An audience watching from the stalls
Fuel — Phase 03

Fuelling for Tech & Previews.

Twelve hour days, no fixed breaks, and catering that arrives whenever it arrives.

01Auditions 02Rehearsals 03Tech & Previews 04Run of Shows

Tech is the worst-fed week of any production. The days are long, the breaks are unpredictable, the room is hot, and caffeine quietly replaces meals. It is also the week with the highest injury and vocal risk, which makes the gap between demand and fuel more consequential than at any other point.

You cannot control the schedule in tech week. You can control what is in your bag, and that turns out to be most of what matters.

The Problem

No control over timing, so control what is available.

Breaks are called when they are called. Catering is variable. Costume changes and heat increase fluid loss significantly, and dehydration under stage lighting is routine and largely unnoticed until concentration drops or the voice tires early.

The failure pattern is predictable: skip breakfast, coffee at ten, nothing until an unpredictable late lunch, then a large meal at eleven at night. Repeat for two weeks.

The Strategy

Small and frequent, rather than waiting for a proper meal.

Before you leaveEat at home. It is the only meal you can genuinely rely on happening.
ThroughoutSomething small whenever a gap appears, rather than holding out for a real break that may not come.
FluidsConstantly and in small amounts. Heat, lights and costume all pull more than you notice.
Late finishSomething moderate rather than a full meal at midnight, which will cost you the sleep you badly need.
Vocal Considerations

What you eat and drink affects the instrument.

  • Hydration is the single biggest lever on vocal comfort across a long tech day.
  • Very cold drinks immediately before singing are worth testing on yourself rather than assuming.
  • If reflux is something you experience, large late meals before sleep are worth avoiding during tech.
  • Caffeine is dehydrating. That does not make it forbidden, it makes water alongside it sensible.
The Bag

Pack for a day that has no shape.

Assume there will be no break when you expect one. Anything that survives several hours in a bag and can be eaten in two minutes standing in the wings is worth more this week than anything requiring a table.

Tech week is short and unusual, and it is worth treating as a temporary state rather than a new normal. If the pattern of skipping food and running on caffeine persists into the run, that is worth attention.

Three of four. The Run is next.

Nutrition here is framed around energy, focus and recovery. If food feels like something you are managing rather than using, that is worth a conversation with a nutritionist who understands performers.

Back To Fuel Find A Nutritionist