Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-07-20
Stage Fright, What It Is and
a Possible Cure

4 !.
What is stage fright, that terrible
sensation that has been known n
rare instances to render absolutely
impotent the voice of an actor o1
singer or the fingers of player? M
Stage fright, the real thing, must
not be confused with the form of ner;
vousness felt by almost every SEN
sitive man or woman, when he or she
appears before an audience large
or small to interpret some literary
or musical idea. &
Not to feel this trembling of. the
knees" this sinking sensation at the
diaphragm" this dry throat and parchh
ed tongue, is to brand ones self as
too insensitive to emotions, too dull
of feeling, and therefore unfit to be
an interpreter of the Musis of Music
or Drama.
We have always held to the belief,
that knowledge of ones craft, built
painstakingly and intelligently, did
much to help put in the back ground
the spectre of nervousness.
A poise of mind and body that
comes when the individual ceases to
think of the personal appeal during
performance and thinks only of the
subject in hand, trying, to be pas
sive medium through which the
thoughts and moods of the composer
find audible expression, this is great
aid to poise. 81, ,s
In a recent issue of The Musical
Digest, weekly paper that plays 9.
wonderful part in the development Of #
discriminating musical taste in Amer
lea, by giving without bias or preju-
dice, the press reviews of the great
mass of concerts and operas given in Sin
New York, Chicago, London, Paris
and Rome, we find this question of
stage fright, most interestingly treate
ed. For the benefit of our readers
who do not have access to this paper
we quote the following: sSSss:Es
Miss Gerald lEargar, whose name
IS Almost hsousehoid dafword; and
who rose to the top round of the
ladder of fame in her own America
and abroad, stimulates the imagina-
ton of many aspiring young singers,
says in part:
"Stage fright is not, to my way OF
thinking, a germ, but state of mind.
1t is really, if we look at it clearly,
a matter of self hypnotic hysteria,
which affects most emotional people.
We have all felt nervousness in some
form and personally am seldom
subject to the kind of nervousness
that interferes with the, fullest use OF
my resources"
Miss Marcella Craft thinks that
sIt should not be confused with the
excitement which may cause the
heart to beat and the knees to trem-
BILE bit, especially just previous to
ones first entrance upon the stage
in either opera or concert. That ex-
citement is wholesome, if bit of a
nuisance at the time !. Without
that tremor of excitement sort Of
phlegmatic dullness is apt to kill the
effect Of performance perfect from
a technical standpoint.
Mary Jordan holds that "stage
fright is caused by lack of prepara-
tion and lack of concentration" "
We are IN complete sympathy with
the above, for lack of knowledge be-
gets fear and fear is at the root of all
acute stage fright. One cannot con-
centrate on a thing one does not
know well, so hand in hand with lack
of knowledge goes the lack of clear
isualization that gives vitality to the
uttered thought.
In our own career as concert sing
er and also as we have helped others
to a public career, we have found one
of the surest cures for their ner-
vousness was to concentrate on ryth-
micsl deep breathing for ten or fif-
ten minutes previous to a perfor-
nance. This, plus habit of never
choosing for a program song that
had not. been absolutely mastered in
all details, and rehearsed a sufficient
number of times, as to seem, when
sung, an improvisation, gives to the
performer a buoyancy of mind and
body, an enthusiasm that is at once
L