Clayton, at 20 my legs would shake badly
(I remember reading with Philip Mead at Lounge
where people at the back thought I was fine,
but those near the front of the house felt
terribly sorry for me, it was a big audience),
one semester informally collaborating with
a class of 3rd year VCA drama students
did help a lot.
James Schuyler had the same problem, and
didn't read in public until 60 or so.
Practice and a bit of study (performance is an
art too) can make anyone a good reader of
their work. Though acting will never be something
I'll be good at, I don't find public speaking
difficult these days.
best
Hugh
----- Original Message -----
From: Clayton Hansen <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2000 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: poetryetc in The Age & stage fright
> Hugh,
>
> "huge, stage fright.." true?
>
> I'm interested in terms of the symptoms you felt...general anxiety I
> guess...(without doing your course)
> what do you suggest to performers to overcome, what can be, a
> debilitating condition.
>
> I've never read before but have two readings coming up soon (Brisbane
> and Melbourne) so don't know whether I'll suffer or not, so (apart from
> this sounding very Dear Dorothy...) I'd thought I'd ask.
>
> cheers
> Clayton
>
> Hugh Tolhurst wrote:
>
> > In Melbourne, in Saturday's Age newspaper, there's a news
> > story called LIVE AND LOUD POETS ' SOCIETY
> > by Jane Sullivan.
> >
> > The piece is mainly about performance poetry but
> > poetryetc gets a mention:-
> >
> > 'The best e-zines include _Divan_, backed by Box Hill
> > TAFE; Alison Croggon's _Masthead_; Coral Hull's
> > _Thylazine_; and John Tranter's _Jacket_. John Kinsella,
> > the expatriate Australian poet based at Cambridge University,
> > has many Australian poets in touch with an international audience.
> > Ivor Indyk says our poets have developed an elaborate
> > international network online."
> >
> > Amidst the discussions of performance poetry, yours truly
> > gets the following mention:-
> >
> > "If you can't do showbiz, you learn. Hugh Tolhurst, poetry
> > editor at Black Pepper press, used to suffer from huge stage
> > fright when he began reading in public, but avoided the problem
> > by taking a performance class at the Victorian College of the Arts."
> >
> > If I could be excused from collaborating over Marziale, I'd
> > plead not wanting to compete with excellent Australian efforts
> > by Peter Porter _After Martial_ and Laurie Duggan _Martial's
> > Epigrams_ plus a renewed case of stage fright.
> >
> > best
> >
> > Hugh
>
>
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