Confidence
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Acting
Forum Discription: Q&A about auditions, character development and other aspects of the craft
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3295
Printed Date: 11/21/24 at 10:26pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Confidence
Posted By: chel
Subject: Confidence
Date Posted: 7/18/08 at 1:03pm
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I know no one can hand it to you, it comes from within. But before I go onstage I instantly have to go to the bathroom and am convinced I will forget my lines. They're suddenly completely out of my head.
I get onstage and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy...I mess up or stammer, though thankfully not completely forget. But honestly, I know them cold offstage. I can run them and run them and run them. I can get up in my living room and do the whole thing, blocking, character, everything.
Do you do anything before the show to help you focus? Do you do anything or tell yourself anything to not freak yourself out? Honestly, my part is not big or difficult...it's just me and my nerves.
 ------------- chel www.windhamtheaterguild.org |
Replies:
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 7/18/08 at 1:39pm
| I've been acting for 32 years and I still have to go to the bathroom before I go onstage and often am afraid I will forget my lines. For me it's not a question of not getting nervous, it's just getting used to being nervous. |
Posted By: tonyboling
Date Posted: 7/18/08 at 1:51pm
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same for me, without the bathroom break. I like to get there early and relax as long as possible before curtain. |
Posted By: B-M-D
Date Posted: 7/18/08 at 4:18pm
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Not to be a wet blanket chel but perhaps this acting gig isn't for you. Sure we've all gotten nervous before we go on and dropped lines or an entire half act at some point but it's usually not a chronic thing.
But on positive note I'd have to agree with jayzehr, "...it's not a question of not getting nervous, it's just getting used to being nervous." I guess I'm saying you find a way to channel that energy into something else. Other than that, just remember your lines and don't bump into the furniture. ------------- BD 
"Dying is easy, comedy is hard." |
Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 7/18/08 at 10:12pm
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Like everyone, as I wait in the wings for my enterance I go through the same nervous, uneasy feeling. I know I am going to forget a line, do something wrong, etc. But I learned that as I take my enterance I take a deep breath, pause at the door, and hit my marks. I get so involved with the scene that when I am off stage I can't believe I made it threw with no problems.
Though I have been known to do a show on "automatic pilot" and I will snap out of it and not know where I am in the middle of a scene. But what can you do when you have performed the show for 3 months straight. ------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |
Posted By: chel
Date Posted: 7/19/08 at 6:52am
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This was really helpful. I knew I wasn't alone. I think the extra nerves is that I haven't acted in quite a while. I did it loads, but now that I'm older I don't trust my memory (or my bladder, for that matter...tmi).
While I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that I just shouldn't be acting...I think working through the nerves with breathing or "channeling" that nervous energy is definitely worth a try.
Last night was opening night...and yes, I did it all the way I was supposed to. It's never good enough for me, but that's everything in my life. I see only improvement ahead. I don't think a show ends the same way it began.
One of the other actors was so incredibly relaxed and wonderful I asked how he prepared. He said he focused on his breathing, a bit of zen mediation-like. So, I will give that a go tonight.
On a more humorous note, I was a bit tired and got my adreneline pumping by practicing the stage slap I give another actor. Painful satisfaction? ------------- chel www.windhamtheaterguild.org |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 7/19/08 at 5:37pm
| Breathing exercises are very helpful. I just finished playing Father Flynn in Doubt and I started off the play with a page and a half sermon. For some reason with about a minute to go every night I became convinced that I had forgotten the entire thing. Among other strategies, including yogic breathing exercises, I visualized myself back home in my room practicing the sermon over and over. But in the end, I just had to have faith that when the lights came on I would remember the lines after all. |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 7/20/08 at 5:49pm
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I certainly don't know all your particulars here but I don't think I would suggest that acting isn't for you. Nerves are a funny companion of all actors and there are different reasons why we are afflicted with them. One of the best ways to overcome nerves is to not go on stage until you are TOTALLY CONFIDENT. This confidence is not so much a mental thing as it is a preperation thing. I might suggest that more rehearsal could help you. When you go on stage do you know the dialogue like the back of you hand or are you unsure about certain scenes? Do you spend a lot of time going over and over the lines? When the words and the dilivery become easy for you, then the nerves go away. CONFIDENCE.
