Hey. I know that this is REALLY off topic, but does anyone happen to know of a book or website that helps you overcome stagefright? My friend, Victoria wants to be a singer and has a GREAT voice and is scared of singing in front of people. Any help you can give I'd greatly appriciate!
Thanx! Mike
"Roselli421" wrote in message news:[email]...
of a
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Tell her to join Toastmasters. Go here for more info:
[email] (Roselli421) wrote in message news:...
Since somebody else answered, here goes.
One thing that might help is the knowledge that other people, who seem to perform without any trouble, have similar fears. I know someone who has done some television programs here in Canada, and she surprised me when she mentioned not feeling all that comfortable in a play at our Fringe Festival. Logic would lead us to believe that if she is comfortable being on a tv show, with all those hundreds or thousands of people watching (they are relatively obscure programs, and here in Canada), it wouldn't be a problem being on stage. But it seems to be not a fear of performing but something else.
I think one thing is that you are relatively isolated from the audience. You've got lights shining in your eyes, and the audience may be sitting in the dark. You can't see them, and you have no idea what their response is. I couldn't get up on stage (merely standing on a stage in an empty room while the lights were adjusted made me feel uncomfortable), I extrapolate this from other things in my life.
So one trick would be if she can be talked into performing, make sure a lot of her friends are there in the audience, and provide plenty of reaction so she knows they are there. Presumably it would be a relatively small space to start (just like Central Perk) so you could sit near her and talk to her, or respond to her, between songs. This I think helps to make the distance between audience and performer less, and makes it more a natural event than performing.
I don't know if that will help her in the first place. But I do know that performers do appreciate when I laugh loudly (when appropriate) or react when it fits, and I have to assume it helps them. They know someone is out there, and when they get the feedback they don't get discouraged. I don't think there is much worse than a lot of empty seats.
Michael
As a performer myself, I can tell you that being on-camera is very different from being on *stage.* Even though a sitcom is taped in front of a live audience, you still have a chance to re-do something if you flub up. The audience members -- who are there by invitation or lottery, they don't pay -- understand that they're watching a "work in progress" that will be different from the final product. On stage, though, you don't get any "do-overs" -- you have to keep going. And since the audience has paid admission, performers feel the obligation to put on as polished a performance as possible.
Singing is worse, somehow. I guess it's because you're not playing a character; it's *you* doing something that's rather technical and not part of ordinary everyday behavior. ...I was once at an audition for a musical. One fellow auditioning was a seasoned veteran of the dramatic theater. He had played Othello and many other large parts. I mean, this guy knew his stuff. But I was sitting close enough to him during his singing audition to see that his hands were shaking like leaves.
Actors learn to use their stage fright to energize their performance. In fact, the time to worry is when you *don't* have the butterflies before the opening curtain. (I'm a piece of meat until I hear that first laugh from the audience; then I feel much better.) But I imagine that for singing, which requires more physical control, it could be a real problem if the nervousness gets out of hand.
My advice: - Do something physical before you go on. Deep breathing (don't hyperventilate), swing your arms around or just jump up and down a bit -- something to burn off some of the adrenalin. - Have something to "ground yourself" with when on stage. I know why so many singers lean or hold onto the piano; the first time I sang in public I dug grooves in the damn thing. Or have something in your hand; I've seen a lot of singers holding a handkerchief, or the microphone stand. - Acting is helpful in singing: Every song tells a story, so think of yourself as playing a character who happens to be singing his monologue. - Remember that the audience is really on your side. They *want* you to be fabulous. The Apollo Theater notwithstanding, nobody is going to boo and throw tomatoes at you. What kind of nut would bring vegetables to the theater, anyway? - I recommend improv classes to everyone who asks about any subject. It may not seem that improv has anything to do with singing, but trust me. Once you have some improv under your belt, nothing will ever scare you again. You'll be bulletproof.
...If all else fails, imagine them in their underwear. On second thought, don't; that's kinda why the last guy got fired. ;o>
In article , [email] (Roselli421) wrote:
Do tell her it's a very common problem, and many of the best performers of all time are prone to it. Some -- like Barbra Streisand and Carly Simon -- more or less give up performing because of it.
One point is that you really never want to get to the point where you're completely relaxed about going on stage, because if you are you're probably not keyed up enough to give a good performance (fear gets adrenaline going).
I'd do a Web search; I know someone I ran into was writing a book about it some time back but can't remember who it was or whether it was every published.
I'm not convinced that the advice of starting with small numbers of people and working outward to big numbers is right, though. Curiously, it's actually much *easier* to perform to a large audience. For one thing, it *is* less personal. But the big thing is that when you have 30 people and you tell a joke and 10 percent of them laugh, that's three people and the laughter dies away quickly because they feel uncomfortable. if you have 3000 people and 10 percent of them laugh that's 300 people and the laughter builds because the other people around them are encouraged to join in.
Which is why a psychologist specializing in the problems of entertainers might be a good idea.
wg