When navigating auditions, performances, rehearsals, critiques, creative differences, the 100th “no,” working relationships, and competing demands, performers need more than tools and strategies that depend on thinking first. In the Heat of the Moment, automatic reaction can take over before they can think.

They need evidence-informed, targeted performance development designed specifically for the Heat of the Moment, with learning by doing in real-world changing conditions, systematic instruction and evaluation, and immediate application in their professional environment.

This helps them:

• Maintain composure and professional demeanor when emotions run high
• Communicate clearly when conversations become difficult
• Persist through auditions, rehearsals, and performances despite setbacks and obstacles
• Voice objections constructively and respond appropriately to feedback when tensions rise
• Fulfill obligations and follow through on commitments when the impulse is to disengage

Performance TAU Core™ is designed to address the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it in the heat of difficult moments—a gap experienced by actors, musicians, entertainers, and other performers who are already competent in their craft and have learned tools and strategies for navigating difficult situations but find that their automatic reaction can take over before they can put those tools and strategies to use.

Performance TAU Core™ builds an automatic reflex to catch yourself before you react—without having to think about it. This creates a split-second pause that allows you to remain steady in the Heat of the Moment.

So that in the Heat of the Moment you can:

• use the emotional intelligence skills you already learned
• use conflict-management strategies
• use anger-management tools
• use performance, audition, and craft development skills
• use communication strategies
• use breathing techniques
• use mindset and other personal development strategies

Break the Cycle
Participants come away better able to align what they intend to do with what they actually do. With greater steadiness in the Heat of the Moment, they can break recurring cycles, make more intentional choices about how they respond and show up, protect important professional relationships and opportunities, have greater agency over where their career goes, and take greater pride in how they handle themselves.

More than just targeted performance development, Performance TAU Core™ offers a deliberately protected development journey that builds a critical automatic reflex for remaining steady in the Heat of the Moment.

The heart of this SteadyState foundational journey is ForestRx™: a research-driven experiential learning method that provides learning by doing, real-time practice navigating uncertainty and the unexpected, and a clear view of participants’ automatic reaction patterns as they emerge.

While other professional development teaches tools and strategies that require thinking first, Performance TAU Core™ develops an automatic reflex that works in the Heat of the Moment before you can think, creating the split-second pause that allows you to use those tools and strategies to adjust, reorient, and continue through ambiguity, interruptions, and competing demands.

In addition to ForestRx™, Performance TAU Core™ also provides:

• Steadiness while keeping your edge, so you keep the passion, intensity, drive, and other intangibles that make you compelling (without trying to make you calm down) while building the automatic reflex to remain steady when the Heat of the Moment hits.
• Learning beyond the classroom, using natural outdoor environments to create genuine opportunities for observation, decision-making, adjustment, and practice under changing conditions.
• A deliberately protected learning experience, with ultra-small cohorts, no required group sharing or personal disclosure, and structured private reflection that allows personal meaning to remain personal.
• Discovery before explanation, allowing participants to experience what happens first, observe their own automatic reaction patterns, and build from what they actually experienced.
• Progressive practice and independent choice, with changing conditions and real decisions that give participants repeated opportunities to adjust and continue rather than being continually told what to do.
• Learning interleaved with real professional activity, with half-day sessions designed so participants can return to auditions, rehearsals, performances, and collaborations, observe what happens in real situations, and bring those experiences back into subsequent sessions for continued practice and private reflection.
• A pathway toward the Professional Continuity Certificate, with successful completion of Performance TAU Core™ fulfilling the foundational phase of the two-phase certification process.