The other key to line memory on stage is listening. When I miss a line it is almost always because my attention was not fully with my fellow actors.
You must listen 100% of the time to react correctly.
Oh damn....I sound like I'm lecturing here. Sorry but my intentions are good. ------------- "REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT" |
Posted By: TonyDi
Date Posted: 7/21/08 at 8:06am
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EAT A BANANA!!! Yep I said it. Some of music's elite take a quick banana snack. The potassium rush helps calm the nerves - trust me it works. Lots of pro musicial performers do that (instrumentalists and others) and it seems to work for most people. NO magic bullet but a viable way to combat stage fright - at any level. Give that a shot and see if it works for you.
TonyDi
------------- "Almost famous" |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 7/21/08 at 8:46am
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Prior to sobriety, I found that a couple of quick drinks would calm me down greatly. The lines went right down the tubes, but boy was I calm. Of course that didn't help the bladder situation any but it did lead to our back deck at the playhouse to be known as "bathroom north". ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: tonyboling
Date Posted: 7/21/08 at 9:13am
Keepin it classy!  I'll try that banana trick sometime. Sounds interesting. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 7/24/08 at 3:24pm
How's that work? You have them call off the performance that night if you're not totally confident?  But seriously, I don't think there's such a thing as "total confidence" unless one is deluded. Everybody has some degree of nervousness.
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Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 7/24/08 at 5:11pm
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Confidence of course comes in degrees. I agree that "total" confidence is pretty unrealistic.... but I am sure that you will admit that one of the leading reasons for stage fright and dropped lines is becasue an actor is not properly prepared. It may be from insufficient rehearsals or just not enough work on your own. All I was suggesting is that hard work and adequate rehearsal time can greatly aid in this area. ------------- "REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT" |
Posted By: chel
Date Posted: 7/26/08 at 5:28pm
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5 more shows to go and I've had more costume glitches than line trouble. The breathing helped. Even if I were a guy, I think my costume has too many layers to have good aim. (It's a gorgeous costume, just...complicated.) Oh how much easier a bucket backstage would be sometimes. (ew.)
The banana sounds good. Lack of focus seems to be more of a problem than confidence. So the breathing and running lines in my head (and pacing) help with that.
Thanks again. This has been a big help. ------------- chel www.windhamtheaterguild.org |
Posted By: sconjott
Date Posted: 7/30/08 at 12:58pm
Yeah, that's a rather strange feeling. It's like "waking up" from Alzheimers and wanting to scream, "who are these people, where the heck am I, and why am I wearing a dress?"
The whole pre-show nerves thing is a bit disconcerting especially if you think you're the only one going through it. Every show for at least the first 3 performances I feel like I'm about to have explosive diarhea any second just prior to my first entrance. But as soon as I hear my cue... BAM!Character kicks in rehearsals take over and I'm just the guy in the booth calling the shots. Next thing you now it's intermission the audience is riveted and I've completely forgotten those nerves. Just remember to BREATH!!!
I don't care what anyone says, Stage Actors are the REAL "Thrill Junkies" ------------- There are NO small roles, only small actors... |
Posted By: vickifrank
Date Posted: 7/30/08 at 1:33pm
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I love the banana thought and intend to suggest it to my Toastmasters group (speakers get stage fright too). Not only would the potassium calm nerves, but the slow hit of sugar would help you not feel jittery from a blood sugar spike then a drop. Bananas have been suggested for diabetic children because they are sweet but release the sugar slowly and avoid that peak vakkey effect. (ADA still agrees Jan 2006) ------------- _____________ http://www.studio-productions-inc.com 1-800-359-2964 The theater scrim people |