If you want to be great, going through the motions is not an option. You have to perform with passion and really get into what you're doing. But this is not something that just happens on accident. You have to do it on purpose.
When you practice, it’s easy to just focus on the music. But when you perform your show there’s so much more to it than that. What usually happens though, especially with younger performers, is the audience bring out a layer of passion and energy that you’re not used to using. So the show is out of control and all of the nice little details you worked so hard on go right out the window.
To avoid this, you have to perform with passion and performance energy at all times. This includes when you’re practicing by yourself, in your bedroom, on a random Tuesday. Otherwise your practice and performance will be different. You don’t want to work so hard just to have a bad performance in front of an audience because you’re not used to the energy that comes with performing in front of other people.
This “performance energy” is something that happens far past the point of knowing your music, and there will be a lot of opportunities in your show where you can bring it to life with body language and theatrical movements. The audience has to believe in what you’re doing and what you’re trying to say.
As much as we focus on the music, we’re not hidden beneath a stage. Everyone can see you.
So the visual performance is equally as important as the musical performance. They both work in tandem during the show, so they should work in tandem during rehearsal.
This concept is not just connected to the parts of your performance where you’re playing music. The rests between the music and the body movement parts of the show have to be performed as well. This includes moving a prop, or resetting to another part of the floor. From the moment the show starts to the moment it ends, every little thing you do has to be performed with passion. There should be a ritualistic feeling to every move you make.
So start putting this passion into your rehearsal. Do it every rep and you will be more comfortable with all aspects of your performance which will make the live performance in front of an audience as comfortable and believable as possible.
