Need Interpretations - Dream On Stage

I read the info thread about how best to do this, if I get anything wrong or leave something out you want to know, just tell me!

The Dream :
First thing I remember is being in-front of a mirror applying a lot of make-up. Was dressed in a costume that was black and sort of burlesque style. Several people (from my school I did a show with) were around and getting ready as well (for the show). A lot of talking was going on, I'd hear some things crystal clear like "where are the fake eye lashes" and then everything would just be background noise again. Things I did hear were:
"no we won't", "I need the green one", "we have loads of time".

I was feeling very nervous about not getting to the theatre on time, but also feeling I had to look finished and ready (make-up, hair) when I did. Slowly less people seemed to be around, I was rushing from one room doing my eye make-up, to another room that was a bathroom. I remember a shower being on in there but I didn't use it. Yet I had a sense that I had completed what needed to be done in there. Then it was just me and one other person, (my closest friend from college). She didn't appear to be 'show ready' just looked the way she always did and was saying we had to go. I still felt rushed and nervous.

Next we were on the stage while a teacher was telling us it was about to start and she wanted the best from us. I was nervous and saying too myself I didn't remember any of the dance steps or song lyrics, in a bit of a panic. To everyone else I was just a bit uneasy but inside I was panicked that I couldn't' remember a thing. The teacher's voice faded as I was in this panic, then the next moment the show was starting and I was stood in my starting place. Music started and I did the first few dance steps with everyone, then slowly lost it and just started to make things up. I was smiling and trying to cover the fact I had no idea what I had to do. This moment ended quickly and I rushed off stage. Talking to friends off stage saying "I don't remember any of it what do I do ?" and all of them seeming to think it wasn't a big problem, getting responses such as "oh you will when you get back out there". Then the curtains that made up the stage suddenly fell. So the audience could then see everyone 'backstage' in states of half dress and panic. The teacher then stood up and said it was all cancelled. Next I remember the teacher saying she was angry with this guy (not a face I knew) for something he had said to an audience member. Then she was saying to everyone, our relaxed attitude to things was not good enough, then she said "I'm so sick of people who have spent more time getting ready then practising, I'm shocked at SOME of YOU, I expect better from some of you.." then the voice started to become noise again. I had a sense she meant me and a sense she was about to single me out in-front of everyone and say my mistake was terrible. Then everyone was getting up and walking away and there was this sense that we were going to start the show again from the top and do it well this time...and then I woke up.


About Me :
I'm female, I'm 24 and I did go to a stage school. Most the people in the start of the dream where old school friends. A few of the people on the stage I didn't recognise. The teacher involved was one of my teachers. I had a sense that the show was the very same show I did at school and the first few dance steps I did where from it, the 'theatre' was my school's but the actually set on stage wasn't the same (in the dream there was nothing there set wise). When I did this show it was a great success, everyone praised me for my role in it, but in this dream it was a mess ! I don't speak to any of the people from school any more and can't recall even thinking of them recently. I'm currently not working because I'm about to move house. Move to a new area quiet far away from an area I have lived in all my life. Also I was in pain from a loose tooth I have, so took a strong painkiller before sleep, it took a while to work so I was awake just thinking about this pain for a while before I finally fell asleep.

I know being on stage and forgetting words it's a pretty common sort of dream, but because this was about a past experience in my life (just a different outcome) I'm not sure the same interpretation can be applied !

Hi Dusty,

Just to start off by saying that dreams use analogy and metaphor to express their “as if” meaning, and your outer experience regarding the stage is a very apt, ready-made, and meaningful comparison that your dream appears to be making full use of.

A key to finding out a dream’s core meaning usually involves looking carefully at those points in it that clearly deviate from outer reality in some way.

In this case, as you realize, the main difference is that the outer performance was a success but the one shown in the dream was not.

Basically then, it’s likely that your dream is trying to clarify the situation where perhaps mostly unconsciously, you tend to feel too much anxiety regarding how you measure up when you feel you are being judged by others as a whole (“on stage” for all to see and give a verdict on your “performance”).

The dream looks like it is saying that you really shouldn’t feel so concerned about “what others think” (reassured by fellow actors that you will do fine; the outer show was a real success).

It’s possible that perhaps there is also a tendency for you to “cover up” your real feelings (applying a lot o make-up) and you might even sometimes hide or minimize real talents and abilities because these could upset a pleasant feeling atmosphere by making others jealous for example (burlesque costume). This way of acting may have taken root while you were at school for instance.

The pristine clarity of some of the things overheard might point to how actively you may pursue a sort of perfectionist attitude that will satisfy the outer demands of others (the critical teacher who wants “the best”; the audience).

This could also be echoed in the images of wanting to be “finished and ready” regarding your hair and make-up, and of being “clean” (already had shower),

The dream could be saying that in this situation which perhaps may be present too frequently, your “best friend” might be an attitude that uses less “make-up” and accepts yourself as you are, maybe just as your outer friend did.

Dreams often naturally follow the form of a play, that is, location and time are defined (theatre, the past/present), characters are introduced (fellow actors, teacher), plot complications are introduced (feel rushed and afraid, forget lyrics and steps), then a climax occurs (curtain crashes down, show cancelled), followed by a denouement (berated by teacher, show going to start again).

It’s possible that the dream is therefore depicting a certain repeated round where the same “characters” inside you do the same thing, that is, you may tend to get ready for the “show” of life by applying an outer mask in order to understandably please others, then anxiety and feelings of imminent failure may appear because actually the real you is not being expressed enough deep down (burlesque); a sense of “collapse” may sometimes occur because of this situation (curtain crashes, all is revealed), followed by harsh internal self-judgemental thoughts (teacher), then perhaps a round of perfectionism begins once more in order to please others too much instead of working at developing your multi-faceted true nature (show will start again).

It’s likely that currently being without work and on the point of a move far away, plus even the discomfort from your tooth have all added up to bring on feelings of anxiety about the future and doubts about how well you will be able to handle things. Or perhaps these feelings have been denied too much in some way so that the dream has pictured a total theatrical disaster in order to make you sit up and take notice of your current emotions.

In any case, as mentioned, the dream appears to be trying to reassure you that if you just keep trying to accept yourself as you are instead of perhaps trying to please others too much of the time, you can break a potentially upsetting round of self-rejection and disbelief in your own innate talents and abilities. Some assertiveness tips might help to counter-balance any tendency to be without personal boundaries too often, and these could be found in “Asserting Yourself” by Bower and Bower, or in “Your Perfect Right” by Alberti and Emmons.

Since you are still young and just starting out, such feelings of being judged are very common but sticking firmly to your own beliefs, values and talents will help to develop a compromise attitude that can balance out the need to be yourself while still fitting in with outer society in a reasonable way.

Many women find Marion Woodman’s ideas helpful in maintaining such a balanced approach to life overall and you might like to browse her book titles at a site like amazon for example or many of them can also be found at www.innercitybooks.net . You could also check out www.mwoodman.org to read interviews with her etc. to see if her approach might click with you in some way.

I hope these brief ideas about your dream will help to decipher its personal meaning in some way and I also hope that everything works out well with your upcoming move.