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March 16, 2002
Day Three: Performance Anxiety Workshop
Notes from the “Perfomance Anxiety Workshop” led by John Hipple, Ph.D. He’s a nice guy but he’s one of those people who makes WAY too much eye contact than is comfortable. Even so, I’m determined not to look away when he fixes those eyes on me.
“Anxiety means you give a damn.” If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be anxious, right?
Preparation is the best proof against anxiety. Know the music. Practice.
“Straws that break the camel’s back.” Many people come under stress from many sources at once (job, family, money, etc.), and performing is often the one that upsets the balance. Examine the stressors in your life; can you remove a few of them? Take away a few straws and the camel can do its job.
Support is good. Find someone to talk to about your fear. Get it out. You cannot carry it alone.
Have realistic expectations. The chances of someone getting a record deal at SXSW are tiny; the chances of getting good exposure and meeting new people are greater. Know what you want to accomplish.
Focus on the parts of the performance you’re pleased with, not the mistakes. Practice relaxing.
This panel was followed by a brief relaxation excercise, where we all sat calmly with our eyes closed, focused on breathing and trying to find our “special place.” As soon as he said those words, I became anxious, because I thought maybe I was the only one in the room participating in this stupid excercise. Okay, no so much with the meditation next time.
Well, such theories might not be the ultimate solution to “stage fright” for everyone, as every musician is “living on his own planet” when performing for an audience. I´ve found out that my own stage fright became worse when trying to talk about it with my fellow musicians before the gig, so I learnt that I happen to become more calm just by spending some lonely moments.
Well, preparation and practice is surely OK, but doing too much of that can make you crazy on stage — I´m actually better off by not practicing some days before a gig and rather try to think about nothing.
And it can all depend on the music you´re performing: Feeling anxious was not a big problem when playing rock stuff which allows you to act “physical” on stage sooner or later, but whenever I have to play acoustic stuff or even classical style — oh oh:-)
About “find someone to talk about your fears” (better not the fellow musician, he/she is usually stuck in the same trap): I once consulted a therapist, because I felt I needed a good advice, and he was really cool and helpful. He just said things like “Stage fright is a natural part of a performance, and it can even help you focus better on your job and do it more intense. Better accept it and try to make it work for you and not against you”. And the following remark was very valuable: “The audience has no intention to be your enemy, so basically your fright is based on a wrong assumption”. Right he was, and this enabled me rather to “embrace” the audience and to overcome that common “rabbit vs. snake” feeling.