<p>Hello! to all of you</p>
<p>I love performing, i love the feeling of pleasing a crowd and conveying a character. etc.</p>
<p>But, for some reason, I always manage to get SO nervous before a show and sometimes when i sing i shake. but i still love it. and i don't know whyi get so nervous~? does anybody else get like that or am i lonesome</p>
<p>That happens to pretty much everyone at one time or another. You just have to learn to channel that energy into your performance instead of blocking it and getting a case of the shakeys. :) There's a great little book you should check out called A Soprano on Her Head by Eloise Ristad that might help you out a bit with that.</p>
<p>I never get nervous for shows anymore. I used to, but after around 40 shows with the local community theater, that all disappeared with time</p>
<p>I always tell my students to worry more if they AREN'T nervous! Seriously, as you perform more frequently, you'll learn how to make the nerves work for you instead of against you. Take every possible opportunity to perform -- even just getting up in front of friends at a party will help. You might also try some physical exercises right before you sing, just to burn off the excess energy. You'll still be nervous, but it won't show so much.</p>
<p>onstage, thank you for the comment! I see what you mean. For my auditions in february (past,) I ran a little bit and did jumping jacks. That definitely did help. If only i would have figured that out BEFORE the last audition haha. Are you a professor at a college? My friend goes to penn state for mt which, i really really commend her on. She was also telling me about channeling nerves into your performance.</p>
<p>I totally agree with doing a couple jumping jacks or maybe running up and down the hall or something. I used to get sooooo nervous but that would work. I know it probably gets old to hear, but it really does get better with time. I would've been the last person to believe that last year, but it seriously has worked, so just keep doing what you love!</p>
<p>haha i would definitely do that...IF i could. I am not going to a school with an amazing MT program (tulane.) great school, not a good mt department. so i might have to trasnfer. but i haven't had dance/acting in 4 years HEHE. soooo yes lol. i'm stuck as heck. but i have a drive to do well in musical theater. like a huge passion</p>
<p>Jeremy- my D has found that her nervousness has varied over time. She tends to get more nervous now than she did say 3 years ago, particular for auditions. The jump between children's parts and adult parts, both in auditions and performance means she has had to elevate the level of performance or at least what is demanded of her, so she has more to worry about. However, she also finds that she typically has a "break point" in her nerves a couple of hours before when she can regain focus and calm herself into character. Good for her, but for those living with her the prior to this "break" can be painful.
D and father have also worked with many actors in all sorts of locations and levels of professionalism, who have said that nerves up to the level of stage fright have ebbed and subsided through out their career. They have had to learn different and varied techniques over time to deal with it. So you are not alone.</p>
<p>Jeremybeach -- in answer to your question, I am an Equity performer, a voice teacher, and have coached quite a few students for MT college auditions. I also recently went through this whole process with my D, who is now going into her sophomore year at Syracuse. So I understand what you're going through from a lot of different angles!</p>