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Vincent V. Loyal user 204 Posts |
I get very nervous before and while performing mentalism; will I eventually lose all this fear if I keep performing? Do some of you have gotten to the point where you don't feel nervous at all? I think this is an important subject to think about. The less fear we can get while performing the better will be our performances.
Thanks brothers. |
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George Hunter Inner circle 2013 Posts |
Vincent:
Your good question has probably been reflected upon more in rhetorical theory and performance theory than in magic-related literature, but the following insights may be useful. 1. You need to experience enough performance anxiety, which stimulates adrenaline, to be sufficiently "up" for the performance. From that perspective, you don't want to be completely relaxed and stress-free, BUT you don't want so much stress that your best mind is not available to you in the performance. 2. One way to manage the stress level is through thorough and redundant preparation; you don't want to have to think very much about your next line or your next move. 3. The other is to pour yourself into the role, and to become much more interested in your message than yourself, and in what you want your audience to experience rather than you are about their impressions of you. Easier said than done, of course, but I think that is kind of what Cicero would say. I will be interested in the other responses you receive.. George |
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Jamie D Inner circle Ontario, Canada 2292 Posts |
This has been discussed a few times here but for me personally, they go away after the first effect has started. That being said, there are certain performances that tend to make me more nervous then others, such as stage shows as it's not really my thing. I prefer parlour/close up as that's where I personally feel I "shine". Altgough, if I'm trying something new or if it's for a possible client and it's off the cuff, then the nerves are there but that's why I practice till I beat the effect to death. I have a friend in the music business and the one piece of advice he gave me that I'll never forget was that there will always be someone just a good as you or even better. Yes, you need to strive to be the best but it's not always a competition. It's finding what you excell at rather then trying to do it all and be the next DB or whoever.
Ever since I've taken his advice, things have never been better. I've completely changed my performance, it's MY show and I perform what I'm good at which makes me feel comfortable while performing. Also, this adds confidence which in this business, can make or break you. You need to ask yourself, is it all nerves because your in front of an audience? Or is it because part of you is lacking confidence which is adding to the nerves. Getting out there and performing as much as possible will help as well, take the opportunities when they arise and have fun. This advice may not work for everyone but it has worked for me and I hope you can get something out of it. Practice, confidence perform. All the best.
Twitter @darjames
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
It's a perfect question. I've had stage nerves my entire performing career -- which started in 1987. It got so bad around the late 1990's that I actually refused to do all stage adult shows. I was fine performing for kids -- no matter how many were in the audience. I was also fine doing close-up and parlor. But performing on-stage for adults got to be such a huge fear that I simply stopped doing adult shows.
As a result, I got very good at close-up, parlor and got very good at stage shows for children. I wound up performing at children's festivals all over the place. Inside, though, I knew I was a chicken. Since I do this for a living, eventually I had to face down my fears or be ruled by them. Performing stage shows for adults is where the money is and I realized that I was letting fear limit where I could go with my career. So one day, after over two years of not performing onstage for adults, I decided enough was enough and I started doing adult shows again. I had this idea that if I faced my fears head on, they would have to go away. No such luck. They got much worse. My family knew better than to talk to me on a show day. I was one big miserable tense black cloud. Don't misunderstand. There were never any nerves AFTER the show started. I was always cool and comfortable -- but in the hours before a show? Oi! I really was very difficult to live with. I was doing comedy magic in those days and being cool and confident was critical. I found out it was even MORE critical after I started performing mentalism...and that, since I had no props to hide behind...no tuh-DUM moments and music...it really was much more about just me on-stage. The nerves got worse than ever. Again -- when I actually started the shows I was fine. I'd resigned myself to accepting nerves as part of the performing process. Which sucked. It super-sucked, actually. Of course, no one talks about stage fright among their peers, right? On the Master Mindreader forum I decided to raise the issue, thinking that maybe someone somewhere had an answer. Going through stark terror four or five times a week was a very hard way to make a living. Bob Cassidy told me that I was nervous because I wasn't properly prepared. This seemed like a particularly snotty and ill-informed thing to say. I am, and always have been, the single most anal performer I know. I check and recheck props. I worry every little detail, think and re-think the running order, etc. But you know something? Bob was right. I was fixated on my props...not my show. I was concentrating on what I was planning to do instead