How to take the heat, advice from Carmine Mancini
words by Roland Shirky
The stage manager peaks in backstage. "You ready? This is your big show y'know". You feel the sweat on your forehead start to form and realise you've forgotten your lines…
Whether it be performing for your schools talent show or your tryout for a Tony award at Carnegie hall, it's safe to assume that we can all feel the heat of a packed crowd staring down at us, especially those of us who are new aspirers of the arts; this is stage fright, a completely normal part of any actors 'skill set', that comes naturally anywhere they go.
Although he rarely speaks publicly, upstage monthly has spoken to Carmine Mancini about his experience with stage fright and how he overcame it. The first step he recommends is to observe your body's feelings and understand that it's a natural reaction to unfamiliar situations. "Once you do this, you can wedge in logic and reasoning to get over that wall". In other words, understanding that stage fright is an instinct lets you reason with yourself.
For novices, mancini next recommends thinking of everyone else in situations just like this. "I looked at the guy next to me and he was a nervous wreck…and I knew we were all just as scared as eachother"…
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