STAGE FRIGHT & THE JOY of PLAY

By Joya Cory

Out of 13 attitudes and principles that are helpful for creating improvisational theater and other art / life activities, here are my first three:

1. Trust your own impulses and intuition and don't worry about what you think the world, (or the class or the teacher) expects of you.
2. Relax and allow the joy of play.
3. Get to know your "inner critic." Learn to identify his/her voice and practice co-existing with the critic without being dominated by him/her/them.

We're all familiar with the phobic fear of public speaking that is held by many "normal" people. The fear of being witnessed is the fear of being judged and found inadequate. People talk about wanting to disappear, to become invisible, when in front of an audience. There is a profound sense of shame that comes with the idea that I am "making a fool of myself."

If you really didn't care about what other people thought of you, how nervous would you be? How would you express yourself?

But, of course, we do care about what others think. We want them to like us. We want them to be engaged with our story, our speech, our dance...

So, here's the rub: The audience will be as engaged as WE are. If we are fully committed to and enjoying what we are doing on stage (or on the "stage" of life) we will care more about the need to share our story, speech, dance... than about what other people think.

One of the many benefits of participating in carefully taught theatre training is the transformation of the experience of being seen. It is a fundamental human need to be seen, to be heard, to be recognized. When a person feels the attention of the audience as empathy, it is a transforming experience. It creates an amazing "high."

For the open-hearted explorer, the world of FULL SPECTRUM IMPROVISATION offers great rewards: new freedom of body and voice, the pleasure of discovery, the energy that is released as we access "characters" that live within us, the satisfaction of give and take with others. In short: deep fun.

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