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Moving From Anxiety to Playfulness
While many performers experience some symptoms of excitement during performance, the anxiety we experience at auditions is usually far worse. Without the electricity of an audience, an orchestra, and a supporting cast to get us in and out of the room, we may find the fluorescent glow of a dance studio unwelcoming at best.
I'll get to other relaxation techniques in a minute, but I have to say that the main reason we become anxious is that we don't know what will happen. We don't know how those on the other side of the table will respond, and most of us don't know what we will do. One of the best tools I've found is plain old preparation. And I mean preparation. Including choreography.
When I talk about choreography, I don't mean meaningless gestures during the song. I'm referring to the way I walk into the room, not allowing my focus to drop below the horizon line, knowing exactly which direction my feet are facing (it'd better be the same direction I'm facing), how and when I change my weight, where my focus changes occur in the song, and even the way I breathe. I choreograph my thoughts, and I choreograph my acting beats. I know my objective, the person (or dog, or spatula) to whom I am singing, and the timing of my thoughts to the music. And I rehearse it all, including my interaction with the accompanist, until it is so automatic that I don't have to think about it anymore. I'm vaguely aware of it when I'm actually auditioning, but not self-conscious. It's in my muscle memory. I have nothing to worry about, because I know how it will go. I learned these techniques from the late, legendary teacher and author, David Craig.
While the rigid boundaries of David's technique felt like prison at first, they became thoroughly liberating. I've practiced and taught it for so many years now that I can move freely within the framework I learned. I don't need to remind myself any more than a ballet dancer needs to remind him or herself to turn out.
So the first thing I would advise is do your homework. Have your selections ready, and have some backups ready too. Take the time in the hallway before an audition to focus on your breathing. If you're unfamiliar with breathing/relaxation exercises, a short cut is to imagine a straw in your naval and breathe through the straw. This will help you relax the abdominal muscles and drop the floor of the diaphragm. Your sternum should not rise. Your shoulders are relaxed. And you breathe slowly. Take inventory of the muscles throughout your body, and release tension as you do so.
If you allow rapid, shallow breathing, you'll be sending a signal to your central nervous system to panic, to fight or flee. But if you consciously breathe as if you were thoroughly relaxed, you'll be telling your central nervous system to relax. In this case, "Fake it 'til you make it" can be a good way to go.
Biofeedback is a great way to learn how to control that which feels beyond your control. I don't have anyone to recommend here, and if anyone out there does, I'd love to have someone whose name I can give.
Meditation of any kind can be immensely helpful. And the more you practice it when you're not under stress, the more successful it will be when you are.
It's kind of cheating, but I've often worn earplugs out in the waiting area before an audition to help me stay focused and remove the temptation to chat with old friends. Save it for after. And maybe take it out to the parking lot as a courtesy to those who are waiting for their audition
Hypnotherapy can be helpful for the same reasons that meditation is helpful. A great hypnotherapist in Sierra Madre, Dr. Donald Cadogan, helped me while I was producing my last vocal demo four years ago. I was going through a particularly stressful time, and as a result I was having trouble relaxing in the recording studio during my most difficult song. I've done a lot of work in the years since completing that recording to eliminate tension in my voice, and I can hear that old tension on my demo. But given the space I was in at the time and the technique I was practicing, I was delighted with the results I achieved with the doc's help.
Dr. Cadogan has a beautifully soothing voice, and he is a virtuoso hypnotherapist. I was having trouble sleeping at the time, and he gave me one of his cassette tapes to help me drift off effortlessly. It still works every time.
Years ago, when big auditions made me anxious, I saw another hypnotherapist like Dr. Cadogan for just one session. After talking about the issues and describing an upcoming critical audition, the therapist led me through a hypnosis session where I was brought to a deep level of relaxation and focus. He then described details of the audition waiting room, how I would remain relaxed, how I would feel coming into the audition room, what I would see, and so on.
I listened to the tape several times prior to the audition, and I listened to it on my walkman as I waited to go in to sing. It made a HUGE difference. I felt entirely present, focused, and delighted to be there. I used that tape for years. I probably still have it… it was like gold to me. But eventually I incorporated the techniques into my own thinking and didn't need to use the tape.
It really comes down to deciding that your mind is not the boss of you. It's very useful, but it is not you. If you let it run wild, it can get you into big trouble. And if you learn to manage it, even trick it, you're home free.
I've got several books on my reading list that I highly recommend for performance anxiety. If I had to choose two favorites, they would be as follows:
A Soprano on Her Head by Eloise Ristad
"...Ristad deals here with complex problems which torment and cripple so many of our most creative and talented people, and she does so with wit, wisdom, and compassion. The problem of stage fright ...involves modalities of thought and projections that rob spontaneity and enthusiasm in artistic performance." Lorin Hollander, concert pianist
She faces these issues very specifically, and the book is an easy read. Her workshops are well-renowned, and you'll come away with lots of tricks and experiments free your creative process even under the most daunting circumstances.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
"One of the best books to come along in years. Every sentence rings with truth and power - the power to bring you into the gap, the space between our thoughts, where we find, as Eckhart so beautifully puts in, deep serenity, a stillness, a sacred Presence. This is a book to cherish." Deepak Chopra
I can't begin to say what this book has done for me. It has been transforming and liberating in so many ways. I have said goodbye to the perfectionist in my mind that seemed to gridlock my creativity again and again. The book has helped me grow as a student and as a teacher because it has helped me grow as a spiritual being. I've had friends talk about this book for a long time. Everyone I know who's read it has read it more than once. And when it recently came out on compact disc as read by the author, my other half was at the front of the line to pick it up. The audio version is great because you can't skim through it. This is not a book for skimming. It sinks in. And I find the author's voice is thoroughly soothing. One friend said they can't listen to it while driving or they'll fall asleep, so don't try it if you're sleep deprived. I find it to be a wonderful companion in the car. You can't listen to Eckhart and cut someone off on the freeway at the same time. I also like to fall asleep to it at night (not on the road).