Over the years, I've found that, when I'm doing a play, I experience a number of different emotions at different times. I've broken these down into "stages."

Stage One: Entrusted Confidence. When I first get a part, I know I've been chosen to do this part over other talented performers and I have the confidence of the director. He/she likes what I've done in the audition and I'm looking forward to jumping into the role.

Stage Two: Unsure Creativity. Shortly thereafter, I try to figure out what the character's all about and try to slowly build an interesting character. It's exciting to be really creative but at the same time, you wonder "am I getting this?" or "were the choices I made in the audition even remotely correct?"

Stage Three: Learned Confidence. I'm off-book. I've made acting/character choices and I'm feeling secure with them. If it's a comedy, I've found the funny spots and am getting laughs.

Stage Four: Self-loathing. I've been living with my choices for a couple weeks and they start to feel old and unoriginal. If it's a comedy, the people in the cast & crew have pretty much stopped laughing at the jokes. I wonder if my once "great choices" were ever so hot.

Stage Five: Ready to Open. For better or worse, I need to connect with an audience. They're my other stage partner and I want to feel their mood so that I can adjust my performance accordingly, particularly in comedy.

Stage Six: Tempered Euphoria. Once the play's opened, I feel better about the parts of the performance that had grown stale. I love connecting with "the people out there in the dark" and I love performing. I continue to tweak the role in small ways that only my fellow actors or I might notice. If the show has a long run and I don't have much room to continue to develop the character, a hint of boredom may slip in.

Stage Seven: Sentimentality. Immediately after the show opens, I start to feel sentimental and a bit blue. The number of the times I'll get to perform the character are now limited and I start to count them down. As I get closer to the end of the run, these feelings only get more intense.

Stage Eight: Post-show Blues. Whether the show was a joy or a two-hour torture session, some part of me misses the experience and the character. By the time the show closes, I've gotten very close to the character and I'll miss spending time with him.

In my current rehearsal process for How I Learned to Drive, I'm in a mix of stages three and four. I still have work to do but am also doubting what I've done as well.

Fortunately, I've come to recognize these stages and thankfully can see them coming. I don't know if anyone else experiences them in the same way, but they're pretty consistent for me. Anyone experience the process differently?