How an Actor Deals with Stage Fright

By Kimberly Swoish
Period 4 ERWC
Submitted 10.14.16

Table of Contents
I. Part One: Description Page 2
II. Part Two: Research Page 3
III. Part Three: Reflection Page 6
IV. Part Four: Works Cited .. Page 9
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V. Part Five: Annotated Bibliography Page 10

Part One: Description

For my senior project, I am assistant directing the first semester Play Production show in

the MUR. In August of 2016, it was decided that the show I would be assistant directing would

be Flowers for Algernon. After the play was decided, we had read the play in class and held

auditions for the characters. What I will use to determine who gets what role is characterization,
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creativity for how they portray the role, and self confidence for each role. After the roles are cast,

we will read the script again as our characters onstage. Next we will work on blocking the show.

I am very excited for this part because this is when we see where each character and object is and

the very beginning of bringing a show to life. After blocking is finished, we will work in

costumes and props and constantly run the show. Finally, we will run our tech rehearsals and

perform the show. We began working on Flowers for Algernon starting the second week of

school, and we will be working on the show up until the closing night of Flowers for Algernon

on December 3, 2016.

I believe my motivation, dedication, and hard work to assistant directing will help with

achieving the completion of the play. I am anticipating some difficulties during the process, such

as the actors not properly going over their lines and cues, costumes and props being lost or

broken, and during tech rehearsals/show nights, any actors who become ill or injured. The

biggest difficulty I may face is if an actor doesnt meet the 2.0 GPA requirement, then I have to

tell them they cant perform and I will have to figure out what to do with the part they previously

had if they are not double cast. I personally would hate having to have to do this to an actor, but I

am hoping that this will not happen. What I think I can do to help overcome these difficulties is

by making the actors learn all of their lines by a certain date, plan out costumes and props as

early as possible to make sure nothing happens or if something is broken, we can have the time

to fix it, and help motivate the actors do as well in their academics as they do in their

performances.

Part Two: Research

For my senior project, I decided to look into the psychology of stage fright and public

speaking to understand why some people are perfectly fine with it while others are

uncomfortable with it. Stage fright and public speaking is listed as the number one fear in
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America, beating out death and social situations. (Statistic Brain, Online). As a performer, I

enjoy being onstage and entertaining others, while a majority of others would rather do anything

else. I am researching this in hope that I can understand why individuals have this fear, as well as

to help my cast in the show I am directing have full character and let everything go. I want them

to understand that its perfectly fine to do something humorous in an audience and that nothing

bad will happen if theres a slip up. I believe researching stage fright and public speaking will not

only help the actors fully develop into their characters and perform to the best of their ability, but

also those around me in other scenarios who are terrified to make a speech for something. If they

can help psych themselves out and convince themselves they will do just fine, then they will be

able to overcome any difficulty they have developed with this fear.

During my research, I read an article on The Guardian titled Stephen Fry, Stage Fright,

and How to Avoid it by Matt Trueman, a journalist for the online magazine. In this article, he

interviews actor Stephen Fry, a man who is performing in Twelfth Night at Shakespeares Globe

theatre. This performance was Frys first time performing on a stage in seventeen years after

being three performances into a production of Cell Mates and disappeared during the show due

to his stage fright. The fear of performing again scared him so much that Fry announced he

would not be returning to the production or, indeed, to acting and resulted in him turning up

days later, after an aborted suicide attempt, in Bruges. Though later diagnosed as bipolar, Fry had

succumbed to what Laurence Olivier dubbed "the actor's nightmare": stage fright. (Trueman

Online). He then explains how stage fright can come at any time during a show, and once you get

it, it doesnt actually leave. The symptoms of stage fright sweating, trembling, palpitations

are typical of a surge in adrenaline. The stricken actor seizes up, both physically and mentally;

the mouth goes dry, breathing becomes short and shallow, vision blurs and concentration

evaporates. In extreme cases, it can trigger vomiting and diarrhoea. And no one's going to go on
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after that. (Trueman Online). Then the article finally shows how different actors had dealt with

stage fright, and how you can either overcome it or let it overcome you. The article then

concludes how Performers are often at their best when theres a little bit of tension and how

stage fright doesnt only tear down a performer, but can also help them with their performance.

In my project, I can use this as a way to help explain to the actors that its okay if they

feel nervous every time they perform, whether its before or after the performance. Its absolutely

normal if they do feel scared, and use the adrenaline you get from that feeling in your

performance to make it seem more real. Also, we can discuss the different ways that each actor

develops stage fright and how they can use it to improve their performance. Even though stage

fright is viewed negatively, this article shows that there are possible ways to make stage fright

into a positive use.

