How to Get Rid of Stage Fright

Performers get anxiety performance for a number of reasons from feeling unprepared to a lack of self-confidence. Counting to 10 or imagining the audience naked may work for some people, but below are a few more creative ways help you deal with stage fright.

Instructions

1. Remember that you are a performer and you want to perform. Actors get nervous because they are making themselves vulnerable before an audience of strangers. Don't forget, the good part of performing is sharing your craft with others, especially on opening night.

2. Feed on the other players and the audience anticipation to remind you that performing is fun, exciting and one of the best natural highs in existence.

3. Walk around, dance crazily, skip or jump to loosen the body muscles and shake off physical tension. Becoming anxious will tighten the muscles, including the vocal cords.

4. Laugh off nerves using whatever form of comedy works best for you. Whether you keep a joke in your pocket or a funny scene in your head, it's good to have something to make you smile when you feel tense. Laughter is a great physical release and helps relax the voice.

5. Feel like you are giving the performance of your life. For some people, adding the pressure can actually block out the nerves. Concentrating on the perfection of your performance to the exclusion of all other thoughts can make stage fright and nerves simply disappear from your mind.

6. Perform for yourself and only yourself. Forgetting the audience even exists works for some actors. Feeling as though you are all alone on stage and there is no audience to heighten your anxiety works well for many performers with strong visualization skills.

7. Immerse yourself totally in your role and forget that you, the nervous you, even exists. The method actor who gives herself totally to the role does not have nerves. The actor has stage fright, not the character.