Performance anxiety is natural, and many believe that it is completely healthy as the fear makes a performer be aware of the need to excel on stage. The pre-performance jitters help to strengthen their ability to do well once they are in front of an audience. [break]On the other hand, for some, the pre-performance jitters transgress beyond a healthy dose of anxiety and affect their ability to carry out their show to perfection.
Ganga Pathak, Associate Professor of Psychology at Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Katmandú, shared that MPA or any performance anxiety can be of two types – negative and positive. Negative anxiety is what reduces the performer’s ability to give an impactful performance whereas positive anxiety actually helps better their performance.
“With positive anxiety comes emotional involvement, a craze and an alertness towards one’s performance which fuels the desire to excel,” says Pathak.
Pathak further mentioned that psychologists group people under two categories – Type A personality and Type B personality. People who fall under type A are more prone to suffer from anxiety attacks because of their sensitive nature.
Also a recent survey found that 70% of males suffer from performance anxiety. “This may be more due to the society’s pressure on them to excel as compared to women,” says a confident Pathak.
In case of Music Performance Anxiety, it is said that musicians who suffer from MPA are critical and self-evaluative before, during and after their performance. Often this constant self-evaluation leads to a disrupted concentration and a host of physical symptoms that result in a performance below the ability of the musician.
The famous British singer Adele is known to have such anxiety attacks that she throws up almost before every performance. “I puke quite a lot before going on stage,” Adele, 22, is said to have once told a magazine during its cover shoot. But the pre-show puke guarantees a stellar performance, she says.
Why do some musicians experience such debilitating performance anxiety? What does musical performance anxiety feel like? Is it good? Is it bad? And how can one cope with it?
To answer such questions for the first time ever in Nepal, Earthbeat, a private organization that promotes creative art, and Contemporary Vision, an organization that is involved in documentary filmmaking, are teaming up to bring a one of its kind event – a music performance and discussion program scheduled to be held on Friday, September 16 at 3pm at Gurukul, Kathmandu.
Oxford recently published a book titled “Music Performance Anxiety” by Prof. Dianne Kenny. She is currently in Katmandú, and Hari Thapa of Contemporary Vision along with Salil Subedi of Earthbeat are using this opportunity to team up to hold this very unique lecture and mini performance program.
“This is the first of its kind meet in Nepal. The topic is unique and hasn’t been given its due till now,” says Hari Thapa. “We’re using this opportunity to come together as musicians or performers and discuss and share our experience so that we can fare better on stage despite having anxiety attacks.”
Being involved in journalism and filmmaking, Thapa himself has had the experience of performance anxiety. The nervousness of speaking in public to the inability to perform in the harsh lights with the camera rolling, he has seen it all.
This discussion program, which will be centered on psychology of MPA, will give him and others like him an opportunity to express themselves and get a better understanding of their stage anxieties. Prof. Kenny will be giving a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation which will help the participants understand the condition and cope with it better.
Nepali musicians like the rock band Mukut and folk band Gandarva, to name a few, have been roped in to give mini performances and then share their experiences. Salil Subedi, one of the organizers of the program, will be playing the Didgeridoo, an Australian Aborigine wind instrument, before sharing his thoughts and feelings.
Aavaas, a contemporary Nepali singer and songwriter and member secretary of Nepal Sangeet tatha Natya Pragya Pratisthan, who will outline the meeting point of western music system and Nepali imaginations during the program, says, “MPA is a natural phenomenon in every performer no matter how long one has been performing on stage. It lessens over time, but it never completely fades away.”
Aavaas, who has coordinated and performed for the “Paleti Shrinkhala” – a musical concert organized by Nepalaya Organization – for the past eight years, also believes that performance anxiety can have both negative and positive effects, depending on how the performer handles it. “If you let your emotions overwhelm you, then you’re doomed,” he says.
Abhi Subedi, Professor at the Central Department of English at Tribhuvan University, who will be making commentaries on the various aspects of eastern and western psychology in terms of music, theatre and other performances from the Nepali perspective during the program, also has similar views. He believes that performance anxiety results from a feeling of inadequacy, and it can hamper the performer’s capacity to deliver what he is actually capable of.
“Performance anxiety can stem from many factors. Insufficient practice, lack of exposure and confidence and even social background of the performer can be some of the contributing factors for stage fright,” says Sudedi. “In European countries, performers are made to practice yoga to get a grip on their anxiety. But here in Nepal, though counseling has begun, we have yet to see such importance being given to performance anxiety.”
The program on MPA on Friday at Gurukul aims at initiating awareness among the general public and especially stage performers who up till now have been ignorant of how big an issue performance anxiety actually is. It will give them useful insights and help address their fears and problems while performing.
“Coming together to face performance anxiety issues will help the participants form a better alliance among themselves and come to terms with the fact that this natural phenomenon is not a manifestation of their personas but a common woe of every performer,” says Hari Thapa, to which Salil Subedi adds, “We plan to have the floor open for discussion after the main event which will give the participants a chance to share their feelings and come to terms with their own performance issues.”
The organizers hope that this event will provide an outlet for musicians, theatre actors, writers and the like to come out and speak openly about their performance anxieties, and get motivated to be able to face the audience better, and in turn motivate others as well.
According to Pathak, performance anxiety issues can be tackled by building a better self-esteem, listening to relaxing music, and counseling. If nothing works, medications are also prescribed, but group therapy and talking about the issue always seem to help; which is why discussions like these can be truly beneficial.
The program “Music Performance Anxiety” is scheduled for 3pm on Friday, September 16 at Gurukul, and is open to all. For more information, call 01-4770292.
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