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Step 1
Understand where you are (BE PREPARED). One thing that causes stage fright is the feeling that we have no control, and we are unsure of how things are going to work out. The best way to control this fear is to be prepared. Create yourself a checklist, and make sure you know your environment inside and out. Will you need your own amp? What kind of mic will you be using? Do you have a signal with the sound man to play a certain track? Is the performance outdoors? What will the weather be like?, etc. These are all examples of things that you should know before you perform. The less unsure we are, the more control we have over our stage fright.
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Step 2
Understand who you are. I belive that in our minds we have an image of what I call the "perfect performer". This is our character. A common fear wich leads to stage fright is the idea that the audience might reject us, or not understand our character. It's a healthy fear, but it's one that can be controlled. Sometime before your performance, take a good look at the stage (or where ever you are performing) from the audiences point of view. Now invision yourself doing a successful show from begining to end. Make sure you have a solid picture of everything in your mind (Your costume, the way you move, the way you talk, the way you interact with your audience, etc). You should be invisioning YOURSELF performing, and not your biggest inspiration. BE YOURSELF. Once you've seen the show, run it through your head a few times until it comes time to go on stage. Once your on stage the trick is to be the "perfect performer" that you saw in your mind. Do not anticipate the outcome of your show during performance. Just do your show, and let nature take it's course.
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Step 3
A good way to get honost critisism of your act is to have a video camera on the stage pointing at the audience. This way you can go back and study their reactions. If you can, try putting a tape recorder in the audience so that you can hear comments being made about your show.
Comments
MidniteWriter said
on 5/7/2008 Thank you so much, I needed this article as I am going on stage today!
torque63 said
on 12/14/2007 I too teach and had to deal with stage fright when I started my career, as confidence climbs then stagefright goes away, then the fun begins!
BarryWaite said
on 12/13/2007 Some great pointers...although I'm not a performer but I teach. Yes, I have to be aware of stage fright but I build my confidence before I teach. Sometimes, I build it too high and my voice gets a bit loud. Thanks for your insights!