Perfromance anxiety AKA stage fright

Nickie

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I think this might make a good thread...
An acquaintance, who was convinced he had totally blown a performance, asked me today:
"You have a secret for being nervous on stage?"
Here is my reply:
No, I don't have any secrets. As I said, I have horrendous stage fright, or what is known as Performance Anxiety. I can have a song nailed down perfectly, know it with my eyes closed. Then when I get up on a stage, no matter who is sitting out there, I fall to pieces. My brains goes dead, my hands go numb, and my heart wants to jump outta my chest. My vision even gets blurry. It's nasty. I want to run and hide, no kidding. But so far, everyone has been very supportive, even when it's obvious I'm screwing up. They want you to succeed.
No one has a catch all secret that works for everyone. Once, somebody told me, "Pretend that the audience is naked." I said, "In a nursing home, no way in hell."
I spoke with a young gentleman after my first stage scare in December. I asked him how to get rid of it. He has played lead guitar in front of hundreds of people for years. He said, "Forget it, you don't get rid of it, you just get used to it."
Lots of famous people have it. Heard of Barbara Streisand? Yup. Heard of Red Skelton? Yup. Even Jake...
I am reading a book about feelings and emotions as they relate to stage performing and daily life. It was written by a man who has performed in public onstage for years. His name is David Freedman. I know him. He wrote the musical score for lots of Disney stuff, like "Beauty and the Beast."
His book is called "The Thought Exchange", Overcoming our resistance to living a sensational life. It's not that the feelings go away, we just learn to live with them, because we want the stage appearance more than our fear has power over us to keep us from it.
If you are interested in this book, I can tell you where to get a copy. It's worth every penny.
Good luck! And keep performing...

UUers, what is your take on this subject?
 
Wasn't it Laurence Olivier who used to puke before he went on stage every time? Michael Crawford is an awesome performer, and he shakes like somebody needing a fix when he is on stage. Everything I know goes right out of my head when I have a uke to play in front of someone, not so much other things, but I have an anxiety disorder, so I can wake up out of a sound sleep with my heart pounding. I'm used to it but it's really unpleasant. Many performers use a beta blocker called propranolol to reduce anxiety.

Any work we do on overcoming resistance is a HUGE benefit, it's behind so much of our reluctance to grow and try new things, and anywhere we are feeling stuck. Thanks for sharing the book, Nickie. :D
 
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I agree. There really isn't much to get rid of it -- just to get used to it. I used to get very nervous when I first started performing. Heck, I still get nervous from time to time! Lol. Things that I would think about while I was up on stage would include:
"I'm sitting in my bedroom playing for just myself..."
"I can't wait for dinner with my grandparents tonight!"
"I'm really looking forward to vacation at the end of the week!"

Thinking about things to distract me used to help me big time. Hope you can find some that work for you!
 
A few things have helped me:
- "embracing" the nerves as a necessary and positive part of the experience -- one time years ago I didn't get nervous before going on, and I had a poor performance
- feeling lucky to perform, partly because I started late in life but also because it's a great experience no matter when or why you started, and I can interpret the nerves as the promise that I'm about to do that (which I think is similar to Freedman's point via Nickie)
- finding a strange/paradoxical balance between really wanting to do well and realizing that if I don't, things will be OK.
- following my daughter's advice the first time I went on: "Have fun."
I hope that made some sense.
 
I guess you just get used to it. When I played my first
gig for over twenty years, I just got it into my mind, okay,
you feel it...but YOU are playing and those folks out there
are there to be entertained.They are NOT playing,just
watching.So shaddup and get on with it! It Worked.
 
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The first time I played in front of someone besides my reflection in ther mirror, I was nervous at first, but after I played and got the applause and screams, I had a huge feeling of elation. I wanted to keep playing. It was only 3 people in my home, so I'm not sure what would happen if I was playing for a lot of people. Hopefully the same thing.
 
Propranolol is a great medication. It basically reduces all the physiological effects of adrenaline (shaky hands, sweating, racing heart, dry mouth, etc.) without making you loopy like Xanax or something that has direct effects on your brain might. For that same reason there is no potential for abuse or dependence I say this as a psychiatrist who has had performance anxiety!
 
I don't know why, but I've never had much of a problem with stage fright. (Not that I don't have my share of hang-ups... it's just that performing isn't one of them.)

Part of it is not giving a @$#%. That comes with experience--when you've clammed enough on stage and discovered that it's no big deal, you don't fear it. :)

JJ


P.S. The book "The Inner Game of Music" has some good tools for dealing with performance anxiety. I recommend it for this, and other, reasons.
 
You definitely get use to the butterflies. Some performances are better than others where you feel those nerves more. I also try to have as much fun I possibly can when performing and try not to take it so seriously. Those moments when I feel carefree is when I often do better on stage. :)
 
Just block everyone out...Get comfortable and concentrate and play your ukulele.... it gets easier for some each time...some not.. the flambouancy comes afterwards..ha ha
 
This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it, Nickie! Whenever I have to do a little something in front of an audience, I tell myself the things that Luthien said - "These folks are here to be entertained, and you're up here to do it, so get on with it...." it certainly helps with the attitude, but it doesn't help me with the blank brain/useless fingers thing. Always been a problem - I'm remembering college, assessments with classical guitar - useless with nerves! It's lack of confidence, when you just don't equal to the task....what I'm thinking now is, practice thoroughly so that I'm more confident, and that will help, eventually. The other thing is - never give up!
 
Why do you want to get up on a stage and perform in front of people?

If we're honest, I think most of us would have to admit that the fear-factor is one of the things that gives us a buzz. It's like riding a roller coaster. You may be crapping in your pants with fear as you trundle around, but isn't that the whole point? Did you ever play dare games as a kid? The thought of getting injured by doing stupid stunts or the fear of getting caught doing something bad was the payoff in those games. We all need a little danger to spice up our lives and standing in the spotlight is our little taste of fear.

So, to those crippled by stagefright I say - Enjoy it!
 
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