Performance Mentor helping TPO members tackle stage fright and more

The People’s Orchestra (TPO) members are being offered expertise in how to overcome stage fright and performance anxieties.

Performance Mentor Amy Littlewood gives wellbeing support along with training to help members “give their best performance” in front of an audience.

With a qualification in Counselling and Psychotherapy, Amy is an expert on how to mentally prepare before facing a crowd. She teaches a combination of technical and psychological preparation skills, through group and 1-2-1 sessions across the TPO.

Violinist Amy, who is also a founding member of the Hepplewhite Piano Trio, has been motivated by her own experience as a musician.

Amy studied violin at the Birmingham Conservatoire and went on to become an Associate 2nd violin with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Principal 2nd violin with Orchestra of the Swan.

Yet while at music college, Amy noticed that when getting on stage, her performances were not as good as she had done in rehearsals.

“My personal experience is what drives me to do this work,” explained Amy. “I felt so frustrated that I could achieve a level on my own in my comfy little practise room or even in rehearsal, but my ability dropped away from me when I would go on stage.

“I found that soul destroying. It was upsetting and frustrating as I’d spent so many hours practising.

“I was fascinated on what was going on there because I’d not forgotten my ability to play, but something was making this happen.”

Amy discovered that mental preparation helped musicians control their mind and cope with the pressures of performing, in a similar way to sports. To become more resilient would help ease the issue and also allow troubled performers to enjoy the moment.

“As musicians, we are in a unique situation on stage,” said Amy. “There are all sorts of things that cause pressure. A fear of going wrong and there’s a sense of having only one chance to get it right.

“Then there’s an audience there and as a musician, that can feel quite scary. These are all distractions for the mind.

“When we feel pressure, it changes physically how we feel and also the types of thoughts we have, like what if this happens and hyper awareness of being judged by other people.”

Amy’s work over the past 15 years has helped musicians to use a skill set. She’s worked with some musicians for months, others for years to overcome their performance anxieties.

“I help people at TPO with anything performance-related,” added Amy. “I help people give their best performance.”

“It’s best to get support in the lead up to a performance as we can make meaningful changes,” said Amy, “But if it gets to the day and you think ‘ooh I need some help’, we can talk about it then. I’m here to chat and talk through anything wellbeing-related, just find me at the concert.

“So often the psychological side is neglected and my role is to help that part. We want everyone to feel relaxed and happy.”

Amy has instigating group talks with various orchestras within TPO to “break down barriers” on this topic, adding “we can’t pretend this thing doesn’t affect us”.

“The type of work I do with people helps to bring their mind into a helpful place that surrounds us when we play well,” explained Amy. “It’s that sense of being in control that enables us to play well.

“If you’re not tightly technically prepared that can make you not resilient on stage, so you need to make sure you’ve looked after that part of things.

“There’s a whole toolkit of skills required to perform under pressure whether you feel performance anxiety of not.

“I feel it’s something that is never taught. No one ever taught me that skillset. Just expected that because you’d done rehearsals and practised you could just walk out on stage, but actually, I realised you need to prepare yourself.

“I think it’s absolutely crucial that the mental preparation is as strong as the musical preparation and to not underestimate the power of that.”

Amy’s unique role brings her into contact with many musicians and singers and knowing the difference she can make she describes as “deeply rewarding”.

“When you have ploughed so many hours of your time and effort to prepare, you want that to pay off. It’s so rewarding when someone can learn those skills, know themselves and be able to bring that out of themselves each time they’re on stage, that’s a great feeling.”

Any TPO members with performance anxiety or who is interested in sessions with Amy to improve their performance in general should contact her at: [email protected].