Whether you’re preparing for a concert, audition, show or another live performance, the moments before walking on stage can bring a mixture of excitement and nerves.
Visualisation is a technique that involves mentally rehearsing an experience before it happens. For performing artists, visualisation can be a useful part of day-to-day life and performance preparation, helping you focus your attention and feel more prepared for what is ahead.
If your thoughts race before you go on stage, or you simply want to feel more focused and prepared, visualisation can give you something constructive to direct your attention toward. Here are five visualisation techniques you can try before your next performance.
1. Visualise a Successful Performance
Take a few moments to picture yourself performing confidently from beginning to end.
But rather than focusing only on the outcome, imagine the process. Picture yourself walking onto the stage, getting into position and beginning your performance. Really put yourself in the moment. Think about how you want to move and feel.
While you’re there, try to make the image as detailed as possible by considering the space around you, the sounds you might hear and the physical sensations you may experience. Even consider the little details, like what shoes you’re wearing or how your hair is styled.
The aim is to make it feel as real as possible, helping to familiarise your mind with the experience before you step on stage and helping to build trust in yourself.
2. Mentally Rehearse Difficult Moments
Visualisation can also help you prepare for specific parts of a performance that you find challenging. Perfect if you know there is a difficult passage, movement, entrance or transition that you’re most nervous for.
For this technique, think of the challenging moment and mentally rehearse yourself approaching it calmly and completing it successfully. This can be particularly helpful if going through change.
You may follow the following steps:
- Identify the moment you find most challenging
- Picture yourself approaching it calmly and confidently
- Mentally rehearse how you will respond
- Imagine yourself completing the moment successfully
Of course, this does not replace physical rehearsal. However, it can complement your preparation and help you become more familiar with what you need to do.
3. Picture Yourself Managing the Unexpected
Ask any performing artist, and they’ll tell you that live performance does not always go exactly to plan.
You can counteract these worries by instead of visualising only a perfect performance, imagine yourself responding calmly if something unexpected happens. You could picture yourself recovering from a missed note or remaining composed after forgetting a line. It can even help when dealing with a technical problem before continuing.
Reminding yourself that you can adapt may help an unexpected moment feel more manageable, and could potentially reduce performance anxiety.
4. Use All Your Senses
Visualisation does not have to be purely visual, and as mentioned in strategy one, it’s good to visualise all details.
Try imagining what you might hear, feel and even smell in the performance environment. You might picture the sound of the audience, the sensation of holding your instrument, or even the feeling of the stage beneath your feet or the heat of the lights around you.
Creating a detailed mental picture can make your visualisation feel more realistic and help familiarise you with the performance environment, so it feels less unfamiliar when you step on stage.
5. Visualise the First Few Moments
If imagining an entire performance feels overwhelming, or you cannot concentrate for long, focus only on the beginning. Picture yourself waiting to go on, taking a breath, walking onto the stage and starting your first line, note or movement.
It might seem too short, but concentrating on these first steps can give your mind a clear, manageable point of focus and a moment of mindfulness, helping you feel more prepared without the pressure of mentally rehearsing the entire performance.
Find a Visualisation Technique That Works for You
As with most performing arts strategies, there is no single visualisation technique that will work for every performing artist. The best way to find something that works for you is to experiment with different approaches and find what feels helpful as part of your own preparation routine. This might take some time to learn.
If performance anxiety is affecting your wellbeing or ability to perform, BAPAM offers specialist support and resources for people working and studying in the performing arts.