The next article I read was titled Stage Fright: Examples & Lessons From Famous

Sufferers on the website for New York Film Academy, a school for those who plan to pursue a

career in film, acting, and photography. This article was written Eugene Farber, a publicist who

works for the school. In this article, Farber starts off with saying that the day you perform has

arrived and all of sudden, you become nervous about your performance. Stage fright or

performance anxiety is something you should be prepared for so that you can deal with it when

it happens, or possibly even prevent it happening altogether. (Farber Online). He then tells us

that its not something that just happens to beginners and the most famous of actors have had

to cope with it, on stage, in front of their audiences, ad libbing their way until their lines come

back to them. (Farber Online). To prove his point, he lists some well known actors who had

developed stage fright and how they were able to deal with it or overcome it. Some of the people

he names are Jim Carrey, Kim Cattrall, and William Shatner. In each example of a celebrity,

there is a video of the performance or an interview in which their stage fright was shown or
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explained. He concludes the article with some relaxation techniques that can help an actor deal

with their stage fright.

This article made me realize something that should have been obvious in the beginning:

even well known actors & performers get stage fright. Stage fright happens to everyone, even to

the best of the best. This information can be used in my senior project to let some of the actors

understand that its okay that if they have nerves and they can overcome it. If someone like Jim

Carrey can overcome stage fright, than they can do it as well. This article is also helpful because

some of the relaxing techniques can help the actors help calm any nerves that they have. Maybe

they cant overcome it completely, but any little bit helps.

The final essay is from Ithaca College titled Performance Anxiety: Resolving the

Conflicts and is by Steven Mauk, a music professor at the school. This article is about ways you

can deal with stage fright if you have it. He first starts off with saying most performers have dealt

with stage fright at one point or another. This malady is known by many names (such as stage

fright, nerves, and the shakes), but it always leads to errors in performance. (Mauk, Online).

He then tells us that a friend named Larry Teal once told him If you have prepared properly,

there is no reason to be nervous. After that, he explains some of the symptoms of stage fright,

such as self-doubt, a dry mouth, and lack of confidence. He then says what causes stage fright,

and the most common cause is fear of failure. As Larry Teal suggested, lack of preparation can

lead to nervousness during a performance. (Mauk Online). He concludes the paper with notes

the different cures there is for stage fright depending on the way you handle it. Within his

conclusion, he states that there are no actual cures for stage fright and his cures are really

suggestions.

This paper was useful in my research because this article is the basis of where I could

actually begin my research. The symptoms & causes of stage fright can affect people in many
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ways, so possibly giving this document to some of the actors who need it could be helpful for

them. Also, if it becomes very clear that many actors are getting too nervous before they go

onstage, we can test these out to see if they work. Even if stage fright can help them out with that

bit of tension in them, too much could possibly mess up their performance.

I learned that stage fright is inevitable and there really is no way to avoid it. Although

stage fright is viewed negatively by everyone, we need to view it in more positive way and

accept the fact that it happens to all of us and we need to embrace it. I plan to use this in my

senior project to help the other actors calm down and help them reach their full potential and do

the best that they can. As well as this, I would like to help those who are not comfortable with

speaking publicly overcome their fear. Overall, no matter how someone develops stage fright,

there are many ways to deal with it and overcome it.

Part Three: Reflection

Things in my senior project so far are going pretty well, but its much more stressful than

I imagined. As of now, the first act of the show has been blocked and the cast should know their

lines for the first act of the show. The part of the process that I have been most nervous about

was blocking the show, as even though I have the set plans, I do not know what the set will

actually look like until I see it. Not being 100% certain of where everything is going to be is

terrifying, but it is going well so far. Another thing that was a bit difficult was casting the show.

Auditions for Flowers for Algernon took two weeks, and it was a bit nerve-wracking to figure

out what parts should be given to which actors and double casting it. However, it all went well

and I think it will turn out great. Overall, the process of assistant directing is much more

challenging than I thought, but I think everything is going well and the show will be great.

There are quite a few strengths in my senior project. As mentioned before, the casting

was a tough call to make, but we were able to do it. I was lucky to be given a cast in which every
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actor fits the role they are given, as well as being able to double cast them. Double casting is

always a tough thing to do, because the actors want to perform as much as they can. However,

with a big class and a small amount of characters, it needed to be done. The plus side of double

casting is everyone will get to perform and if something happens to an actor, they have a backup

to perform for them. Another strength is that since this is a play, there is a lot of creativity that

goes into it. Since Flowers for Algernon takes place in 1960, we can have some fun with

developing character, personalities, and even down to the props that we can use. However, not

knowing very much about 1960 or the 1960s in general makes this a bit of a challenge.The

challenge of getting to do this with the play is a fun challenge.

