By Edie, The Salsa FREAK!!
’It’s NERVOUS TIME Ladies and Gentlemen!’ the producer bellowed loudly as he arrogantly strolled through the groups of performers backstage.
Performers are scattered throughout the room, stretching limbs, fixing shoes, and tightening straps. Some are jumping up and down, breathing hard and rehearsing footwork and moves. All of them look FANTASTIC on the outside, but only a veteran performer truly understands what they are going through on the inside.
Performing is NOT easy. I don’t care how seasoned you are, you WILL get nervous before a show. It’s just simply part of the game.
Here are 4 simple ‘Tricks of the Trade’ that have ALWAYS worked for me.
I’ve included a summary of some of these three items below so you can print them out on a small sheet of paper to take with you to your show. Slip it in your bag to quickly refer to when you’ve stopped breathing.
1. NERVES ARE NORMAL. EMBRACE This Feeling.
What you are going through is perfectly NORMAL and part of the performance experience.
From the beginning of time, performers have been extremely nervous before their shows. Just remember that. Relish in this experience. You wanted to perform, right? Being nervous before a show is a HUGE part of that. From the historical stage actors of Hamlet, to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, to Michael Jackson and Beyonc’, they ALL went through what you are going through RIGHT NOW. You will always feel nervous before a performance. I don’t care how seasoned you are. ACCEPT IT AS NORMAL.
2. You Are NOT Alone.
Backstage, take a step back and quietly look around. Everyone AROUND YOU is nervous. From your fellow performers, to the announcer, to the volunteers! Even the AUDIENCE is nervous ‘for you’. We are ALL just one HUGE BUNDLE OF NERVES! This cracks me up. Sometimes before I perform, I will take a step out of my ‘self’ for a few moments backstage, look around and realize, ‘Wow, we’re all in this TOGETHER. ALL OF US ARE GOING THROUGH ‘NERVOUS TIME’! Believe it or not, when you feel like you are part of a team of people who are just as – if not MORE – nervous than you are, it’s comforting.
3. BREATH AND MOVE.
Some people get so nervous, they forget to breath. Some people have to pee, then seconds before they get onstage, they have to poop (and can’t believe it), then when the show is over, they no longer have to do EITHER! How does THAT happen? When you are nervous, your ENTIRE body is emitting adrenaline chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals that are naturally produced in your body out of FEAR. They make all your INSIDES start to react in a ‘FIGHT OR FLIGHT’ ‘ ‘LIVE OR DIE’ mode. Moving your body gets those chemicals flowing more naturally throughout your entire system. Jump up and down, stretch, and jog in place. This will help distribute those chemicals so you can focus on what you need to remember for your show.
4. Use the Adrenaline RUSH as your own personal ROCKET FUEL.
No coffee is necessary now! Some people HATE getting nervous. Learn to LOVE IT. If you plan on performing in your life, you’d better learn how to recognize your fears and not only embrace them, but use them to your advantage on stage. Sound strange? Once I learned about endorphins, I started to feed off them and use the energy they were producing to create EXPLOSIVE performances. I COULDN’T WAIT to get on stage and TEAR IT IN HALF.
WARNING: The feeling of nervousness can form into an addictive rush for some people. They actually get hooked on performing because they have learned to CRAVE THE NERVOUS RUSH like a drug. The adrenaline high produces the same chemical reactions in your body as COCAINE.
‘My nerves help me perform better’ said a friend of mine.
‘If I don’t get nervous, something’s wrong and I have to do something to get all riled up again.’ Says another,
‘I love the feeling of performing ‘ right before ‘ the RUSH is awesome. I take all that built-up energy and SHATTER MY AUDIENCES!’
Once I learned to harness that pre-performance Nervous Energy and USE it as part of the EXPLOSIVENESS of the performance, I started to actually ‘enjoy’ performing (believe it or not I used to HATE performing ‘ but I will save that for another story).
Now I LOVE surprising and shocking my audiences using my pent-up ‘nervous’ energy as ROCKET FUEL. Give your audience a POWER they NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. This power doesn’t come from your head, it ONLY comes from your NERVES.
So, as we they say on Broadway or Hollywood, ‘Break a Leg!’
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PRINTABLE SUMMARY:
Feel free to print the following and put in your “performance” bag at your show:
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“I’m about to get on stage, and am Sssssooooo NERVOUS right now!!!”
1. NERVES ARE NORMAL. EMBRACE This Feeling.
2. You Are NOT Alone.
3. BREATH AND MOVE.
4. Use the Adrenaline RUSH as your own personal ROCKET FUEL.
“Edie is with me RIGHT NOW in Spirit ‘ sending her positive vibrational energy my way. I feel it.”
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– Story by Edie, The Salsa FREAK!! Edie The Salsa FREAK!! Website
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– Edie, The Salsa FREAK!!
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