er self-confidence does not work, she can try to calm herself down by thinking of things that make her happy and excited. These thoughts take the mind away from what is going on and soothe the actor into a more calm state suitable for performance.Sarah closed her eyes and tried thinking of different things that could possibly calm her down. She thought of her dog back at home and how he would run after the tennis ball she threw; she thought of her friends and all the fun they had when they went dancing. Sarah grew a big smile on her face until she suddenly heard someone from the stage calling Juliet! She opened her eyes and jumped up. It was only her name being stated, not her cue. She was relieved.Smiling in relief, Sarah looked back out on stage. She saw the actors and saw the audience, and began feeling that tingling sensation in her hands once again and immediately sat back down. She tried closing her eyes and thinking of those happy times as she did before, but it did not help anymore, she was too startled from hearing her name. She got up and paced back and forth back stage trying to think of what she was taught to do in this situation, What am I going to do? she asked herself, What am I going to do?Sarah remembered what one of her teachers had told her... the main cause of stage fright is anxiety (which she tried overcoming earlier). Anxiety is a state of intense apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation, often to a degree that the normal physical and psychological functioning of the affected individual is disrupted. Although an elaborate definition, it hits on key points: because of nervousness, physical and psychological skills are inhibited. Such examples of this could be slurring of words or even frozen stillness of the actors body. To overcome this, one must prepare, prepare, and prepare even more. She thought to herself.... Okay, I have already prepared for this...
