Inhibitions.

[Drifter Luke]

How do you stop from feeling totally inhibited?
A nice, easy question. I am consistently feeling this lack of confidence on stage to which I am unaccustomed and it makes practice unfun and I really just want to get rid of it.
So, unless someone has some sort of pill, could you give me some great nugget of wisdom to push me in the right direction.

I think this is a little different than Youngcat's question. I am not so much in my head as in a cramped, suffocating, musty shell.

 

[DucoGranger]

Who are these people?

When Im on stage or do anything that forces me to be inhabited (err thats not a word is it) I usaly give myself a mental reminder that I have probably never seen any of these audience members in my life and probably never will. And if I do they will come up to after the show they will only congradulate you. For me this is true. I have never had someone come up to me after a performance and say. "You suck! Ive seen snails act better than you!"... well not seriously at least.

Anyway this free's up my mind to do what ever pops up first and realy get into the whole production. But then again I have that same mindset throughout the day. My ego is... well... lazy and so my ID is often left alone to run free in the fields.\


Hope it helps
Duco

 

[Brian Stack]

I'm not really qualified to discuss overcoming inhibitions since I've had plenty myself but there are a few things I've heard over the years that seem to address what you're feeling.

"The more vulnerable you make yourself as a performer, the less vulnerable you actually are"--John Michalski
--John was an old teacher of mine who tried to hammer into our brains the idea that if you throw yourself out there, in the direction of what scares you or what you think you can't do, you'll not only surprise yourself a lot of the time, you'll be much less vulnerable to the audience than those who hang back, self-consciously. The audience is there to see you try things that they feel too inhibited to try themselves. The more you can say, "What the hell", the more fun both you and the audience will have.

"Fuck fear"--Mick Napier
-Pretty self-explanatory. As too-the-point as Mick was with that statement, he is as articulate as anyone I've ever met at dealing with self-judgment in performers.

He once had us do an exercise in which we had to do the one thing the other class members had never seen us do. For example, one incredibly-physical guy had to sit in a chair and speak thoughtfully. A guy who played nothing but low-status had to be the authority figure in another scene. I myself had to be incredibly physical and keep moving the entire scene.

That workshop was incredibly entertaining and eye-opening for everyone. It was clear to all of us that we could not only do what we didn't think wey could do, we had a great time doing it. We all still had our own comfort zones but we all knew that staying witnin them was a choice and not a necessity.

"You don't have the right to make yourself feel inadequate"--Martin de Maat.
--Martin had his own share of inhibitions but he did as much as anyone I've ever met at helping others get past theirs.

 

[Illades]

A Liz Allen nugget of Wisdom!!!

These words have served me well on countless occasions:

"If it feels weird, do it more."

Do it bigger!
Do it sillier!
Do it faster!
Do it slower!

Exagerate (sp?) the aspects that you feel most self-conscious about. This technique, when I remember to employ it, has never failed me.

 

[Amidei]

I should probably not answer, since I have left the Improv world, but I had the same issues, so what the hell.

Re-commit. This was from Susan Messing. She said that when you start to feel those inhibitions, those insecurities, recommit to whatever it is you are doing. The audience will only see what you show them, so if you recommit to a move, hit it harder, they see confidence, even if you feel like you are teetering on the edge of the abyss.

Environment! I don't think anyone specifically told me this, while at the same time I know every teacher I ever had ('cept maybe Del) hammered it home. Environment environment environment. I have been saved from my inhibitions and insecurities onstage so many times by my environment. Your inhibitions come from acute self consciousness, being aware of yourself apart from others and the scene as a whole. When you feel that way, explore your enviroment. If you haven't created one, create one. Make it detailed. Soon your attention and energy will be directed outward, into the scene, and soon your inhibitons will dissipate. You will find yourself quickly plugged into the scene.

 

[Syrup]

So, how do you explore your environment?

Margaret

PS- Drifter -- Re: inhibitions . . . I feel your pain. Word up sister-friend.

 

[Frank Gondorchin]

Originally posted by Syrup
So, how do you explore your environment?

Whenever I don't know what to do, I pick up an improv newspaper. For some reason, the lead headline on the front page tells me everything I need to know to move the scene forward.

God bless the folks over at the Improv Daily News.

 

[benorbeen]

I was in line today thinking about something essentially similar, Driften Luke.

I harken back to the Level I days, when it was all fun, when I felt good, and when it was all happy days and Gummi bears.

Then classes got more serious, I tried to tackle constructive criticism, I tried to Do This and Not Do This to make for better improv, but one of the side effects has turned out that I feel inhibited onstage. That I'm not living up there as benorbeen would, but as what someone else wants me to be.

