NERVES and me:

 

I was very shy as a child. Avoiding drawing attention to myself, I lost myself in my books and art projects. Gradually, I became more extroverted and began to enjoy performing. I loved the experience of making others laugh, the rush of performance and I found the craft of acting fascinating.

 

However, while in grad school for acting, I started struggling with performance anxiety. I kept thinking that if I received more and more training, my confidence would go up and my nerves would calm down. Alas...

 

Post grad school, I was performing in plays, commercials and films. During the run of one particular new play, things became very uncomfortable for me. At first glance, everything was great! The show opened  - I had a comedic part that was a fantastic fit for me,  wonderful audience response and terrific reviews.

 

However, every day before the show, I was overcome with stomach pain. Taking antacids didn't ease my distress. I decided that I must have ongoing food poisoning. Yet, my husband was eating the exact same things as me and was perfectly well. Hmmm..

 

After suffering in agony for much of the run of the play, I finally had to admit to myself, that despite the fact that I had years of training and performing under my belt, I had STAGE FRIGHT.

 

WHAT?!?

 

This terrible feeling of butterflies punching me in the stomach was robbing me of my joy.

 

I also realized that the process of managing performance anxiety was its own skill set, separate from the acting training I had received.

 

Determined to face this STRESS head-on,  I read all I could and experimented with various strategies, many of which were immensely helpful.

 

So, I get it! I've been there!

 

I am excited to share what I have learned with you, so you won't hate butterflies and will not allow fear to limit you.