People always ask me how I can get on stage and perform live in front of an audience without getting nervous. Probably the easiest way, although most do not start then, is to start when you are young. When you are young you are fearless-in fact, sometimes you do things you shouldn't, just to get more attention from the audience. (My first church play when I was just in the choir, we were sitting during the drama portion and I put my hands through my pants all the way to my ankles and waved at the audience. I also moved closer and closer to the microphone until the "chorus" became my solo as I belted out the words proudly just 6 inches from the microphone)
So starting young helps. If you grow up on stage, you never really notice the audience as you get older. I often say stage feels like home.
This is not to say I NEVER get nervous. I do. I'm human! Right before I make my first entrance I always have a little nervous energy. I think to myself-what if I forget a line? What if the audience doesn't laugh at the funny lines? What if someone else forgets a line and we have to ad-lib? So I have those thoughts just like everyone else.
The difference maybe is that I always remember that the audience WANTS ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL! No one pays &10-$100 dollars for a ticket and thinks "Gosh, I hope the cast sucks tonight, so I can make fun of them." No, people who come to see a show have high expectations and they want you to exceed them.
So instead of worrying about sucking-think "I will give the audience what they want!"
I take this philosophy with me in auditions for everything too. the Directors want you to do well. When I go in, I feel comfortable knowing they are excited when I walk through the door. It's what I give them once I start, that makes a difference on how they feel when I leave. Directors don't like their times wasted, so I always prepare well before I come too. You will feel much better about walking through that door (or onto that stage) if you are prepared. Rehearse your lines over and over and over till you think "I can't stand it!" work on your song till it's better than perfect.
If you do these things and you still don't book the job, at least you know you were good, you just weren't what they were looking for. I can't tell you how many times I have auditioned for something and they told me they loved me and then I didn't get the part. When I see the commercial or film or show, I realize I looked nothing like the mom in the piece or I was much older than the kid they ended up going with or something. Don't beat yourself up over it. Directors have reasons for casting the way they do. And your not the BEST so you were probably as good as someone else and maybe it was down to you two, but there's only one part. Other parts will come along and YOU will be the lucky one.
So that's my advice-got over your insecurities. Realize that:
1. The audience wants you to do well
2. You need to prepare well ahead of time
3. You're not going to get every job so don't beat yourself up over it.
4. Directors make decisions based on things outside of your control (hair color, age, eye color, ethnicity etc)
Just keep on doing what you do and you'll get better.
And of course the old "picture them all in their underwear" doesn't hurt either!
Good luck!
So starting young helps. If you grow up on stage, you never really notice the audience as you get older. I often say stage feels like home.
This is not to say I NEVER get nervous. I do. I'm human! Right before I make my first entrance I always have a little nervous energy. I think to myself-what if I forget a line? What if the audience doesn't laugh at the funny lines? What if someone else forgets a line and we have to ad-lib? So I have those thoughts just like everyone else.
The difference maybe is that I always remember that the audience WANTS ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL! No one pays &10-$100 dollars for a ticket and thinks "Gosh, I hope the cast sucks tonight, so I can make fun of them." No, people who come to see a show have high expectations and they want you to exceed them.
So instead of worrying about sucking-think "I will give the audience what they want!"
I take this philosophy with me in auditions for everything too. the Directors want you to do well. When I go in, I feel comfortable knowing they are excited when I walk through the door. It's what I give them once I start, that makes a difference on how they feel when I leave. Directors don't like their times wasted, so I always prepare well before I come too. You will feel much better about walking through that door (or onto that stage) if you are prepared. Rehearse your lines over and over and over till you think "I can't stand it!" work on your song till it's better than perfect.
If you do these things and you still don't book the job, at least you know you were good, you just weren't what they were looking for. I can't tell you how many times I have auditioned for something and they told me they loved me and then I didn't get the part. When I see the commercial or film or show, I realize I looked nothing like the mom in the piece or I was much older than the kid they ended up going with or something. Don't beat yourself up over it. Directors have reasons for casting the way they do. And your not the BEST so you were probably as good as someone else and maybe it was down to you two, but there's only one part. Other parts will come along and YOU will be the lucky one.
So that's my advice-got over your insecurities. Realize that:
1. The audience wants you to do well
2. You need to prepare well ahead of time
3. You're not going to get every job so don't beat yourself up over it.
4. Directors make decisions based on things outside of your control (hair color, age, eye color, ethnicity etc)
Just keep on doing what you do and you'll get better.
And of course the old "picture them all in their underwear" doesn't hurt either!
Good luck!
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