So, then that little voice says in the back of my head, "You learn, then you throw it all away."

Which is not easy to do. And a puzzling thing to accomplish. But I'm wondering if I just forget every damn thing these UCB teachers have said, say Screw It to what I've been taught, and just go up there intentionally making all the choices now called Mistakes, just to the Transactions Scenes, Say No, etc., that I might be better.

The possible logic? That I've been trained unconsciously to stay away from bad approaches to improv, that I don't need it in the forefront of my mind and thus there to inhibit me.

That I might even have an inkling of experience to know how to make the dreaded Transaction Scene a <i>good</i> scene nonetheless, and not feel bad about it.

That might be one thing I try right now. Screw what I've learned. Sure, that's probably a dangerous thing to say, but anything's worth a shot to feel more comfortable performing.

 

[goldfish boy]

Originally posted by Syrup
So, how do you explore your environment?

Take a look around... see what's "there"... if you don't see anything then decide on one thing that's "there" and let your brain fill in the rest of the picture... pick something up or use something in the space... see what your scene partner "looks" like or is "wearing"....

 

[Amidei]

Yeah, what the goldfish said.

 

[Drifter Luke]

Thank you, guys!

Very good things for me to think about. I have been trying to really pay attention to the notes we get and learn the form, but I find that I am such a wall hanger it doesn't even matter if I know the technical side inside and out because I am not getting to use that. Does that even make sense? I feel that if I understand something well it will get easier, but I am just fighting a sort of block that I haven't come into contact with before.
And initiations...sweet jesus, it's ugly.

Anyone else? Any insight helps. Thanks.

 

[Katie]

I'm just repeating what I said on the other thread about being in your head, but I think your inhibitions are being caused by all the new knowledge you've just attained. Sounds stupid, but I think it's true. These things have to get into your muscle memory so they aren't at the forefront of your brain all the time. It's been said, I know, but I'm just agreeing with what everyone else is saying.

The one tip I can give you though is this: Volume equals commitment. If you have no ideas and you just step out with someone else and let them start, be loud. If all you say is "yes," say it with gusto. It really gives you a lift. I don't mean yell everything, I mean project. Say everything like it's the exact thing that needed to be said at that moment. Don't swallow your words because you're afraid and your head is empty. Try it. It works.

 

[goldfish boy]

Re: Thank you, guys!

Originally posted by Drifter Luke
I am such a wall hanger it doesn't even matter if I know the technical side inside and out because I am not getting to use that. ... And initiations...sweet jesus, it's ugly.

Oh, wow, that was exactly me for the first six months I studied improv. I finally decided, "You know what? These people aren't smarter than me, and their ideas don't always work, and I'm paying as much as they are for these classes, so dammit, I'm going to get out there and, if necessary, be a stagehog for a while to learn the other side of this wall-hanging thing -- whether I have an idea or not, whether I'm confident about my idea or not." CHANGED MY LIFE.

 

[jillybee72]

I sing a little song in my head to distract me. But ironically I would feel inhibited telling you what that song is.

 

[youngcat]

Funny...

I think there's a HUGE connection between this topic and my similar thread... TO me, the only time I feel completely free and safe on stage lately is when I let go of my inhibitions and face the fear.

I was talking to a fairly respected coach/teacher over the weekend, regarding my own quandry and he said to me "Stop making judgements on yourself and let go. Just allow yourself to do whatever your gut tells you to do for a while and don't censor yourself, and see what happens.".

He also quoted Del "Fall, then figure out what to do on the way down."

 

[Susola]

I have the cure...

Cheryl King in NYC, who teaches with Gary Austin, has a great class called Body Language and Burlesque, which is designed to help you rid yourself of your inhibitions onstage. She's also teaching it at Funny Women Fest in Chicago.

To find out more:

http://www.cherylkingproductions.com/BLB3.html

This workshop is also good for working on discomfort about doing love scenes, working on physical comfort onstage, etc. I highly recommend it!

:up: :love:

 

[Jigglin Bones]

Is it just for women?
(this is a serious question)


By the way, shouldn't we be getting married soon?

 

[Susola]

Bonesy...

This class is for women and men, and often ventures into erotica if the students are so inclined. You won't find anything like it anywhere else. If you live in NYC, I highly recommend it.

As to your modest proposal, Bonesy, it is June, n'cest pas?



:love:

 

[Ari]

Brian,

That Mick excercise sounds incredble. Question about it: did he assign what everyone had to do, or were people supposed to figure it out for themselves?

 

[John_Frusciante]

Aw...

Ari, I was wondering the exact same thing, and was all set to post my query until I read yours...

We must be soul mates.


fnfndsnkld.


John.