we remember that being on set isn\u2019t a walk in the park.<\/p>\n

Your job isn\u2019t to be grateful<\/h4>\n

You know that feeling when you get cast and all you want to do is hug the director and offer your left kidney in thanks? You\u2019re so grateful that you won\u2019t complain when things get tough.\u00a0It\u2019s good to be grateful, of course it is. But it\u2019s also important to not forget that you\u2019ve secured a role because you worked hard to get there. A \u2018lucky break\u2019 is never just luck. It\u2019s the result of dedication, commitment and hard work.<\/p>\n

Looking after yourself, physically and mentally, is an active part of your job as an actor. In order to fulfil your role, you must be on top form. And if anything\u2019s going to sabotage that, it\u2019s stress.<\/p>\n

A ticking clock, a camera and a panic attack<\/h4>\n

Things were not going well on the last film I did. It was an ambitious undertaking and the director wanted to shoot two feature films in seven days.<\/p>\n

On the morning of day five, I crashed my bike on the way to set. It was stupid and entirely my fault but that didn\u2019t matter much when I was lying on the concrete with pain blooming through my side. I told myself off and hopped back on, blinking back tears of frustration. When I got to set things were already behind. You know it\u2019s going to be a long day when the schedule is behind at 8am.<\/p>\n

The scene we were shooting involved six characters locked in an escape room. Not just locked in, but cable-tied to chairs. We would each suffer or die within seven minutes. No problem, we\u2019re just acting. Right? But, of course, what\u2019s stressful for your character is stressful for you. When you pretend to panic for the camera, your nervous system isn\u2019t in on the act. When you begin breathing fast and crying, your brain and body believe that you are in real danger.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d been running the scene for hours already with cameras circling us. Tensions were high, and frustration vibrated in the air. As the evening drew in and we went for another take, I could feel tingling in my fingers and tightness in my chest. My mouth refused to work properly, so I had to shout my lines just to get them out comprehensibly. We were three minutes in when I realised I was having a panic attack. I couldn\u2019t alert anybody because I didn\u2019t want to ruin the scene.<\/p>\n

I pushed my last line out of my mouth and waited for ‘cut’. I told the director I was having a panic attack and collapsed forward, crying hysterically. I felt the assistants rush to cut me free and the gentle hug of a fellow actor as he talked me through my breathing. The room was cleared, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.<\/p>\n

You are never alone<\/h4>\n

My director was horrified that I hadn\u2019t said anything sooner. He reassured me that I hadn\u2019t ruined anything and that the health of the actors and crew was always more important than the schedule.\u00a0As I got back to make-up, several colleagues told me how they\u2019d also had panic attacks, at work or in life. The most unexpected of people openly shared how punishing\u00a0mental health issues<\/a>\u00a0had been for them.<\/p>\n

It made one thing clear: you are not alone if you\u2019re stressed or suffering.<\/p>\n

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Chatting to fellow actors is a good way to share how you\u2019re feeling, get advice and simply unburden<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How to Deal with Stress on Set<\/h4>\n

The set is stressful in many ways:<\/p>\n