of who I was. This gave me about 50% less stress. I just relaxed, visualized myself going through the routines and stringing them together in the context of a show, anticipated every possible thing that could go wrong and reminding myself that I could handle it if/when something didn't work right. Sure enough: if a routine didn't work the way it was supposed to, I realized that the fate of civilization as we know it wasn't actually hanging in the balance and that the show could, in fact be BETTER with the proper management. The final piece of the solution came when Richard Osterlind, writing a foreword to our Pendulum Masterworks book, talked in depth about a performer really entering into the role of a mentalist...REALLY BELIEVING he was reading minds when he was performing and completely "forgetting" about the method. It made perfect sense to me. There was almost an audible click in my mind when I combined the two pieces of advice. Stage fright disappeared forever. Instantly. After a mere 20+ years of performing, I finally understood it. Now I am certainly focused on show days...but I simply don't feel the stage fright I used to have. There's an anticipation, of course, and a real desire to get onto the stage and do what I do. Preparation. Visualization. Focus on what you're doing and why you're doing it. Enter into the character and the show...commit to it. That's what ended stage fright for me. I very sincerely hope this is helpful, Vincent. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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Ben Blau Inner circle 1475 Posts |
You may have an anxiety disorder. Such things can be incredibly complex to diagnose and manage. If it is a legitimate anxiety disorder, it is unlikely that a piece of advice given by a stranger on a message board will resolve the issue. I'm not trying to be cruel, nor am I trying to imply that the advice given thus far isn't worthwhile. All I am saying is that when you are clinically sick from anxiety, it usually requires a lot of work over a long period of time to find the way out. For some, it is a lifelong struggle that can only be managed, not "cured."
Ben Blau
http://www.benblaumentalism.com |
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Doc Ben Loyal user Phoenix, AZ 261 Posts |
Even many great actors had issues of never getting over "stage fright".....except during their performance. For example, if you ever saw one of the original and most popular players of Sherlock Holmes in the movies, Basil Rathbone, would you not think he appearedd sublimely "cool", controlled and aloof as the intellectual detective/ genious. My understanding from a report years ago was that Basil Rathbone had extreme anxiety right up to the time he walkedon a stage or on the set to perform,....to the point of nausea, sometimes vomiting and almost parlyzed with anxiety.....until he walked out and "BECAME" Sherlock Holmes...!
So, all of that to suggest,....practice and perform frequently enough, that once you step out and INTO your character, it will all go smoothy. I used to do a menta act in which I very much used the patter of Robert Nelson, but delivered with the style, affect and attitude of Dunninger, who was one of my earliest idols as seen on his weekly TV show. It worked for me. Best wishes in your performance journey, Bill Meeker ("Doc Ben")
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" (the original F. Baum)
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twistedace Inner circle philadelphia 3772 Posts |
It goes away with time and experience. My best advice is to choose an easy, bulletproof routine and perform it as many times for as many people as possible in a week. The nice thing about Mindreading is "it doesn't always work". It's easier to use that excuse (if you really get messed up) in mentalism than in magic.
Nothing will get you over your nerves more than performing consistently. |
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Energizer Special user A well known funeral palour 582 Posts |
Daily meditation and mindfulness training. Nothing will get you over your nerves across different contexts more consistently than this.
I saw on TV a guy who was able to swim with Bull sharks (a species of shark that can detect a racing heart). It was essential that he controlled his fear in this situation. He prepared by learning to meditate (which is about developing a new relationship with your thoughts and feelings). There's plenty of books on the subject, with CD's to help you train and tame your mind. Quote:
On Mar 24, 2014, Ben Blau wrote: Yes, although I understand you can start noticing the benefits of meditation within a week or two. But you have to keep practicing, and it's not a technique but a way of life.
"We judge a book by its cover and read what we want between selected lines" - W. Axl Rose, circa 1992.
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Anthony Jacquin Inner circle UK 2220 Posts |
Great post David. Some fantastic information in what allowed this change to happen and remain.
I advise you respectfully ignore the post suggesting these anxiety problems are possibly a disorder, deep and complex and unlikely to change through considering a post on a message board. They are just like any other learnt behaviour, that is accompanied by the sense it is automatic. Useful elsewhere. Being honest normally works. The anxiety might take the imagined form of a belief you have. Either way like bubbles they can be burst by a better idea. Thanks for posting. Anthony
Anthony Jacquin
Reality is Plastic! The Art of Impromptu Hypnosis Updated for 2016 Now on Kindle and Audible! |
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
The most important thing is to be thoroughly prepared. Master your methods to the point where you don't need to think about them.
