GLARE OF THE SPOTLIGHT: OVERCOMING STAGE FRIGHT
“I was ecstatic when I was selected to play Cinderella for the school play. I used to recite my lines all day long, practice expressions in front of the mirror for hours on end. By the time of the play I had perfected my character and could recite my lines even in my sleep. As I approached the stage on the day of the performance, I felt a crippling sense of fear clutching my throat and my knees going weak. I felt stuck at the spot and my mind drew a complete blank. My lines, my expressions, I forgot all of them and I stood there until my teacher came on stage, held my hand and took me away. This was five years back and since then I have never participated in any activity”, says RuchikaYadav, a seventeen-year old girl when asked about her stage fright.
Stage fright is a common offshoot of performance anxiety that many of us can relate to. The thought of standing in front of an audience, in the glare of the spotlight, all eyes upon you can be quite a frightening experience. In such situations, no matter how well prepared you may be, the dread filling up your heart just blocks all your attempts to perform. While some people manage to get over the initial stage fright and convert that anxiety positively to enthuse their performance while others succumb to the gripping fear. A lot of such people may also be suffering from a social phobia and stage fright may just be a manifestation of it.
Contrary to popular belief, stage fright isn’t experienced just for the first time, many veteran performers, report feeling the crippling stage fright every time they step on stage even after years of performing on stage. Another manifestation of performance anxiety is experienced during job interviews.
Most forms of performance anxiety are debilitating in nature and negatively impacts on one’s career, self esteem and confidence. In such anxiety-provoking situations, the body perceives danger and instantly goes into the fight-or-flight-mode. The physical symptoms that are common are: rapid breathing, racing pulse, dry mouth, nausea, trembling hands and knees and sweaty and cold hands.
So for all those of you facing similar dilemmas and are willing to work on your performance anxiety issues, here are a few tips that would help you manage your stage fright.
• BREATHE!
This cannot be emphasized enough! The magical effects that a deep breath has on the troubled mind are astonishing. It helps you pause and organize yourself. A series of deep breaths refreshes the mind and the body, improves blood supply to the brain and helps you space out. You will be able to concentrate better and with calmer nerves, perform better.
• RE-FOCUS!
Shift your focus back from the audience to the task at hand. Focus on what you’ve prepared, on your craft. Being engaged with yourself more works wonders, however this may vary depending on the nature of performance you’re delivering.
• CONNECT!
As they say, if you can’t fight them, join them! Acknowledge that the audiences down there are also the same flawed human beings as you are. Connecting with them, appealing to their human side and interacting with them, may break the walls separating you and them. Instead of fearing them, enjoying in the performing experience alongside the audience reduces the anxiety tremendously.
• ACCEPT!
Accept that feeling anxious is inevitable. As inevitable as it may be, it is never impossible to navigate through it. Holding on to the fear of being anxious creates a never-ending loop of anxiety where you’re constantly obsessing over going wrong and you end up going wrong.
• BEFRIEND!
This really does work! Befriend two or more people from the audience while you’re on stage and interact with them more. It creates a sense of support and belongingness for both the audience as well as for you.