Performance TAU Core™ includes:

• Six in-person instructor-led sessions in outdoor settings
• 14 hours of in-person ForestRx™ experiential learning, instruction, and practice
• Ultra-small cohort delivery with up to five participants (no group discussions)
• Structured observation and private reflection during and between sessions
• Real-world application in participants’ professional and performance environments between sessions
• Individual tailoring informed by participants’ own Heat-of-the-Moment observations
• Temple Method™ instruction and practice
• A Personal Terrain Map™, developed from individual observations and associations
• Trained SteadyState and safety staff
• Participant portal access and session-readiness guidance

Preparing for the In-Person Experience

Weeks 1-3 (Remote)
In the three weeks leading up to the in-person intensive, participants begin their Performance TAU Core™ journey with required onboarding and readiness activities while observing Heat-of-the-Moment experiences as they naturally occur in everyday work and life. These observations are used to tailor the Core experience for greater individual relevance.

Completion of these activities is required for continuation into the in-person experience and helps ensure participants receive maximum benefit from the program. Please review Program FAQs for answers to common questions.

Learning In-Person (Delivered in Outdoor Settings)

5-Day Intensive — Week 4
In-person sessions delivered in outdoor settings are held over 5 consecutive days, for 2.5 to 4 hours each day, between 7:00 am to 12:00 pm local time.

Day 1  | 2.5 hrs
Day 2 | 2.5 hrs
Day 3 | 2.5 hrs
Day 4 | 2.5 hrs
Day 5 | 4 hrs

2-Week Intensive — Weeks 4-5
In-person sessions delivered in outdoor settings are held three days per week over two consecutive weeks, for 2 to 4 hours per session, between 7:00 am to 12:00 pm local time.

Week 4
Day 1 | 2 hrs
Day 3 | 2 hrs
Day 5 | 2 hrs

Week 5
Day 6 | 2 hrs
Day 8 | 2 hrs
Day 10 | 4 hrs

Half-day in-person sessions are designed to allow participants to return to their professional and performance environments, observe what happens in real situations, and bring those experiences into subsequent sessions.

Continuing the Journey

Professional Integration. Following Performance TAU Core™, participants may choose to continue their development through SteadyState at Work™, a structured one-on-one integration experience in their professional or performance environment. Performance TAU Core™ participants are pre-qualified to add SteadyState at Work™ at any time without repeating the initial enrollment and readiness process.

Performance TAU Plus™. Participants who want SteadyState at Work™ included from the beginning can enroll in Performance TAU Plus™, which combines the SteadyState foundational experience of Core with structured professional integration.

Certificate. Completion of both SteadyState Foundations™ and SteadyState at Work™ is required to earn the Professional Continuity Certificate.

Performance TAU Core™ includes an in-person experience conducted outdoors on natural trails in the Austin, Texas area. Participants should expect changing terrain, weather, temperature, trail surfaces, elevation, and other conditions inherent to outdoor participation.

Participants are responsible for their own clothing, footwear, required personal equipment, hydration, nutrition, transportation to designated meeting locations, and any travel-related expenses, including airfare, lodging, meals, and local transportation.

Detailed readiness and logistics information is provided to enrolled participants through the participant portal. This includes specific meeting locations, equipment requirements, clothing guidance, weather procedures, and other instructions for their scheduled in-person experience. Because weather and outdoor conditions can change, locations or session logistics may be adjusted when necessary.

Requirements for Program Participation

Before enrollment. Prospective participants complete a Program Readiness Review, a structured conversation to review the program experience and participation requirements, discuss individual needs and considerations, and answer questions before enrollment.

Before in-person sessions. Performance TAU Core™ includes required preparation, observation, and readiness activities before the in-person experience. Completing required onboarding and preparation activities is necessary for participation in the in-person intensive and helps ensure participants receive maximum benefit from the program.

During in-person sessions. Participants are expected to attend all scheduled sessions, arrive with required personal equipment, and follow outdoor safety instructions and participation requirements. Specific requirements are communicated with ample time for completion.

Payment & Cancellation Information

Following completion of the Program Readiness Review, participants receive an individual enrollment and payment link for their selected Performance TAU Core™ offering. Payment is required to confirm and reserve the participant’s place.

If you need to defer or cancel an enrollment, terms may apply. Please review our Cancellation & Deferral Policy for complete details.

For additional questions about participation, scheduling, preparation, and program logistics, please review our Program FAQs.