The Performer is the Instrument; 12 Principles of Sustainable Artistry
Sustainability isn’t just about avoiding burnout. It’s about protecting the conditions that allow you to keep making interesting work.
1. THE PERFORMER IS THE INSTRUMENT.
Your body, attention, nervous system, imagination, and lived experience are part of what you create with. Caring for yourself isn’t separate from your artistic practice. It is the practice.
2. RECOVERY IS PART OF THE PERFORMANCE.
The work doesn’t end when you leave the stage. Your nervous system needs time to come down from being watched, evaluated, exposed, and activated. Rest isn’t a reward for creating, it’s what allows creation to be possible.
3. DON’T TAKE NOTES FROM A DYSREGULATED NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Immediately after a performance, everything can feel louder: the mistakes, the silence, the thing you wish you’d done differently. Recover first. Reflect later. Data before drama.
4. CREATE FIRST. EVALUATE LATER.
Creation and evaluation require different kinds of attention. Don’t ask yourself to make the work and judge the work at the same time. You can’t fully explore while you’re grading the exploration.
5. PLAN FOR RECOVERY BEFORE YOU’RE EXHAUSTED
Don’t wait until you’re completely depleted to decide you need a break. If you know a show takes something out of you, plan for that. If you need a day off after a big stretch of work, take it. Recovery shouldn’t only happen once something has gone wrong.
6. PROTECT YOUR CURIOSITY.
Pressure asks, Is this good? Is this working? Curiosity asks, Wait, what’s interesting here? What happens if I keep going? Try to stay curious a little longer before deciding whether something is good or bad.
7. GO HAVE A LIFE
Your life is part of your creative practice. See your friends. Read something that has nothing to do with your work. Go somewhere. Get bored. Notice weird things. Have conversations. You need experiences that aren’t about making art in order to have something to make art from.
8. MAKE ROOM FOR PLAY.
You can’t really play while constantly asking, Is this working? Is this good? Can I use this? Follow something because you’re interested in it. Try the dumb idea. Make something that goes nowhere. Let yourself explore before you know what you’re looking for. Not everything you make has to become something. Sometimes exploring is the work!
9. YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE DOESN’T HAVE TO LOOK LIKE ANYONE ELSE’S.
More shows. More writing. More posting. More output. More reps. That might work beautifully for someone else and completely exhaust you. Figure out what actually helps you make good work and stay connected to yourself while you’re making it. Your relationship with your art doesn’t have to look like anyone else's. You define it.
10. LOWER THE STAKES.
Not every show is the show. Not every opportunity is the opportunity. It’s just another show. Just another draft. Just another room. The less one moment has to mean, the more available you can be inside it.
11. FINISH MORE THAN YOU PERFECT.
Perfection can keep art trapped in rehearsal forever. Finishing teaches you what thinking can’t. Your next piece of work may teach you more than another month polishing this one.
12. CHOOSE LONGEVITY OVER URGENCY.
You do not have to squeeze every possible show, joke, opportunity, post, project, or productive hour out of yourself. You need room for rest. You need room for play. You need room to make things that go nowhere. The goal isn’t to make as much art as possible. It’s to keep making art without losing yourself in the process.
The performer is the instrument.
Take care of the instrument.
Keep making art!
Christi Somers · September 2026
Somers Comedy LLC
