How to Overcome Stage Fright

 

Happy Sunday everybody!

 

The Winter Showcase is upon us!!!! I wanted to talk about overcoming stage fright, but I was looking through old blogs, and I found one that Angelica had written, and I couldn’t say it better myself! Life is all about team work! So even though Angelica is living her best life, shout out to her for the assist!

 

“While some students live for the stage and always want to be the center of attention, many students are often overcome with stage fright.  And you know what?  You can still live for the stage and get butterflies before a show; I know that I do right before I perform!  “ARTSEDGE” reports that the “root of the nerves varies from child to child, whether it’s being afraid to make a mistake or embarrassed to perform in front of peers. But theater teachers agree that stage fright can be overcome for the vast majority of children.”

 

Here are a few tips for overcoming stage fright and how best to prepare for a show: 

 

-limit your sugar and caffeine intake the day of the show

-eat a healthy meal and keep a healthy snack on you 

-be well hydrated

-get enough sleep in the days/weeks leading up to the show

-breathe

-be prepared!!!  This means coming to Open Gym in the weeks leading up to the show to rehearse the sequence that will be performed in the show

-take notes in your notebook so that you know what the sequence is and can review it in your mind at home

-don’t focus on what could go wrong; instead, visualize your success!

-avoid thoughts that produce self doubt

-set an intention/goal with the performance that does not revolve around perfection.  

-shift the focus off of yourself and instead on your audience and their enjoyment throughout your performance (do you need to be perfect in order for your audience to enjoy themselves?  No, you don’t.)

-connect with your audience, smile, and slow down on stage

-connect with your peers backstage.  They’re most likely nervous too, so support each other!

-know that you are there to HAVE FUN.

 

And parents, I know that YOU want to see your children on stage, but please don’t push them to perform if they don’t want to.  Some children just love coming to classes and have no interest in performing; please respect that.  Don’t be the source of their future trauma (ie. “my parents MADE me do these stupid recitals when I was young, and I hated it”)…just don’t.  If your child wants to perform, they’ll let you know!  If they don’t want to perform, we still love them as students and want them to reap the most from coming to classes despite not performing.  And btw, parents, these tips aren’t just for our youthful students; you can totally use these tips too for presentations at work, etc.  You’re welcome!”