Mindy Bell

Mental Health Coaching | Performance Psychology | Self-Care | Access Your Personal Power | Build Community | Shine Bright

Perhaps there is nothing as inspiring as watching 20 high schoolers shine with the fullness of their spirits and talents on stage! So proud of every 👏🏼 single 👏🏼 one 👏🏼 of 👏🏼 them.👏🏼
Feeling happy and grateful to be here as the "Self-Care Coach" for Dallas Summer Musical’s (DSM's) 2021 High School Music Theatre Awards (HSMTA)! ✨ 🌟 💗

You might be wondering, "What the heck is a 'self-care coach'?" and "What kinds of things do you do?"

In this case, to prepare high school music theatre performers for a regional adjudication event and awards program, DSM hired a variety of coaches (singing, dancing, acting, self-care) to support and coach the students through the process over the course of 3 Sundays. DSM hired me, the self-care coach, to cultivate a supportive environment from a mental health perspective for these students. (Props to DSM for making this priority!!! I would LOVE to see more of this happening in the Theatre community!!)

Each week I facilitated groups of elite high school performers (5 people at at time) for an hour. Together we collaboratively explored the student's mental health needs and built a curriculum around their concerns to support the students through this competition: we cultivated group cohesion and support, we checked in with how each student was doing emotionally/mentally, we defined psychological safety and ways we could build it together, we crafted rituals around expressing ourselves verbally and nonverbally, we talked about coping skills for stress, we talked about "fight/flight" responses and ways to regulate back into our “rest and digest” system, we talked about viewing talent as a “set” quantity versus viewing talent as a skill-set that can be learned — and how each belief system impacts performance, we talked about the ways comparison can be useful and the ways it can be harmful for performance, we talked about the benefits of "failing," we practiced grounding exercizes to combat panic attacks, the students got to practice deciding about and articulating what they need, the students provided affirmations for each other, we meditated, we did mindful breathing exercises, we invited them to consider the sources of their inspiration and to connect with the reason they love to act/sing/dance, we sometimes just talked and allowed the students to connect with each other about what they have in common so they could feel less alone, we laughed a lot, we processed losses they’ve had this year due to COVID during what was — for many of the students — their senior year, we talked about setting boundaries in relationships and the time commitment that theatre often demands, we used active imagination to interact with our higher selves.... also, we had snacks! Lol. Snacks are important.

Why should this be a thing for a performers (and young performers especially)?!

The students left our sessions -- and the sessions with the other fantastic coaches -- feeling connected (to their purpose and to each other), supported, and grateful. Y'all, gratitude, connection, and perceived support are antidotes to the stress response. They are trauma-preventing. They lower cortisol. They enable us to deliver our gifts and PLAY onstage in the best ways possible. They help us tell our stories more dynamically and meaningfully -- from a place of fuller presence. This is good stuff. It's not only healthy for each person as whole self, but it also tends to make performances stronger. bolder. brighter.

I am in deep gratitude tonight for the gift of doing this work. More of this please.

✨ 🌟✨ 🌟✨ 🌟Shine bright, DSM HSMTA stars! ✨ 🌟✨ 🌟✨ 🌟

!! More Ghost Quartet nominations circling around.

Honored to be one of the creatives listed here. Ghost Quartet is nominated in some way 11 times!!!!!!!👻❤️
Every cast member nominated for best actor! Best director, best music director, best sound design, best costumes, best scenic design, best lighting, best musical! Wow!
Thank you, Columns!

Our work in Ghost Quartet continues to get recognized. 🎶
Alongside my rocking ghostly sister, Devin Berg (👻), and many other fabulous ladies, I was nominated for “Best Actress in a musical” for Broadway World regional awards this year! 🎉 Go see live theatre! DFW has so much incredible talent!

✨ it’s time to get out of bed and be the starchild I can be ✨

2019 BroadwayWorld Dallas Awards Voting is Now Open!