I have found that stage fright has everything to do with acceptance. We all want to be accepted, and fear rejection, sometimes so much as to cause physical symptoms in the body. When this happens, a person is often confused as to why their fear is as intense as it is.

But what we fail to understand is that often the “stage fright” first occurred in early childhood. Perhaps it was a school play where you botched a line, and the audience laughed, or you harmonized in the car and your brother gave you “a look” of disgust. The stage fright may have nothing to do with music whatsoever. It may have been when a young girl told a joke that her friends didn’t find funny.

Whatever the case, finding the root is what will remove the problem. Drinking alcohol or taking drugs, as you say, may work temporarily for some, but is nothing to wink at. I feel the same way about prescription drugs. There are almost always side effects associated with chemical drugs, and the side effects often lead to the need for another drug, which may lead to another.

It is refreshing to find alternatives to such problems as stage fright, addictions, and pain, that are natural and effective and pluck out the root, often from early childhood. One such alternative that I have taught others to do for themselves is EFT (emotional freedom techniques). To find out more about this technique, visit http://www.emofree.com.

I think you are so right… we have to get past the mentality that says we must be all things to all people whenever we get up to give a performance or speech. If we make it ok with ourselves to move ONE person… we will indeed succeed, and will actually move more than one.

A writer friend of mine named Michael Clark once said “if you sing like you’re singing to one person, you can reach thousands, if you sing like you’re singing to thousands, you can’t really reach anybody.” I agree.

When I first started performing, I remember desiring everyone there to show obvious signs of approval. I now realize that not everyone will get the same thing out of each performance. I don’t always want white sauce on my pasta. Does that mean that the chef should be insulted when not every restaurant patron comes in to order his special alfredo sauce? Of course not. There are many factors that go into why someone is enjoying a performance on a particular night. A person may love your songs, but may have had an argument with a loved one that day, and is frowning. It has nothing to do with you or your abilities. I am there to share what I have to give with whomever is ready at that moment to receive it. And I focus on how wonderful it is that I reached that (sometimes only) one person that night. God bless!

Best prevention is preparation? In my amateur theatre work, I feel less nervous and unsteady when I know what I’m doing; when I know my lines, have thought about my character enough to try to become that character just before I’m on stage rather than “acting as if” so that all the stuff that goes along with saying the words comes more naturally and does not require so much purposeful thought.

Also I find it important to have practiced with others with whom I share the stage so as to be able to trust what they will do and how they will be able to react to what I do. This doesn’t mean that each performance has to be exactly alike (that’s pretty impossible), but it means that you can trust others to help you make it work and to try not to throw in unexpected changes on a whim.

When I feel pretty good about preparation, then I really just try to enjoy the performance, because if you aren’t doing that, #1 probably no one except your loyal family is going to enjoy it and #2, what the heck are you doing it for if not to satisfy some basic joy of the experience?!*??

Knowing the principles of Power, Path, and Performance is a life-saver for my singing stage fright but just having listened to the tapes in the past and practiced then is not going to be enough for a potential performance in less than a month. Neither will it be enough if I procrastinate till the week before, so I will now dust it off and get back to basics wishing that I had kept it up and not been idle. It will also help to know that other cast members will be using the same techniques and preparation. Of coarse, adequate rest, vitamins, being in shape, and a big bottle of water with lemon and cayenne pepper backstage also help!