Don't refer to those feelings as fear- think of them as excitement and anticipation. Stay focused on the task at hand and trust yourself to do a good job. Realize that it's only a show, after all, and not a combat mission. Remember that the stage is YOUR office, YOUR turf, YOUR home. Love your audience and remind yourself how much you love them before you take the stage. And, finally, remember that performing is an exhilarating experience and not a test. Performing is FUN, so remember to enjoy yourself and let that enjoyment show. (And always check your fly.) Good thoughts, Bob |
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Christ80 New user 17 Posts |
I had same feeling when I was singing with my rock band some years ago.
The first concert I was scarred , but the last was great and enjoyed myself a lot witch comunicate to the audience. the fear needs to be canalized not disapeared. Easy to said , a little bit more difficult to achieve but it's great to take some risks |
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
I work with CEO's and business people on regular basis who have fears about presenting. Sometimes there is a lot at stake. I also work with professional sports people like golfers and now footballers who all suffer from the same thing. Ive also worked with champion athletes.- is
Performance anxiety is relatively easy to sort out. All it really is that a part of you has unconsciously has marked out the act of performing in front of people as being dangerous. Unfortunately our nervous systems have mechanisms to deal with danger that date back to cave man days when the only dangers we faced were physical threats in other words we we had to escape an attack or fight back the advances of a wild animal or neighboring tribe. The "fight or flight" response is really a way the mind and body prepares itself for intense physical action. It pumps adrenaline into the larger muscle groups switches off the ability to think changes your breathing etc. Its getting you ready to get out of there! it also becomes a stuck state as the very act of thinking about performing becomes a trigger for the state. The other thing you have to be aware off is that this trigger can sometimes be extended to other events such as social gatherings etc. So it can spread to other contexts and your world can become smaller over time. There are a number of ways you can deal with it. One is basic hypnosis. IE relaxed state and mental rehearsal of learning, preparing and performing the way you want to be then a post hypnotic suggestion that conditions a new trigger to a different more appropriate "level of arousal". In other words mental rehearsal in a relaxed state will in most cases solve the problem. Below you will see a link to an mp3 programme I created years ago based on one I created for myself to get over stage fright when I first started performing. Lost count the number of clients have used it. A few people on here have used it to. It also has a recovery strategy built in so that you automatically recover from any mistakes. Try it out give it a couple of days and you will start to see a difference after a week or two your problem will have been more or less sorted. Money back if it doesn't work....its not expensive its the bottom link "hypnotic presentations" |
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Gerry Hennessey Special user 852 Posts |
Excellent topic Vincent and a very important one.
I would echo Anthony's comment of respectfully ignoring the suggestion of an anxiety disorder, lest it send you down an unnecessary path of enquiry. We all have experienced the same thing i.e. fear of performance. As an actor, there are usually two parts to my fear and both occur at auditions. One is the audition waiting room where you spend your personal prep time with all the other actors auditioning for the same role. To screen out the incessant nervous actor chatter I wear headphones ( unplugged) to dissuade others from engaging me in distracting conversation, allowing me to focus on the character required. The second part is known as "the room", where you are now facing possibly a casting director, director , writer, producer, reader, cameraman and various assistants. At that time it is only if I have fully assumed the character role that fear disappears. The same would apply to your performances I.e. becoming the mentalist and to the appropriate degree believing that's who you are, will help dispel fear. Bob's advice as always is golden and there are many other nuggets of wisdom strewn throughout this thread. Having been on set and seen Academy Award Winners, fluff their lines, was a great reminder to me that even those at the height of success in the industry are all too human. As again Bob states, this is not a combat mission, so be kind to yourself and recognise that you are not alone in dealing with an issue that affects all of us from time to time. The answers you seek have I'm sure already been posted and no doubt other wisdom will follow.
"Every discipline effects every other discipline. You can't straighten out the corporation if your closet is a mess" Jim Rohn
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mindpunisher Inner circle 6132 Posts |
Basic hypnosis every time. You need to be "conditioned". No amount of info will actually help just like no amount of info around workouts will help unless you get into the gym and workout.
