Performance 101: The Tri-Force Of Performing

Performing with a busy brain is exhausting. Performing with worry or anxiety is, really, not performing at all. What kind of performance can an artist give if they’re stressing out whether the microphone will cut out or a wardrobe malfunction is about to happen or a set piece is about to fall over?

Problem is, much of the aforementioned is out of your control anyway, so you have to trust the others who actually control those aspects to do their jobs. And they will because they are almost as exposed in their job as you are in yours.

What you CAN control is much more important and the reason for everybody gathering together in the first place.

You are in control of the energy.

What you deliver is energy. Focused energy.

A busy, unfocused mind in performance is a torturous thing to watch.

How do we unbusy the mind?

“Energy, Attention, Awareness”

That is our performance mantra and it is fundamental to our work.

If you’re nervous before a performance, join the club, but why focus on nerves when you have a job to do (that you love)?

Focus on Energy, Attention, Awareness.

Take time to figure out what each of these words means to you before and during your performance and utilize these fundamental ideas to unbusy your mind and clarify your focus.

Performance 101: Creative (Empty) Space In Your Brain

Great performers are like race car drivers; the idea being that, in order to win the race, one needs to stay in the moment, assume a calculated amount of risk and operate instinctively and creatively when the opportunity arises.

The simple goal of a pro race car driver is to win the race.

What are some of the “simple” goals of a singer in a performance?

Get all the words right?

Sing all the notes right?

Make a beautiful sound?

Truth is, those are the initial rehearsal goals achieved with hours of practice. “Getting the song into your body.” While these goals provide the basis of performance, if that is all you intend to give your audience, it’s definitely time to upgrade your approach.

Performance Goal: Creative Open Space In Your Brain

Basic: Be able to say the lyrics as fast as you can say the ABC’s – without thinking about the order of the letters and without singing the song. Say them in a monotone very quickly, do not accent or stretch out the words. Move your lips and mouth in an animated/exaggerated way. Be able to plunk out the melody – one note at a time – on a keyboard. Be able to use the same vocal tone (dark, warm, brassy, bright, light, etc.) throughout the entirety of the song. If you have to change your tonal quality to hit a high note or rumble a lower note, chances are you need to find a more suitable key for your song.

Advanced: Having set the muscle memory (remember, race car drivers drive in a circle for hours), now we let go of the worry and practice creative risk. Creative risk involves letting go of anxiousness, trusting that you have drilled the basics and are ready to live in the moment on stage. Thoughts and thought impulses beget words (for some, it’s the other way around, but we call those folks thoughtless anway). Your goal now is to live within the thoughts of the lyric and having/experiencing/expressing each thought before actually singing the lyric. Now your brain is full again, but it is focused and there is no room for anxiety. It takes energy, concentration and a whole lot of pretending to stay there, but by upgrading your performance approach, you can enjoy sharing a song as much as your audience can enjoy receiving it.