The zone! Every performer craves it. That flight of fancy in which everything seems effortless, innovative and just plain right onstage. You're not even trying, and yet, you're beyond present in each moment. Everything clicks, including cameras later because, guess what? You're famous! No, you're not actually. But you feel like it. You feel better than fan fiction published in a nationally-acclaimed magazine! In fact, before Britney Spears' life went slightly awry, she titled her chart-topping fourth album In the Zone. In other words, the zone = artistic nirvana, or something approaching it.
the zone is difficult to put into words, but easy to picture. some say it looks like a waterfall, others say a swan.
photo courtesy of Flickr and Editor B
The zone is hard to describe really. So I'm not going to try. It's not even what this post was supposed to be about. Get back on track, me! This post is about how performers hope to get in the zone...i.e., any pre-show rituals or exercises done to get the ball rolling and to prevent utter awkward pie (Unless that's your act! Heyo! I just called myself out.) Pre-show rituals never guarantee anything, but they at least put our minds in a comfy place where we can deny the jitters and/or dance them away.
[Hit the jump for my pre-show rituals, as well as some perspective from comedic rock stars! And then, if you're brave enough, add your own! We will judge you on them, but you knew that already.]
My own pre-show rituals slightly differ for stand up versus improv, but are rooted in the same channeling of creative focus. Yeah, I did just use the phrase 'channeling of creative focus.' I did also just draw attention to it.
My stand up rituals involve going to the bathroom, being more antisocial than usual, reviewing jokes, stretching, studying the room for potential off-the-cuff bits, trying to write new material in meager amounts of time and annihilating negative thoughts using mental sunshine daggers. I also do a few breathing exercises to prevent the panic attack that inevitably rises in my sternum before any open mic/show/gynecologist appointment (Am I right, ladies?!)
warm ups can be creative, and so can you! girl on far right ain't havin' it.
photo courtesy of Flickr and eric.surfdude
For improv shows, there's usually a group warm up with your co-players, which involves getting your energy going and clearing your head of daily dust accumulation. I like warm ups that involve jumping as much as using your noggin. I also try and think of a few characters, lines, voices or scenarios, which some might constitute as "cheating" but no, not really. It's just brainstorming to prevent shitstorming onstage. It's also just to get my clinker thinking. I don't need to justify myself to any of you!
get yer head in the game!
photo courtesy of Flickr and Jason Gulledge
It's important to note that sometimes, none of these things work. And performing feels weird. Really weird. As if someone just gave birth to you right before you got onstage, you came out covered in slime, and then a roomful of people (or also commonly, a room devoid of people) expected straight no-nonsense entertainment (paradox, son!) before you could even blink for the first time. However, that's all to be gained through experience, exposure and lots and lots of uncomfortable times to come. I can't wait.
Important Funny Peoples' Two (Million) Cents:
Richard Lewis - "Most comedians do about the same at every night, and before it’s ‘where can I get a lap dance’ and then on to do their show. Me, I stay in my hotel room, like ‘Papillon,’ and study my stuff."
Margaret Cho - "I don't really have any rituals; I'm not a ritual person.... I read a lot, and I'm usually reading before a show."
Jim Gaffigan - "I smoke crack."
Jim Breur - "Absolutely nothing. I’m one of those comics who sees it like going to war: I just show up, look at the battlefield and pick my weapons."
Louis CK (on any pre-show rituals before taping HBO's One Night Stand) - "I just sit around. I try to contain myself and stay in one place, 'cause otherwise I'd go walking all over the place. But that's burning energy. I hate waiting. I want to get onstage, badly, especially at this f**king place, on this stage."
BONUS: Discussion thread on the Chicago Improv Network about dealing with stage fright.
7 comments:
This is a great topic. Before any show I feel like I need to get sufficiently silly. Either by goofing off with friends, other comics, or my troupe. Just to get the juices flowing. Then I have to rein it back in, so right before I go onstage I do a lot of self talk like "you rock, Jason" or "you can do this." I know it sounds corny, but it just gives me that boost I need and also allows me to not think about anything else.
As an improviser at heart, I am always trying to listen and look around the room for things to riff on. Say like the curtains. Oh, if there are curtains at the venue I know I am golden.
I listen to really tough sounding rap music as though it's 8 mile. A friend called me while I was driving to Anupuma's show at iNova and heard me blaring T.I. and asked where I was going. Once I explained I was entertaining children his reaction was "And you're listening to gangsta rap to prepare for the kiddies?"
I stare at my set list, decide I am going to bomb, replace one joke with an older one, switch them back, check my fly 3-4 times for safety, and switch those jokes again
My pre-show rituals involve some of the following:
1. Writing down my set list repeatedly.
2. Going to the bathroom repeatedly.
3. Looking around the room for things/people to mock mercilessly (bonus points if the mocking involves alliteration).
4. Stretch. First my arms and legs. Breathe deeply, and then take my face for a walk to wake it up.
5. Remind myself that the people watching actually want to see me succeed and be hilarious. It's easy to get into the mindset that the audience is waiting for you to fail, but most of the time they're rooting for you and you can feed off their positive energy like some sort of positive energy vampire.
6. Smile. There's compelling physiological evidence that shows that enacting the physical manifestations of certain emotions help trigger that emotional state. Don't believe me? Just ask THIS GUY'S BLOG (it's a blog so you know it's the truth).
7. I haven't tried this but apparently "people who have had cold air blown up their noses are happier than those who have had hot air blown up their noses." I'm just saying, if the jokes don't work, maybe you should just walk around to each of the audience members and blow in their noses. (mental note: next time I'm performing at the Apollo inquire about their straw situation. I don't have border-line racist fears, but my bones and organs do).
If it's a paid show I listen to music on the drive there. About ten minutes before the show I review my jokes and make sure I remember all the tags. If it's an open mic, I do a lot of kicking and yelling.
Depending on the situation, I try and ask at least 3 people if they like me, not as a performer but as a person and would they consider me a friend, if not, what do I have to do in order to gain their friendship. Next I call my mother and tell her what I am doing. That usually leads to the following question, "Are you drinking?" I say no, and then tell her if I was she couldn’t do anything about it, sleep well bitch, click. I then go back to at least one of the previous people who said that they did like me and say, "Really? Seriously?, You can tell me the truth". Next I find someone standing in line or waiting for the show and ask them who their all time favorite performer is, then I compare where I am at in life to where their favorite performer is. This usually reaffirms the fact that my entire pursuit is hopeless, so what really do I have to lose.
i noticed that if i talked to my mom on the phone on the way to a show, and she told me "break a leg," i would do well. so thinking she was a human good luck charm, i brought her to a show once and i did horribly! so now i no longer call her before shows --or at all.
if i listen to the Beck song Loser on my way to a show, it gets me into the zone of having low expectations of myself on which I thrive.
also, right before i go on, i drink a ton of water because i got major cotton mouth the first time i did standup so it freaked me out. and maybe seeing my favorite comics bring water on stage with them over the years made a subliminal impression on me that has translated to the idea that hydration equals funny. this leads me to the ritual mike blejer mentioned of going to the bathroom repeatedly.
then i do my deep breathing exercises, or as others call it "hyperventilate."
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