Have you ever reached what Beeching refers to as a "flow state"? Talk about that
instance and the context surrounding that event:
I had reached a flow state when I was performing with various musicians in the Raleigh area
during performances with rock/jazz events. While on stage in 2022, we were performing the jazz
standard Polkadots and Moonbeams and I vividly remember my mind going completely blank.
Ultimately I had performed one of the best performances of my career.
What are some of the negative aspects of performance anxiety that you have dealt with.
If you're comfortable, briefly mention a specific time this took place and what you
experienced in that moment:
Before performing in any context my stomach always kills me, as well as the mental issues of
comparison. When you’re in the middle of the setlist, you’re always scared about comparisons
towards how you perform and who you’re performing with. During my first performance at UNC
Charlotte with the vocal staff, I was terrified since I have never performed classical vocal songs,
ultimately I did well.
What are some ways that you have experimented with to combat performance anxiety?
Are there any that you feel are missing from the text?
A lot of physical movement and being warm before shows. I’m always walking, jumping, keeping
warm, massaging my throat or hands. Everything I do before shows or performances are to
soothe the coldness I experience before performing. I feel as though the text got them all down!
What is something you took away from Chapter 11 of Beyond Talent that you are
excited to perhaps put into practice in the near future?
Trying various methods to approach warming up and soothing anxiety! I realized that maybe
there aren’t just physical things I can do to warm up and approach performances. Maybe I can
do mental warmups as well or maybe do consistent activities even while not performing to assist
in the performance anxieties we all experience.