Performance weekend

[talyen]

Today's was the third of four performances this weekend, most for MLK memorials, one per day. Tomorrow is the big one at Music Hall. Friday's was a different choir, the med school's women's choir, and we sang for the residents' lunch. The first soprano section missed the rehearsal, and learned an entire song right before the performance. It was called "One Minute Madrigal," so it was at least brief and pretty easy.

I have some performance anxiety. I can know a piece cold, and when it comes time to perform, I am not calm. I forget lines, concentrate poorly, and rely heavily on the written music even when I know the piece by heart. This doesn't happen during church services anymore, and it's happening less with the women's choir (still during my solos), but it still happens when I'm "on stage" or when the performance feels "important."

Tomorrow is an "important" performance, and I know all the music well. I'd like to perform it well, and not screw it up due to nerves or poor concentration. I suppose this is something I can try working on with my coach. I can just see it: "Scot, I'm so relaxed around you. But when it's time to perform, I freeze up. Help me get over it." How? Maybe he can think of something.

Good gods, I just had a horrible thought: forced karaoke bar nights.

Comments

Relax!

[legocoach.livejournal.com]

Don't you hate advice like that? But seriously, you're not alone in this, not by a long shot. My baritone voice tends to come out very serious and dark unless I consciously sort of "smile" through it, and on two separate occassions I have, to my mind at least, ruined a whole performance when I had a spoken solo (I don't get sung solos). I'd practice it all bright and cheerful ("Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and Earth are filled with His glory!" from Bernstein's Mass was the more well-known example), and, come performance time, I start the whole show off with a voice like something from Tales from the Crypt. Did Bernstein do a Requiem? 'Cause I'm there.
Okay, I got distracted by my own issues, but point is, we all have different performance issues, and a good director's seen 'em all. See what yours can do for you!