TECH: Overheated actor

[JenniferS.]

I'm stage managing Footloose for a youth theatre company, and we are just entering tech. As we begin to run the show, it's become apparent that our Ren is very tired, overheated, etc during the run of the show. With the amount of times he appears in scenes added to the demanding choreography, he literally comes offstage out of breath and sweating every other scene.

We're doing the best we can to make sure he stays hydrated, but I was wondering if anybody has any tricks that are useful to help an overheated actor cool down. I've been told cooling off their wrists with ice packs is the quickest way, any other thoughts?

[hbelden]

You might try placing icepacks in a neoprene back brace hidden under his costumes.  I've heard of some outdoor theatres that build ice pack pouches into their costumes at the low back.  Of, course, this might get in the way of a wireless mic belt if your show is mic'ed.

[Thespi620]

Icepacks work well, a cold washcloth on the wrists/back of the neck can work too.

Something else I've seen used before are those plastic fan/spritz bottle combinations-you can get them at Target, etc for $5-keep that full and in reach on a props table or other easy to find place so he can grab it, spritz his face, fan himself, and put it back. They tend to be fairly quiet, I'd recommend testing it in the store before you buy it to make sure it won't disturb the scene onstage but they work pretty well.

Let us know what you figure out! 

[MatthewShiner]

Although it might take a prescription, I have had O2 tanks backstage before.

[LCSM]

Placing ice--or even running cold water--over a person's wrists is definately one of the most practical ways of circulating cold throughout their whole body. Aside from that, make sure to keep them very hydrated with plenty of water and ice cubes. I've also seen cooling packs you can buy that are surrounded by cloth and made to tie around the back of your neck; I've never used one of them though, so I don't know how well they work.

[planetmike]

Check the costume. Is it too tight? Maybe his circulation is being impaired.

I've fallen in love with Under Armour Heatgear clothing. They wick moisture away from the body. The costume might affect that ability, but it might help if he can wear something like that vs. cotton undergarments.

Make sure he's not drinking lots of caffeine before a show.

[babens]

Believe it or not, when dealing with dehydration you also have to look at sodium levels.  If the water/sodium balance gets out of whack, which it easily can due to heavy sweating, you need to help balance this out, hence the sodium content of sports drinks.  It is best to get your sodium through food and drink, but in an extreme case you may also need to supplement with sodium tablets.  So I would definitely recommend some Gatorade or similar sports drink backstage in addition to water for this actor if he's sweating as badly as it seems he is from your post.

[Wandering Ninja]

A note about using sports drinks - most of them are way to concentrated to help rehydrate you. It is normally better to dilute them by half or drink a glass of water in between each glass of sports drink.

[JenniferS.]

Thanks to everyone who dropped a suggestion! We just closed the show, and no one passed out thank god! Which was kind of surprising, during the opening show's intermission, the TD walked up to me and told me that it was 81 degrees in the house! We sold 12 cases of water the first night, and left out coolers of ice for the actors backstage.

For Ren, we set up a station on stage left with a gallon container of water, and a gallon container of Gatorade, as well as towels for drying off (the sweat was literally pouring of of him) and one of those spritzy fans that's a fan and a water spray container. It was definitely a long show, but we got through it!