1) Sing in public only music you have prepared to such an extent you can
"sing it in your sleep".
2) Try to sing in public only music about which you feel passionately
(positively).
3) Focus as intensely as possible, when you perform, on WHAT you are
saying, who you are saying it to, why you are saying it, etc. In short,
COMMUNICATE, don't just sing.
4) Go somewhere quiet, if possible, and get in character during the 10-20
minutes before you have to "go on". I did this to such an extent when I
played Baba in scenes from Menotti's THE MEDIUM that I truly forgot that I
was on stage with an audience, rather than in the living room of my house
where a seance had just occurred. It was almost like an out-of-body
experience, and I truly cannot remember the process of performing - but
can very much remember the intensity of emotions I felt and Monica's (the
soprano's) reactions, and how much I abused/hurt Toby (the mute) - as if I
had not just performed but LIVED the episodes. That may be somewhat
extreme in terms of character identification, but it certainly meant that
I had absolutely NO stage fright because, in my mind, I was NOT ON STAGE.
IT was a very instructive and helpful experience at a time when I still
suffered major panic attacks when I performed in public.
Interestingly, the better my technique gets, and the older I get, the less
I care about "how I go over", and the more I care about just having a good
time. On the other hand, this liberation from worrying about being judged
and found wanting has actually made it easier for me to relate
to/communicate with my audience. I've stopped seeing them as hostile and
judgmental, and started seeing them as friendly and interested. Now, if I
do get into a situation where I feel "negative vibes" coming from my
audience (e.g., last night's CAROUSEL audition), I'm inclined not to give
a damn, and just sing for the pleasure of singing as if no-one was
listening. Why do I care what people who are predisposed to be negative,
hostile, and unsupportive think, anyway? And in an audition situation, why
in G*d's name would I want to WORK WITH people who have that attitude? I
decided after last night's audition - where they specified sixteen bars
and cut me off after only 10 (then apologized saying it was only fair
because everyone was allowed only 16 bars - I couldn't see the point of
correcting their miscount and insisting on singing the other 6 bars) -
where I knew I had sung what little I did get to sing extremelyh well, and
where they weren't even particularly nice about the whole thing, that
there was no way on G*d's green earth that I'd want to spend the next few
months in rehearsals with these schmucks, no matter what they were paying
(which, in this case, wasn't much - and certainly not enough given all the
grief I anticipate would come out of the process).
Actually, if you can go into ever audition and performance caring about
NOTHING except enjoying yourself - which means singing with feeling,
because no-one SHOULD enjoy just vocalising for its own sake - you will
probably go a long way towards singing with the kind of feeling and
meaningfulness that you aspire to.
KM
............................
NEIL SHICOFF pages
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Own Website
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ Singers are often so fired up after a +
+ a performance, they want sex instantly. +
+ - Jilly Cooper, SCORE! +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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