There are only a couple problems that come with assistant directing, and one of those

problems is just a part of this play in particular. Flowers for Algernon follows the story of

Charlie Gordon, a 32-year old mentally challenged man who just wants to be smart. The

challenge with an actor portraying someone who is mentally challenged is the sensitivity of the

audience. The actor portraying Charlie needs to keep in mind that there are people who do suffer

from disabilities and he needs to be careful of how he portrays him. He needs to understand that

the smallest thing can make someone in the audience feel offended due to the fact that the actor

is not mentally challenged and can over do it very easily. How this can be solved is really just by

the actor doing his homework. He needs to research the disability that Charlie has and research

how people with his disability and mental capacity react to things. He also needs to practice this

often, especially when we run it during a rehearsal so we can let him know if hes doing well or

pushing it too far. If done right, this part can be portrayed very well and can draw the audience

more into the play as opposed to being insulted by the portrayal of having a disability.

The only other problem that is with this show is the fact that we have only been able to

accomplish raw blocking as of now. Blocking, for me, is the most difficult part of putting on a
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show because everything needs to work out with the set up for the show to run smoothly. We

have been able to block the first act of the show, but the trouble with blocking is nothing is

permanent. We have to just assume everything will go as planned, but there is no guaruntee and

thats terrifying if we find out last minute. The only thing we can do if the blocking is an issue is

adjust it when we know for sure what is what.

Overall, I think my project is going well. Im still nervous about putting on a show

together, but hopefully everything will grow as planned. Its exciting to get to assistant direct

because it expands your views on how a show is put together and makes you appreciate a little

bit more about what goes into it. The amount of work that goes into assistant directing is much

more than anything I could ever anticipate, but it will all be worth it when it reaches opening

night. Even though it will be exciting to see how this production of Flowers for Algernon turns

out, but I cant wait for it to happen.

Part Four: Works Cited

1.) Eugene.Stage Fright: Examples & Lessons From Famous Sufferers. New York
Film Academy. July 1, 2014. Online.

2.) Mauk, Steven. Performance Anxiety: Resolving the Conflicts. Ithaca College.
Unknown. PDF file.

3.) Trueman, Matt. Stephen Fry, Stage Fright and How to Avoid it. The Guardian.
2012. Online.
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Part Five: Annotated Bibliography

Esposito, Janet. Conquering Stage Fright. Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Unknown. Online.

This article is about how stage fright is a form of social anxiety and how there are ways

to help overcome it. The author explains how other people tend to deal with their stage fright or

anxiety and which methods to avoid. She then ends it off with a list of ten tips to help overcome

stage fright. This article is biased because at the very end it says she overcame her own fear of
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public speaking and she most likely used these techniques to overcome it. While they may have

worked for her, they may not work on everyone.

Eugene.Stage Fright: Examples & Lessons From Famous Sufferers. New York Film Academy.

July 1, 2014. Online.

This article shows how some of the most well known actors also go through stage fright

and how they are able to confront it face to face. They also admit throughout videos what

particular moment made them terrified either during or their performance. The article is wrapped

up with the New York Film Academy giving their relaxation tips in order to help you overcome

stage fright. There is bias in the article in the relaxation tips because for some people, none of

those tips will help them & they will still be terrified.

Hagen, Susan. Reframing Stress: Stage Fright Can Be Your Friend. University of Rochester.

April 8, 2013.

This article is about how we have fear before performing or public speaking because we

are stressed out. The stress is a way to let our brain know that we are preparing for an on-demand

situation. The university then performs an experiment to show how people react whether they are

prepared or not. The result ends up in how everyone has nerves before speaking or performing.

The bias is that everyone has nerves and possibly gets nervous before speaking or performing, in

which I agree with the statement.

Mauk, Steven. Performance Anxiety: Resolving the Conflicts. Ithaca College. Unknown.

PDF file.

This PDF file explains how every performer at one point or another has had stage fright

and what the symptoms & cures for each symptom. He also explains the possible causes for
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developing stage fright. He hen explains at the end that it is normal for a performer to feel

nervous before a show, bu it does not mean that they have stage fright. The author has a little bit

of bias as he explains what he thinks are cures for stage fright.

Trueman, Matt. Stephen Fry, Stage Fright and How to Avoid it. The Guardian. 2012. Online.

This article is about how Stephen Fry has decided to perform on stage for the first time

after his stage fright led him to flee the show and the country. Throughout the article, there are

other actors who express what stage fright is really like and how it can hit you at any time but

doesnt go away. The article ends with explaining how everyone, even those who perform but

arent actors, will go through some sort of stage fright and we all will react to it differently. There

is a slight bias in this article because at the end, the author states that performers are best when

they are tense, but that is not always true.

Woody, Robert H. Stage Fright: What to Do When the Problem is You. Psychology Today.

August 5, 2013, Online.

This article explains how a possible source of you having stage fright could be yourself.

It also states that once you figure out what the cause of your stage fright is, you can then

overcome it. Even though this an article for musicians who have stage fright, it works for all

performers because we all feel the same nerves. The bias to me is how mostly focus on a

musician having stage fright but doesnt view all performers as having stage fright.
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