Get Into It: Always In Character
When I first started out, hell even occasionally now, I would have moments where I just sort of fell flat on stage. I'd have these great characters and these numbers I was so excited about and then someone would say something shitty backstage or a prop would go missing, or some other calamity and I'd go out and it would all just fall flat. I've been thinking about my most "successful" performances lately - the ones that have felt the best not just from my end, but from where the audience is sitting. And I noticed one thing in common with all of them - I abandoned myself and got wholly into character.
Earlier today Jo Weldon posted the following advice on twitter: "Try this: Start performing before you go on the stage, and don't stop performing until they can't see you any more."
Last summer I took a performance course with Karin Webb. While the class was geared specifically towards drag kings, one of the most useful skills we developed was getting into character. Now, whenever I get ready to perform, I let go of "me" - day time me, even Allix me, and become, fully, the character I am about to portray. I let that character dictate what happens on stage - how to handle mishaps, audience interactions, even final poses. It's the best and strongest skill I could have ever learned or developed. Shortly before I go on stage I always find a spot, by myself, where I can clear my head, breathe in, and breathe out. As I breathe out I let myself go. On the next breathe in, I think only in the voice of the character I am about to portray. I adjust my posture, my gaze, even my mannerisms. i rehearse each characters' movement vocabulary and voice (even though burlesque characters usually don't speak) ahead of time. "Becoming" them becomes second nature.
In this way, I can enjoy my experience on stage and leave behind whatever else may have happened - these characters? They don't have the same friends, or cares, or priorities, or even feelings that I do. They exist in spaces of 2-4 minutes. While you don't have to follow exactly what I do, I can't recommend enough, especially for new performers, that they think about how each character they play - even if it's a sexpot doing a classic striptease - behaves. Be that character. Turn into her (or him) before you go on stage, perform as them, strike your final pose as them, and strut off as they would. Be them, let go of you, and you'll be able to open up and enjoy your performance.
