Can Visualization help with Stage Fright?

Ever since I can remember I sang.  I was in singing competitions.  I was in choir through elementary and high school.  I also was in the madrigals group.  I started a 4 girl harmony group.  We were asked to perform in my high school and host events.

In between high school and moving to LA, I had a debilitating experience.  I didn't win a contest I thought I was sure to win.  To you it may seem trivial but to me it was the end of the world.

I went from feeling at home on stage to having stage fright.  I stopped singing completely.  All of a sudden the thought of being on stage scared me to death. I went through this period in my life not knowing if I would ever get over it.  I stopped performing all together.

When I moved to LA, being around so much art and music, I got the performing bug again.  I didn't have a lot of money so I couldn't pay an expert to fix my stage fright.   I didn't know how I would be able to conquer this great fear.

What helped me was visualization. I must have read it somewhere, I can't remember now.

I would visualize myself walking through an imaginary door and magically it would sprinkle star dust on my head as I walked through that door. When I was on stage I would visualize feeling confident and at home.  I did this over and over. I would do it before I went to bed so I would keep this image in my subconscious.  I would fall asleep to this image.  As I'm describing it to you, I see it in my head and it creates a happy feeling in me still today.

Visualization is a great way to get you through fears, especially stage fright. Do it when you have no distractions.  Extracting myself from the state of fear to visualizing an image of power and success has been a great tool for me.  Your visualization doesn't have to be like mine.  You can imagine an experience specifically to your needs.

Now, there is another important tool that goes along with visualization.  You have to push yourself to be on stage. Look for opportunities that will put you where you want to be.  This is the only way to see that it works.

I still visualize today to reach bigger goals, bigger awards.

If you have any questions I invite you to send me a message.

Happy Visualizing.

JC

Working on My Vacation

If you have been following my adventures you know I was planning to take a vacation.
There was some question about when I would be able to do it.  It so happens my sister asked me to
come visit her the last week of September.  I did. This was perfect timing.

 I wasn't booking.  I needed to think about my new strategy.  I needed a little bit of a break.

I was raised in Virginia so I went home for vacation.  I spent time with family.  The entire week
I was there, it rained.  Except for the last two days of my stay.  I really wanted to take a look
at the Washington Monument, but the rain kept me in to remote areas.  I spent some quality time
with my niece, got into some arts and crafts stuff.

In acting before you go on vacation.  You must tell your Agent your "Book Out Dates", meaning the

dates you will be out of town.  When you tell him this he won't submit you for jobs during the time you are gone.  It's important to communicate with your agent so he doesn't book you on something big and you are not around. When submitting to casting sites pay attention to the audition date and shoot date. This way you are not submitting on dates you are not available.   I eased up a bit on the casting sites; Frontier, Actors Access, LA Casting.

Before I left I attended a reading group.  A reading group is when  actors get together and read a play, in oder to practice and stay current with playwrights.  It was really fun.  I hope to work with these folks again.

What I'm trying to tell you is.  That being is an artist takes effort.  As an Artist that is your business.  Owning your own business takes a lot of effort even when you are on vacation.  On my vacation  I couldn't stop all together.  I took this time to reach out to some influential people in the industry and ask them to remember me.  I want to work.  I want to be the greatest ever.
Good Luck on your journey.

A big prayer to all those folks at the Bahamas after hurricane Juanquin.  Prayers and well wishes go out to you.