As my anxiety before certain performance situations can be considered a form of stage fright, I have been looking at various studies about this fear, and recommended methods of overcoming it. The framework created for this research consists of three studies: two about different aspects of stage fright and one about mindfulness as a possible way of defeating anxiety. Sociology scholar Susie Scott describes the phenomenon of 'shy performativity' (Scott 2017:715), describing how people who claim to be shy in everyday life can oftentimes confidently perform on stage. Since I also have ambivalent feelings for performing myself, I was curious to see what Scott proposes as an explanation for this paradox. The other study is a summary of Buss' theory of audience anxiety by communication scholar Josep Ortiz. Buss' theory examines stage fright in relation to time, creating three categories: pre-performance anxiety, the fear during the first one-two minutes of the performance, and the level of anxiety for the rest of it (Ortiz 1988:1). Both of these studies recommend visualisation and relaxation techniques as a possibly effective treatments of stage fright.
I have tried to apply their ideas in the questionnaire I have created for self-evaluation. The third study is an interview conducted by Dr Kimberley Taylor with psychology scholar Dr Lizabeth Roemer, an expert of mindfulness techniques. They discuss about the different forms of anxiety, and the way practicing mindfulness can help facing our fears (Taylor with Roemer 2014).
Taylor starts the podcast by describing fear as one of the most visceral sensations of mankind that serves the purpose of protecting a person from possible dangers. Fear has several different types, and anxiety is one of these, which is, according to Taylor, 'an altered mode of flight or fight-mode' (Taylor with Roeman 2014). She also differentiates the seven types of anxiety, which are the following:
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder: anxiety is a signifaicant part of the patient's daily life, making it harder
- Specific Fobia: a fear of specific things or situations, has many different types
- Panic Disorder: the patient has regular panic attacks
- Social Anxiety: a type of fear that restrains the patient from calmly communicating with other people
- Obsessive Compulsice Disorder (OCD): the patient feels a constant urge to repeat specific actions that are usually self-harming
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): anxiety developing after a traumatic event
- Separation Anxiety Disorder: the patient experiences anxiety because they have been separated from something (a place, a person etc.) that provided the feeling of safety for them
Stage fright falls mostly under the categories of social anxiety and specific fobia, but the reason of its development can vary from person to person. Roemer describes anxiety as the 'overactive attempt of our bodies to protect us' by setting 'an internal habit of being constantly on guard' (Roemer with Taylor 2014). There are a lot of common symptoms in these different kinds of anxieties, for instance sweating, dry mouth, increased heartrate or trembling voice etc., but these can also be individually different.
According to Roemer, people tend to treat their anxiety in a self-critical way, and they try to suppress it (Roemer with Taylor 2014). However, this ignorance makes anxiety even worse in a longer term. She describes mindfulness as a technique that helps sustaining attention on the present moment in a non-judgemental and compassionate way (2014). As such, observing an anxious moment through a mindful perspective includes accepting the feeling of nervousness, too, without generating further negative feelings about it. This is often difficult to do, and it will not provide a direct solution for the problem. However, as Roemer says, practicing mindfulness regularly can help the patient to tolerate their anxiety, and to look for other emotions lying underneath that feeling (2014). Therefore, patients may start wondering what it is that they are really afraid of. As Roemer concludes, people's lives are so busy these days that they usually do not stop to question how they are feeling, and why. Mindfulness can help them to be more open towards themselves (2014).
Scott's writing supports the idea that confident public performance and shyness in everyday situations might be compatible traits of a person. She also describes 'shy performance as a voluntary risk-taking action' (Scott 2017:715), as people with such a personality are often driven by the thrill of overcoming their fear while performing. She claims that such people often have a 'love-hate relationship with social (in)visibility' (2017:716). I could recognise my traits in this essay, and I started wondering why I have never come across a description like that before. There is, I believe, a general pre-conceived idea about performers, that they are extroverted and somewhat exhibitionist types of people, even though sometimes - and possibly more often than people think - this belief is groundless.
Scott states that performing requires a change in self-consciousness, which she explains through the concept of the Meadian social self (2017:716). The social self consists of "I" and "Me": the confident performer "I" only appears when the self-critical and naturally shy "Me" recedes. In other words, it is only possible to get immersed in the experience of performing when the critical self is ignored. However, this critical part of a person may cause several difficulties before, during or even after the performance:
- It may cause pre-performance stage fright that is difficult to overcome. Different meditation techniques and ritual-like "mental warmups" are widely used in sake of defeating this fear, and help transitioning into the flow of performing (2017:723).
- It can also make the performer "come out of character" (2017:725). This means that due to some unexpected event during the performance, the performer suddenly starts to doubt their competence, feeling detached from what they were doing, and stopping the flow of their performance experience. This can happen several times throughout, and getting back to the role of the performer is sometimes challenging.
- She also explains the phenomenon of exiting the role: when the performer comes offstage and the critical "Me" becomes the dominant self again - sometimes overly criticising the event.
Scott concludes that performing can also become a 'liberation from shyness' (2017:727), as another part of the self is being displayed onstage than the one causing self-doubts. This reduces the performer's sense of exposure and vulnerability. She also adds that by gaining routine in performing people get used to it, consequently making the symptoms of stage fright lighter (2017:727).
The author summarises Arnold Buss' theory of audience anxiety. While the examples in this writing are given by reference to public speaking, and provide advice for students struggling with giving a speech, the ideas are mostly applicable to any sort of performance situation.
Interestingly, this theory divides stage fright to time frames, creating the following categories:
- Feeling anxious from days to moments before a performance (pre-performance anxiety)
This stage of anxiety is the hardest to cope with (Ortiz 1988:6). Buss states that it is caused by the uncertainty of how well one is going to perform, as well as the underlying, ultimate fear of embarassment.
- Stage fright during the first one-two minutes of the performance
This is the part where stage fright usually peaks. The performer recognises that they are being observed and possibly judged, which can cause a feeling of unease, restraining the performance. Referring to Scott's theory, the self-criticising "Me" might be more prominent here.
- Anxiety through the rest of the performance
If the performer manages to get into the state of flow (concept by Csíkszentmihályi), stage fright and anxiety might dissolve.