Managing Performance Anxiety: Practical Tools for Performers

This online workshop explores performance anxiety — what it is, why it happens, and how we can begin to loosen its grip.

Stage fright is often experienced as something to fight or overcome, but in reality it is a natural human response. When we perceive a threat, the brain’s amygdala activates the body’s fight, flight or freeze response — even when the “danger” is simply the fear of being judged by others. Fear itself is not the enemy; it is a protective mechanism designed to keep us safe. Difficulties arise when worry and internal dialogue amplify that fear, pulling us away from the present moment and into imagined failure.

By talking openly about anxiety and learning to accept rather than resist it — as Maya Angelou once advised — we can begin to reduce its power. Understanding the psychological and physiological roots of performance anxiety, ideas explored from Aristotle through to modern psychology, allows us to approach it with greater awareness and self-compassion.

The workshop also offers practical and empowering strategies. Participants will explore how to focus on what can be controlled: preparing the body well, regulating breathing, and shifting attention away from self-judgement and towards connection — with scene partners, the physical space, and the audience as collaborators rather than critics.

We will also look at techniques for line retention, flexible warm-ups, and positive visualisation, recognising that the brain often responds to imagined success in ways similar to real experience. Just as importantly, we will explore how to develop a healthier inner dialogue — learning to recognise the anxious voice and respond to it with greater balance and perspective.

Ultimately, the aim is not to eliminate fear altogether, but to develop the confidence to work alongside it. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to feel it and act anyway.

Participants will leave with:

• A clearer understanding of why performance anxiety happens and how the brain and body respond to pressure
• Practical techniques to manage nerves and regulate breathing before and during performance
• Strategies to shift attention away from self-judgement and towards connection with the work and the audience
• Tools to develop a healthier inner dialogue and build greater confidence under pressure
• Approaches to visualisation, preparation and line retention that support focus and presence

The workshop will be led by Thomasina Unsworth, a former actor turned ICF-accredited Personal Development Coach who specialises in supporting people working in the creative industries.

Runtime is approximately one hour.

This session is FREE to members of our Creative Industries Community and members can book their space using their unique password.

Tickets for non-members are priced at £10.

We will be recording the presentation element of the session for those people who cannot attend the live event, but you must reserve your space to receive a copy of the recording.