Happy almost Halloween! It's the perfect day to wrap up The Fear Series. (Yeah, I planned it that way.)
I hope you've enjoyed The Fear Series and found it valuable. If so, please share it with friends!
So you've identified how fear shows up in your career, and you know how to crush it. (Or you're working on it. That counts.) But there's one last thing... When you're 'on deck' at an audition or about to walk into a meeting, it's not that you get scared, exactly; It's just that you get... NERVOUS. Where does that fit in to all this fear stuff?
Good news. That's not fear. That's fear's helpful cousin, Anxiety (aka nerves, butterflies, stage fright, whatever you want to call it.) It doesn't feel helpful when it's making your hands shake and turning your breath shallow, but it is.
(To be clear, generalized anxiety can also be a psychological condition that affects our health in negative ways and is often coupled with depression, so if you're experiencing that kind of anxiety, find a therapist.)
But for artists, in a context in which you're called on to perform in some way, anxiety is a) 1000% normal and healthy, and b) a pretty amazing birdie on your shoulder. Why?
Ever notice that you don't sneeze, yawn, or hiccup once you actually walk onstage or into the audition/meeting room? That's anxiety working its brain-chemistry magic to shut down unnecessary distractions and allow you to focus on the task at hand. Ever been in a performance situation and NOT felt anxious? That's a pretty strong signal from your physiological self that you don't really want the thing you're there to do. The presence of anxiety is a sign that you're doing something you care about, and that means you're on the right track.
Ok great, hooray anxiety... HOW DO I STOP MY HANDS FROM SHAKING?
- Take three slow, deep belly breaths to take the edge off.
- Accept it.
To quote one of my favorite books on acting, "Our emotional-psychological makeup is such that our only response to an order to think or feel anything is rebellion." In other words, telling yourself to stop being anxious is a great way to get more anxious.
Instead, accept it. Welcome it. Remember that it's supposed to be there. If it wasn't, you'd be a robot, and robots are crappy actors. Rest assured that everyone else is feeling it too... The person sitting there looking happy and confident just has more practice accepting it (or has a great poker face.)
Use imagery to turn your anxiety into something else. A puppy. A toddler. It's so sweet when it gets all nervous and excited, isn't it? Give it a hug & tell it you love it & you're glad it's excited for you & everything's going to be ok.
- Use it.
The reason we feel the desperate need to get rid of anxiety when it shows up is that we think there's no place for it in the audition room. But here's the thing… The character you're reading for has something at stake in the scene, otherwise they wouldn't be in the script. That thing, whatever it is, is where the character's anxiety lives. It doesn't have to be big... If the line is 'What can I get you?,' maybe s/he can't wait to be done with work, or has to pee, or is stressed that there's a long line of customers waiting. Just like that, you've justified the presence of anxiety for the character, and added a layer of backstory... which will give your audition more depth.
Finally, if audition anxiety is an issue for you, try a coaching session. Seeing your work on camera and reading it with someone who can give you objective feedback will take the pressure off and help keep anxiety at bay. Soon, YOU'LL be the happiest, most confident actor in the room!