Actor's Guide to Auditions and Interviews by Margo Annett

Author:Margo Annett
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408116548
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Controlling and harnessing those nerves

How many times have actors complained, ‘It would have gone so much better if I hadn’t been so nervous,’ on their return from an audition or interview. In fact, they are wrong. It wasn’t the nerves that were at fault but their handling of them. In reality, nerves can be an asset. It is your attitude towards them that determines whether they work for you or against you. You want to learn how to master them rather than drive them away completely. The flow of adrenalin that they cause can invest your performance with sparkle and edge if used well instead of reducing it to quavering uncertainty. In fact the minute you acknowledge the possibility that they could be of value and that you might even welcome their presence, you immediately begin to empower yourself. You have taken the first step in bringing them under your control.

Another way of dealing with nerves is purely practical: some simple physical exercises to relax the parts of the body that are most vulnerable to nervous tension. Unfortunately, they are the very ones you need under control in order to be able to sight-read or even speak efficiently.

1. The respiratory system (which is just a grand way of saying the breath) This is the most crucial area of all. If the breath is restricted it immediately affects the whole body, and if you can’t breathe freely and deeply you haven’t a hope of relaxing the rest of the body. When you are nervous, the body responds at once by shortening and reducing your intake of breath. You will notice if you are very frightened, you virtually hold your breath and breathe in little gasps. You must counteract this as soon as possible by breathing out heavily. If the tension is extreme you may have to do this forcibly a couple of times – not too often or you will become giddy. Once you have emptied the lungs the body is compelled to inhale deeply. Ignore the inward breath – it will take care of itself. Just concentrate on letting the breath go. You will notice that the rate of breathing will automatically begin to slow down. Continue consciously to release the outward breath but making the exhalations increasingly gentle until the breath is flowing freely and rhythmically. You will find that as the breath calms, the body becomes more relaxed and the brain clears. You’ve given it something to occupy it other than tormenting you with reminders of how nervous you are.

When you know you are going to enter a situation which will make you nervous, be vigilant, monitor the body, and as soon as you feel it begin to tense up, release the breath by sighing out. This way you can prevent the breath becoming severely restricted. Keep it under control by continuing to sigh out gently but firmly at regular intervals. You can even do this while you are waiting to go into an audition or interview.

2. The

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