Any ideas on how to help my students cope with stage fright?

Question

I just started teaching music / theatre at a private school grades K-11, and private voice lessons a year ago. When it comes to stage fright, I have no idea how to help my students overcome it. I never had stage fright, I love getting in front of an audience, so I can't relate to it in any way. I've tried words of encouragement, but that doesn't help. Any ideas?

Thanks for all your ideas! I appreciate the help! :)

Answer 1

Relaxetion and breathing excersises. That hepls me a lot, and after the second Aria I feel like a fish in a water.

Break a Leg!

Answer 2

Practice without an audience first. Then a good way to get someone used to the idea of an audience is to have an audience who is much younger watch first. Stage fright is usually a result of being afraid of what your peers or older people think, but young children are usually easily entertained by anything and will even think mistakes are great. If you are teaching kindergartners, I don't know how you can get a younger audience, so maybe it would be great just to stay very positive and give them praise and rewards even for making an attempt, so they will want to try again. Stickers would probably work.

Answer 3

1. Thorough preparation of the piece they will perform.
2. Find important things in the music to attach your focus on.
What do you want your audience to hear?
3. Understand that nervousity is a very normal condition AND that you can use it to improve your performance. Don't try to ignore or suppress it, it doesn't work.
4. Some of the fright comes from your own scared ideas of what other people might think of you. These thoughts are very often very exaggerated and sometimes it's good to remind oneself of "what is the worst that can happen","will somebody die?".
5. A good training in breathing usually helps a lot! Try meditation och tai chi or just plain naps in the afternoon.
6. I usually spend an hour before the performance going through the entire piece IN MY HEAD. Remember the tricky parts and so on.
7. HAVE FUN WHEN PERFORMING. If you don't enjoy it, noone else will either.

Answer 4

I believe nothing substitutes for a good performance that you are happy with. Primarily, your performance must be good, or you probably have a really good reason for feeling stage fright.

I would have to say that the performer needs to be comfortable with performing pieces to do well at them. What constitutes comfort for each individual probably varies, and that is the teacher's talent at work in the beginning, when learning, and especially right before performing. With me, I need to be light-hearted, with no seriousness. This goes beyond encouragement...to an egoless philosophy on the part of the teacher that the performer is primarily a human being, placed in an extraordinary circumstance. With me, humor is the only bridge back to comfort from this type of fright.

Answer 5

Practice, practice, practice. Have them sing in front of each other, their friends, their families, other teachers at the school, and anyone you can lay your hands on!

Additionally, there is much non-scientific evidence that eating a banana about an hour before a performance can have similar calming effects to the beta blockers that many pros with stage fright use, but without being a drug!

Answer 6

the following will help not only with stage fright but will also be useful to help them stay calm and balanced in anxiety provoking situations, generally. it does require a bit of discipline and dedication, however. namely, whatever tends to balance out and calm the internal energy system--that would include meditation, yoga, tai chi, reiki, etc. after a while the sympathetic nervous system calms down, and the usual triggers to an anxious response no longer have effect. what a treat! also there is a website that actually provides appropriate "vibes" online, believe it or not, to help with meditation and energy system balancing: www.sahajayoga.com. all of these supports are way better than pills, etc. also, regular exercise is always a big aid. good luck

Answer 7

Yeah besides the first thing that comes to mind- practicing- practice on stage. And remind them constantly that "every dancer, every singer, every actor/actress gets nervous before they go on stage, it's a fact & completly normal. But when your onstage the lights are so bright all you can see is the stage and the space inbetween the stage and frontrow seats!! And once you hear the music you'll know exactly what to do, it'll come almost natural to anyone!" I hope this helps!!

Answer 8

Have them practice ALOT before they go on stage. Also not looking at someone in the face helps to. Just find on spot on the wall to look at.

Answer 9

It's a lot like the first time you rode a roller coaster. You were scared to death and really struggled to get on but once it was over you ran back to get in line again.

Answer 10

Practice a lot -- in front of a mirror, a friend, parents, anyone supportive. Anyone and everyone. It helps if they know their act backwards and forwards.