Dear performers, artists, technicians, tour managers and stage crew.
Here’s my card. Please take it and put it somewhere safe.
You see the truth is, to be an artist or work in the arts requires us to live with uncertainty and at times be vulnerable. And vulnerability can be tough when life kicks your arse.
It was 2000 (I think) and I was touring with Circus Oz. Three months in regional UK, and I was grieving hard for my father who had died a few months earlier. Although being onstage offered me respite from my grief, there were many times it overwhelmed me. But as we all know ‘The Show Must Go On!’ It must. And it did, but there was an impact. Small rainy dark town after small rainy dark town. Further away from my support system and family I went. And sadder and sadder I got. Circus Oz, my partner, fellow cast members and tour managers did everything they could to keep me afloat. But I kept it mostly private (bad idea) and numbed with alcohol. (badder idea).
Why am I telling you this? Because if I had of spoken to a counsellor, the same counsellor every week, about my grief, and about my Dad, I know that tour would have been very different for me. The work would have been better too. I know I would have got through the grief quicker and in a kinder way for me.
So keep my card, and email me when you need me. Whatever city you are in. I’m online and can go with you. My rates are on a sliding scale depending on your income, and whether or not you are an independent artist or working in a company. Because the show must go on, but not at the expense of anyone’s mental health. My lived experience is a valuable part of who I am as a counsellor. Part of my personal Manifesto is to support artists and people who work in the arts, because I need them. We all do.
Love Kareena x.
Kareena Hodgson is an accredited Counsellor/life coach and The Manifesto is her professional consultancy
Follow me on instagram @themanifesto_counsellor
Kareena Hodgson was a full-time professional international circus performer for 20 years, who is now an accredited Counsellor/life coach and The Manifesto is her professional consultancy. She is uniquely suited to working in the mental health space within the performing arts. She is also the Senior Editor, Executive Coach & Moral Backbone of Carnival Cinema.
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