Stage fright comes about due to a disturbance of body use and the messing up of breathing.
Mistakenly considered to be something only beginner performers suffer from, stage fright is something all performers have to face. In its mildest forms, stage fright begins with the excitement of having a performance, even if the performance is months away, unconsciously the process has already started.
It is natural and healthy to feel excited when giving a performance, yet that excitement can be translated by your brain as if you were in a threatening situation. The long waiting time before actually getting on stage and start the performance, and all the preparation before the performance itself can become a form of unreleased energy. If the performer doesn't know how to deal with it, the unreleased energy becomes such a frustration for the body that getting on stage can become a nightmare.
Most of the times the performer doesn't even know he/she is actually in a 'stage-fright' mode. They are bound to get nervous for so many reasons: because sound check is taking to long, or because the technicians didn't arrive yet, or the lights are not good, and so on and so on. The performer is bound to keep on running in circles, looking at the watch worrying if there will be enough time... That is excitement on the verge of becoming anxiety.
Anxiety is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness (and it has a very important function in relation to survival). It can also disturb your breathing patterns, which leads to fear and it may also lead to hyperventilation.
Anxiety is a combination of cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioural components. The cognitive part recognises danger, somatically the body is preparing to deal with the cause of the threat and the ‘fight or fly reflex’ or ‘panic reflex’ is activated and it takes form of pulling the back of the neck. Both voluntary and involuntary behaviours may arise making the performer wish 'to escape', to avoid the source of anxiety.
The ‘fight or fly reflex’ is easy to observe on animals. See the picture of this cat about to get into a fight, the muscles of the cat's neck are being 'winded', its head is pulled to the back, and all together will work as a catapult ready to fight or to get away from the source of fright.
In this case the cat decides if it goes through the fight or if it runs away from it.
In the performer's case all he/she can do is wait. The performer can't start before time and can't go home and forget about it. In the meantime the body is readjusting to the situation and releasing the necessary chemicals to help him/her go through it.
As a response to physical or mental stress adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, and the chemical processes that normally will help the performer to adjust to a dangerous situation, in this case will dis-organise and make a torture out of the waiting time.
The 'winding of the muscles' that makes the pull the head will disorganise the breathing to the point of having a hyperventilation attack, becoming paralysed (due to the hyperventilation attack), and / or having to vomit. A good example is Maria Callas, despite being such a wonderful singer and excellent professional, Callas felt such a pressure before the performance that her body responded to it as vomiting. It is known that she had to vomit before every performance.
Finally during the performance itself one is bound to feel a release for the enormous amount of energy which the excitement of anticipation produced.
The Alexander technique is a great way of dealing with stage fright.
The technique brings the awareness of the way we use ourselves in our daily routine and provides the best preparation for the demands of any performance.
It gives the performer the means of keep on 'tuning up' him/herself, therefore having the panic reflex under control. The performer will be able to undo unnecessary tension, to stop 'the winding' of the muscles of the neck, co-ordinating breath and movements. The performer will feel more confident and being in a positive energy flow during the performance.
Mistakenly considered to be something only beginner performers suffer from, stage fright is something all performers have to face. In its mildest forms, stage fright begins with the excitement of having a performance, even if the performance is months away, unconsciously the process has already started.
It is natural and healthy to feel excited when giving a performance, yet that excitement can be translated by your brain as if you were in a threatening situation. The long waiting time before actually getting on stage and start the performance, and all the preparation before the performance itself can become a form of unreleased energy. If the performer doesn't know how to deal with it, the unreleased energy becomes such a frustration for the body that getting on stage can become a nightmare.
Most of the times the performer doesn't even know he/she is actually in a 'stage-fright' mode. They are bound to get nervous for so many reasons: because sound check is taking to long, or because the technicians didn't arrive yet, or the lights are not good, and so on and so on. The performer is bound to keep on running in circles, looking at the watch worrying if there will be enough time... That is excitement on the verge of becoming anxiety.
Anxiety is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness (and it has a very important function in relation to survival). It can also disturb your breathing patterns, which leads to fear and it may also lead to hyperventilation.
Anxiety is a combination of cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioural components. The cognitive part recognises danger, somatically the body is preparing to deal with the cause of the threat and the ‘fight or fly reflex’ or ‘panic reflex’ is activated and it takes form of pulling the back of the neck. Both voluntary and involuntary behaviours may arise making the performer wish 'to escape', to avoid the source of anxiety.
In this case the cat decides if it goes through the fight or if it runs away from it.
In the performer's case all he/she can do is wait. The performer can't start before time and can't go home and forget about it. In the meantime the body is readjusting to the situation and releasing the necessary chemicals to help him/her go through it.
As a response to physical or mental stress adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, and the chemical processes that normally will help the performer to adjust to a dangerous situation, in this case will dis-organise and make a torture out of the waiting time.
The 'winding of the muscles' that makes the pull the head will disorganise the breathing to the point of having a hyperventilation attack, becoming paralysed (due to the hyperventilation attack), and / or having to vomit. A good example is Maria Callas, despite being such a wonderful singer and excellent professional, Callas felt such a pressure before the performance that her body responded to it as vomiting. It is known that she had to vomit before every performance.
Finally during the performance itself one is bound to feel a release for the enormous amount of energy which the excitement of anticipation produced.
The Alexander technique is a great way of dealing with stage fright.
The technique brings the awareness of the way we use ourselves in our daily routine and provides the best preparation for the demands of any performance.
It gives the performer the means of keep on 'tuning up' him/herself, therefore having the panic reflex under control. The performer will be able to undo unnecessary tension, to stop 'the winding' of the muscles of the neck, co-ordinating breath and movements. The performer will feel more confident and being in a positive energy flow during the performance.
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