Get yourself a good mp3 recording start conditioning yourself its so easy. pretty soon you will be relaxed and you will be able to access all your best patter and abilities to perform instead of having part of you trying to get you to run away. The poster above uses rehearsal to imagine being the part of whatever hes auditioning for. Use a recording to relax and guide you its so easy. |
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Scott Soloff Special user Philadelphia, PA 960 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 25, 2014, mastermindreader wrote: Vincent, When it comes to stage fright, everyone is a little different. For example, Al Jolson had it so bad that he had to be pushed on stage (and then you couldn't get him off). Bob hit the nail on the head... Performing is exhilarating and fun. There is no place that I would rather be. Obviously, you want to be up there performing or you wouldn't do it. So, in my thinking, you have to reframe the experience. This is my suggestion (and what I personally do): Walk out on stage. Before you open your mouth and say a single word, scan the audience from left to right, look people right in their eyes. Then smile! Then, your opening remarks. This accomplishes a couple of things: You establish both rapport (believe it or not) and control. There is one other significant thing that you can do: Tell your 'story' at the beginning of your set (I tell mine two-thirds through). This will help you to relax and establish even greater rapport with your audience. Last, but not least, is have FUN. Literally. Invite people up to the stage (when a routine requires it), shake their hand, introduce yourself, make jokes, have a good time! Anyway, best of luck dude. Let us know how you make out. Best wishes, Scott
'Curiouser and curiouser."
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geraldbelton New user Durham, NC 63 Posts |
Speaking of Richard Osterlind... he always opens his show with "Bank Night." There's a throwaway gag in his presentation about the serial number of the hundred dollar bill. He says in his explanation that he spends the last few moments before going on stage memorizing the serial number, so that he won't have time to think about being nervous.
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John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12938 Posts |
Master what you are going to present. Most fear is a result of not being prepared and knowing it.
Don't think, "well I know this well enough I'll just wing the rest." uh, uh. Doesn't work like that. You can only wing it once you have mastered it, then all the winging is jazz mentalism. Then you can have fun. |
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Mark_Chandaue Inner circle Essex UK 4187 Posts |
Stage fright is unfortunately the price many of us have to pay for the pleasure of doing this. To say that it is an anxiety disorder is quite frankly laughable. It's a bit like walking into a cage full of lions, if you aren't at least a little scared you probably don't appreciate where you are.
Fear and excitement are different sides of the same coin they are both caused by the fight or flight response sending adrenaline through our system and shutting down all the stuff we don't need to run or fight. Whether it is fear or excitement is merely a case of framing. One minute we may be standing in line looking forward to the rush of riding that roller coaster, the next minute (literally if you perform in a theme park) you are waiting in the wings dreading walking onto that stage. What's the difference? Physically nothing, it's all a case of framing, we label the fear or death on the roller coaster as excitement and fear of failure or ridicule in front of an audience as stage fright. The thing with stage fright is it turns into stage excitement the moment we have said our opening line or performed our first effect and it makes you sharp. The buzz when you walk off stage is the same adrenaline high that you get on the roller coaster or a parachute jump (yes some of the venues I've worked the same feeling of being glad to survive too lol). Bobs advice of proper preparation is the key. For many the confidence in your preparation and the knowledge that you are well prepared and don't have to think about where and when to move, what to say, or how to perform the effects allows you to feel ready for anything thus reducing your stage fright. For others that preparation and rehearsal merely allows you to operate on auto pilot in those initial moments that stage fright still has a hold. Stage fright is manageable through good old fashioned rehearsal and mental preparation. Lack of preparation and rehearsal coupled with stage fright can be a recipe for disaster. Mark |
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Scott Burton Inner circle 1131 Posts |
Experience is the key. It may take years to be at a level of comfort that is acceptable for you but try to accept that as a normal thing that almost everyone must go through.
Also, take the time to appreciate how each performance feels a little better than the last. The next performance will be better. As with the next. And so on. Progress feels good. But you have to go outside that comfort zone for a while. |
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JonBarr New user New Mexico 73 Posts |
This is a great topic of discussion! So far, I have only been able to perform a handful of times and I have absolutely loved it, despite being deathly nervous.
And then afterwards, I want to review every moment and get tons of feedback on how I can improve. This is, I'm sure, very annoying to my family who thought just coming to the show was the extent of their commitment. When I got to perform a few weeks ago, I was really nervous and it showed, no matter how calm, cool, and collected I tried to be. I know I just need to power through and I'll get over it. I am a teacher and I used to get nervous standing up in front of a class, too. Interesting thing, at this last thing, when I would feign being in trouble, the audience really felt sorry for me. Which worked in my favor because when I managed to end the effect correctly, they were even more blown away! I refuse to settle for that, because I don't want to be a nervous guy who gets it right. I know in some near future, I won't be. But in the meantime, it's nice to know that they're on your side, you know? If they like you, they want you to get it right. You keep at it and walk through the fear and I'll do the same, brother! Sincerely, Jon Barr |
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