Stage Fright

Upon reading the light and shadow section of the textbook, one specific example that is very significant to me came to mind. From a young age I have performed in musicals. Anyone who knew me could not believe this because I am the opposite of someone who would want to be on stage. I hate being looked at or pointed out because I get so embarrassed so easily. I also have a tremendous fear of public speaking and visibly shake each time I need to give a class presentation! However, whenever people were in shock of how this was something I loved so much I always knew exactly the reason why. Being on stage, the lights shining in my direction are completely blinding. Even when the audience was full I could not see the face of one person. Looking out I just see bright circles of light surrounded by darkness in the rest of the room. I would be petrified in rehearsals with only my friends whom I could see but come time for the actual performance, I would be fine. In my situation, light and dark worked together and made it impossible for me to see anybody else in the world. Without this small detail I would have never been able to perform in anything.

This entry was posted in Shadow. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Stage Fright

  1. wcturgeon says:

    This is great. I wonder if many performers feel the same way?

  2. Kayla Myles says:

    Wow that is actually very interesting and at first surprising, but it makes sense. I also hate being the center of attention and I fear presentations in classes because of social anxiety. Similar to you, I will shake, move my hands excessively, sweat, speed-read, and more. Overall, it is just a terrible experience that I think people shouldn’t have to be forced to go through, which is why I have always hated forced participation. For these reasons, I could NEVER get on a stage in front of an entire audience because I think I would go into a coma. Being someone that is reserved and quiet, I give you a lot of credit for being able to perform in musicals. That takes a lot of strength and focus to block things out. It’s really cool how the element of light helps you with that and facilitated your performance on stage and eliminated your fear of the audience. The blinding of the artificial lights almost eliminates your stage fright and creates an outgoing and fearless person.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.