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I've been playing a villain.

Not metaphorically. Like, actual community theater villain.

Her name is Nora. She yells. She manipulates. She blames everyone around her. She takes zero responsibility for anything. She DEFINITELY doesn't overthink every decision or comment or side-eye.

She's basically my complete opposite. I'm the "let's all just get along" type. Non-confrontational. Soft voice. Never raises her hand unless it's to wave hello.

But three nights a week, I become HER.

And every single time I drive home after rehearsal, I feel like I got hit by a truck. Drained. Heavy. Stupid tired in my bones.

I couldn't figure out why at first. I wasn't running laps. I was just... acting.

Then it clicked.

My body doesn't know the difference between performing stress and real stress. Every time I screamed across that stage, my nervous system responded like the threat was real. My fascia tightened. My spinal cord and meninges — that connective tissue wrapping your whole neural system — started pulling inward, holding on.

There's actually a name for this. Adverse Mechanical Tension. No bones out of place. No injury. Just tension that builds and stays long after the stressor disappears.R

esearch shows this tension changes how your whole brain functions. It shifts your posture, your breath, your energy, your ability to regulate.
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That's why I came home feeling wrecked every single time. My body was holding the character even after I left the stage.

Maybe you're not playing a villain. But maybe you've been holding your own version of tension for years. The stress of doing everything. The never-quite-resting. The burning out quietly.

Your fascia and nervous system are keeping score.

That's exactly why I created The Unwinding — a 4-week container to help your body finally let go of what it's been gripping.

Gently. Steadily. Without pushing through.

Your body has been working overtime long enough.

Want more info on The Unwinding? Click here​

Unwinding with you,

Angela / AKA Nora the Villain

P.S. The show, Better Late, opens at the Portage Center for the Arts on March 19th and runs through March 29th. Might be your only chance to ever hear me at full volume and in mean girl mode.