Criticism is part of the job for any actor. A note in rehearsal, a mixed review, or a no from casting can hit your body before your brain has time to sort it out. Your throat tightens, your breathing shifts up into the chest, and the moment starts replaying. It’s not ideal, but it does happen. This article gives actors a grounded way to handle criticism without letting it leak into the next rehearsal, audition, or performance.
The goal is not to care less. It’s to stay stable. Below are three myths that keep performers stuck, plus a simple 24-hour reset you can run after notes, reviews, and mistakes on stage.
It’s important to remember that feedback is just one element of acting. The part that decides whether you spiral or learn from criticism is how you respond to it. Think of it this way: input (the feedback), interpretation (the story your mind starts telling), and output (your next choices).
Psychologists often describe the post-event replay as rumination, basically repetitive, intrusive thinking about what happened and what it means. In this study, people who ruminated after a stressful speech task showed amplified and longer-lasting cortisol elevations during the recovery period.
In plain terms, the moment ends, but the body can stay keyed up if your mind keeps running it. For actors, that shows up fast: jaw clench, shoulder tension, reduced breath support, and a rushed pace.
We see this occur in many other aspects of life too, and it’s possible to use these as training grounds for improving your response in acting. Take, for example, playing games, especially high-stakes games like those found at an online casino. If you lose, you might spend a long time dwelling on the loss, feeling frustrated, being annoyed with yourself for obvious mistakes, etc. That’s especially true in games like poker, where the players’ decisions are the main factor in determining who wins - and where your response to situations can really affect your chances of success. If you let a loss rattle you, you’re less likely to do well going forward.
A lot of actors spend time cultivating their “poker face,” their ability to react to situations calmly and without strong emotions. Poker psychology is a useful mirror for acting psychology because it makes “process vs outcome” obvious in real time, and very specifically encourages you to handle emotions effectively so you don’t lose the game. A disappointing hand? A worse outcome than you expected? Someone at the table who managed to throw you? All of those are regular parts of the poker world, but you need to be able to respond to them with aplomb if you want to succeed at this game. The same life lessons apply in the world of acting.
So, how do poker players handle this kind of difficulty when they play at an online casino? Well, usually by creating a reset routine that works well for them.
If you want a short demonstration of that reset idea, this poker psychology video offers a great way to understand the principles, and you can then transfer it to the acting world.
Myth 1: Criticism Is a Verdict on You
Fact: Most feedback is about the work, not your worth.
Our minds often translate comments into identity statements. You might turn a minor criticism into thoughts like, “I’m not right for this,” “I’m behind,” “I always miss that beat.” Treat those as just thoughts, not conclusions or hard evidence. Next, consider them in a neutral light; what are they asking you to improve, and how can you start doing that? You’re not arguing with the note. You’re clarifying the task.
For mixed reviews in the theater, split input into two buckets: craft and taste. Craft feedback is about clarity, timing, diction, breath, and story beats that the audience must understand. Taste feedback is about preference. Respect both, but only craft feedback needs immediate space in your next run.
Myth 2: You Have to Fix Everything Immediately
Fact: Chasing multiple fixes at once usually creates tension, not growth.
Pick one target for the next repetition and park the rest. That protects your voice and keeps attention clean. Use this rule:
Myth 3: The Best Reset Is to Disappear
Fact: The best reset is closure, not isolation.
Often, when we are criticised, we want to refute or avoid the critique. We don’t want to address it. We might start playing on our phones, retreat to a dressing room, or duck out of conversations with other actors. It’s important not to do this.
Instead, when you receive challenging criticism, try a 10-minute cool-down: two minutes of deep breathing, a pause to reflect, and then deliberately move on to something else. You can always return and reflect more later, but don’t let it play round and round in your head, especially when you are emotional.
The 24-Hour Reset Checklist Before Your Next Rep
Name the trigger: note down what upset you.
Name the story: think about what your mind claims it “means.”
Name the signal: tight jaw, dry mouth, shallow breath, rushed pace.
Choose one experiment: find one adjustment you can make to improve your performance.
Confidence after rejection is built here. Not by pretending it didn’t sting, but by proving your process stays intact. Run the loop, then return to your routine.