Serious stage nerves...?

Question:I love to act and I am currently working towards the role of Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'.
I've done so many drama exams, dance competitions and sang in a school competition...I get great feedback, but my only issue is, I get soooooo nervous, as in seriously nervous, shaking and things.
My nerves sometimes make me mess up on stage and not perform to my best.
Can anyone please help?
Is there anything a doctor can do, as i'm fed up of being told to breathe in and out!
Thanks.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I love to act and I am currently working towards the role of Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'.
I've done so many drama exams, dance competitions and sang in a school competition...I get great feedback, but my only issue is, I get soooooo nervous, as in seriously nervous, shaking and things.
My nerves sometimes make me mess up on stage and not perform to my best.
Can anyone please help?
Is there anything a doctor can do, as i'm fed up of being told to breathe in and out!
Thanks.

Seeing as your auditioning for a role, I'll assume you've been singing, dancing, and performing for quite some time.

The best way to not be nervous is stage is:
1) BE PREPARED. Practice until your face turns blue. The more confident you are with your material, the less likely you will be nervous.
2) Unfortunatly there is no universal or concrete remedy. However, the best ways I've found are psychological. Pretend you are in an empty room and you are simply practicing. OR (this one works wonders) pretend you are performing in front of a group of people whom you know you are more talented than. As crazy as it sounds, knowing you have more talent than the people watching you is a great confidence booster. How can you be nervous in front of people who are worse than you?

It's horrible, but it works. Good luck!

pretend that your preforming for a bunch of your friends. it's okay to get a little nervous. you have to not care what other people will think of you if you mess up. if you mess up, you mess up. if you don't then you don't. doctors cannot really do anything becaue nerves are in your head

i dont think the doctor will do anything but try and start out small perform in front of your parents or friends.... then a bigger group of family or friends... work up to a big performance and when your on stage DONT look at the audience look at a clock or something pretend your practicing in your room.... try to kid your self that your not on stage

It has been my experience that there is no method to avoid nerves! Nerves will only go away after tons and tons of experience. Once you do it so often it will not seem like a big deal. This will come with age!

Happy Holidays!

There is something doctors can do. It's certainly not a first choice. I've seen this discussed on musician newsgroups. Obviously if you don't have much stage experience then getting that experience usually helps conquer stage fright. But as I am not a performing artist I cannot contradict what those who've used medications tell me--that under certain circumstances they can be helpful. Usually the drug used is in the class called "beta blockers". They are NOT tranquilizers and will not eliminate nerves. They will help eliminate your body's REACTION to the nerves, such as tremor. For this use they are usually given in a low dose. This medication is used in higher doses for high blood pressure and other heart conditions, so if you wish to go this route, make sure your doctor knows why you are using it. Certainly your doctor knows if your health status would make it unsafe.
Again, I am NOT recommending this, but others have told me they've found it helpful.

Good luck,
Steve Bornfeld

I agree with Jennifer above there. This may sound totally kooky, but you could try this: accept that you're nervous. Just say to yourself, "okay, I'm nervous, but it's not the end of the world. I'm still going to go out there and give it my best." You do have to learn how to work with your nervousness, not against it. If you fight it, it might keep getting the upper hand. If you try to calmly, consciously acknowledge that a) you're nervous and b) it's very OKAY to be nervous, you might start to break its hold on you.