How do I get rid of stage fright?

Practice your part. Do this until you know it by heart. Remember the words of the person who speaks before you, so you recognize the cue for you to speak. Practice in front of family and friends, so that you are used to performing in front of people. Gain confidence in yourself by reciting your lines in front of a mirror. Watch your mannerisms, look at how you move your hands as you speak. Try different ways of saying the same words or sentences. Wear the same outfit while watching yourself. Keep a water bottle with you while you wait. Sipping on water helps to lubricate the throat and helps your voice to avoid developing a frog in your throat that will prevent you from projecting. Take deep, long breaths while you wait. Breathe in very slowly, hold your breath for a couple of seconds and then let the breath out very slowly. Keep your voice warm by humming softly whenever you can. Concentrate on what you are about to do. Forget about the audience. Make believe that you are in front of the mirror or your family. Go over your act prior to leaving the house. Be confident in the knowledge that what you are about to perform on stage has been learned well, whether you are going to dance, sing, or perform in a play with others. Take a deep breath and go! While you are singing, in the parts where you have to sing a solo, you think how great you are. Like the lines from the song this is me. This is real, this is me! Im exactly where im supposed to be now! going to let the light, SHINE ON ME! Remember those words, you can do it! TIPS: If you forget a word, do not stop, just continue. Try to use other words that were not in the script. If your scene partner makes a mistake, do not react to it. Simply ignore the mistake, or, if it was too large to let pass, improvise around the error. Ability to improvise is the mark of a true actor. If you mess up a step when dancing, no one will ever know, unless you stop. Continue and they will think it is part of the dance. Some of our greatest performers get stage fright. Do not think you are alone. Just get on with it, and soon you will be so engrossed that you will forget you are on stage. You’ll feel nervous when you first start out, but it will get easier as you get used to performing in front of crowds. An added plus is you’ll feel better after you’ve done your performance. All of your work and nerves will pay off. Tell yourself, “If I am afraid of looking stupid, I will never have fun.” Usually, when you are performing, there are big spotlights, so the light blinds you and you can’t notice the audience much. Try focusing on the lights if you are too scared. But don’t star out into space and stare at them the whole time. If your first performance goes smoothly, you will probably have much less (if any) stage fright for following performances. Turn the tables in your own mind: tell yourself that the people watching you should be nervous in your presence, not the other way around – this “ego trip” really works! Sometimes it’s ok to be a little nervous. If you are so paranoid you are going to make a mistake, then you will be more careful. It’s the overly confident people that make the most mistakes.

Go get ‘em !!