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Writer's pictureM. Mercurio

Theatre Sickness Remedies

Last month, I spent the week swimming in the cold waters of Lake Huron, with my significant other and his family. It was quite a little journey up to Port Elgin where we ate ice cream everyday, and swam in the lake all afternoon, only to freeze until we jumped into our air bnb’s hot tub every night. I did spend the last few days afterwards, however, feeling under the weather, including a sore throat and runny and stuffy nose. It was a really frustrating way to end a picture perfect vacation in honestly a picture perfect spot.


Of course, my little sickness got me thinking back to all those inevitable times that either myself or someone I knew got sick during a show, and all the silly little theater tricks or tips that performers used to help heal themselves that I have become aware of throughout my time in this industry. As we all know, the show must go on, after all! Of course, I am definitely not a doctor, and if you are experiencing really bad symptoms, or are actually sick, definitely consult an actual doctor or your primary care provider.


I think that the biggest thing that most of us dread as artists is a sore throat. One of the magical devices that I personally love is of course, the miracle of all, Throat Coat. If you have never heard of Throat Coat, it is a licorice tea that I personally found out about from my cousin (shout out to the band The Reign of Kindo) and his wife when I traveled to NYC way back in 2015 for college auditions. A lot of people hate the taste of it, but I swear by the stuff. I am also one of the few people I know who actually enjoy Throat Coat as well. Tea in general is such a medicinal thing for singers and vocal performers everywhere. When it comes to tea and also those big gallon water bottles, I don’t think personally there is another group of people who buy that stuff up as much as us performers.


Additionally for sore throats, I have been advised to gargle salt water. I had a friend once that did shots of hot sauce, or if needed, a shot of whiskey ( it definitely burns out all the gunk in your throat). Drinking tons and tons of water, and I have even known a few people who literally did not talk unless it was necessary at rehearsal.


Theater folk are full of their own superstitions, and rituals, and I think there's a beauty to that. The love for what we do is definitely spiritual in a way, and of course these are only a few of the tricks I've learned or heard about. Do you have any tricks to help with sickness during showtime, or just in general? Any home remedies that your parents or grandparents passed down? I’d love to hear about them, share it in the comments below! And stay tuned for some exciting news from Mercurie, coming very soon!


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