“When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There’s a thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the biggest idiot on earth.” – Cynthia Heimel
With Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party
What does it mean to be a “performer”? What does your art really need to tap into in terms of your emotional life, your emotional world? It is important to have access to the fullest possible range of your emotions and senses, but many of us know how this business, our life, gets in the way of this process; how these issues restrict our full access to these feelings.
The constant topsy-turvy nature of the entertainment industry with all of its uncertainty and rejection erodes your resilience over time to integrate your feelings.
If you don’t have a way to process those feelings, to grieve the losses associated with those disappointments, over time, the range of permissible emotional contact gets narrower and narrower which, in turn, limits your performance capacity.
There is an inherent tension between being an artist and being a competitor, isn’t there? They really require different skill sets and often are at odds with each other, one trying to erode the other.
There is a link between the quality of your work as an artist and the ability for you to manage your anxiety. Not just performance anxiety, which comes with the territory, but the ability to integrate all of the anxiety complicating your emotional life right now.
We want to find out what resources are available to you- as fundamental as simply breathing, self-support and looking at how those resources shift, moment to moment, in your developmental curve.
Contact is the greatest support for anxiety. You artists know that the more contact you have with your audience, with your partner, the deeper and more fulfilling the work and connection will be; the more you can transform this performance anxiety into excitement and vitality throughout your life–not just on the stage.
So I invite you to come in and process these complicated feelings with one who knows. Having spent the majority of my life sifting through these sensitive relationships, I might have some well-grounded tips for you on how to stay balanced in this very delicate career.
Please CONTACT ME to schedule a complimentary 20-minute introductory session.
And stay tuned for my new PDF BEFORE AND AFTER THE AUDITION: An Actor’s Guide to Keeping Your Sanity in a Ruthless Business. Coming soon!
