Achieving flow in theatre performance

This study examines the idea of flow, the state of optimal experience, and determines how it relates to theatrical performance. Using the methodology presented in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi\u27s FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, I examine the rehearsal and performance processes of theatre in terms of the steps needed to reach a state of optimal experience. I specifically look at the issues of repeatability (reaching the state of flow night after night), consciousness (awareness), self-consciousness and concentration. In addition, I discuss options performers have for receiving feedback as theorized in the works of Anne Bogart, Constantin Stanislavski, David Mamet and interviews conducted with professional actors, George DiCenzo and Ellen Tobie. Although tracing the steps to flow can help performers improve and give them an insight into their successes and failures, performers are merely human and may not reach the zone every night