BWW Blog: Clarissa Moon - On Dealing With Nerves

You've been preparing for this audition for weeks. Your monologue and 16 bars have been rehearsed to perfection; your headshot and resume impeccable. You feel as if the role is practically yours--all you have to do is walk into the audition room and take it. Then, right before your audition, the nerves hit. Your heart races. Your mind spins, thinking up all kinds of scenarios in which your audition can go terribly wrong. This hinders your performance. You leave frustrated and unsatisfied.

Nerves suck. No matter how hard you prepare, they always seem to get in the way during an audition or performance. So how do you get rid of nerves to achieve that perfect performance? Here are a few strategies I like to use:

1. Strike a power pose. Amy Cuddy, a professor at Harvard Business School, has done extensive research on how your body position influences your brain. She found that by assuming a confident "power pose" and holding it, we can increase testosterone (or confidence/power) levels and decrease cortisol (or stress) levels in the brain. A few of these poses include the classic Wonder Woman pose (hands in fists on your hips, wide stance, chin slightly lifted) and the victory pose (arms in a V, chin slightly lifted).

1. Find a reason the character you're portraying would be nervous. I learned this strategy from Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr's vlog. Let's say I'm singing "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from The Phantom of the Opera for an audition. When I get nervous, I ask myself, why would Christine be nervous? Maybe she's afraid of what the Phantom will do next, or can't handle the pressure of having the lead role in the Phantom's opera. This strategy helps me focus on the character instead of myself.

1. Breathe. As Tony-nominated actor Bryce Pinkham says, "Nerves are just excitement without breath." Take some deep breaths and find that excitement. You've worked hard for this--go show them what you can do!

1. Remember: "You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable how enough you are." In my opinion, this Sierra Boggess mantra is a quote to live by. When you walk into an audition, the people behind the table aren't expecting you to be someone else. They're not expecting you to copy a famous actor's performance. They want to see you. And you are the best version of yourself there is!

Next time you audition, try out some of these strategies. They'll help you achieve your best performance, and just might land you the role!

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