Overcoming Stage Fright

I performed at a company holiday banquet on Sunday night in Pennsylvania. As I was eating dinner with the owner and his family, one of his children asked me, “Do you ever get nervous before your shows?” My answer was a quick and simple, “Yes.” Then I explained a little more.

Looking out at my audience before going on stage for my show at the Weaver Markets banquet in Pennsylvania.

Yes, I still get nervous before my performances even after nearly years of on-stage experience (which is most of my life) and over eight years of full-time one-man show performances.

Why do I get nervous? Frankly, I’m afraid the audience won’t like me. I’m afraid I’ll let down their expectations. I’m afraid I’ll mess up. I’m afraid I’ll injure someone. I’m afraid that it will be the last performance of my career for whatever reason.

And then I do the show…and they love it. I love it. Everybody has a great time. I realize that it was all in my head. And here’s a key thing to consider: Is that really a bad thing?

I would suggest, “No.”

Call it nervousness, call it stage fright, call it butterflies. We all know the feeling. And I believe it is a very normal and human thing. It is the desire to pursue excellence and to deliver something that is beneficial to others. And there will always be the risk of failure. I believe that if we don’t feel at least a little fear or nervousness in the things we strive for in life, then we might not be challenging ourselves enough.

But the fright is still there. Knowing that it is a very common feeling does not make it go away. How do we overcome stage fright?

I think that’s the wrong question.

The question should be, “How can we use stage fright to our advantage?”

So here are some things that I do in order to work through stage fright and use it to my advantage…..

Just do it – Nike was right. When I just get up and do my show, all the jitters go away. The jitters are usually the worst right before I go out on stage. But within a few seconds of starting my rehearsed routine, I’m all good. Speaking of rehearsed….
Practice – It sounds trite, but the more you practice, the less you need to worry about them not liking you. If you practice a ton for your presentation, you’ll do great. And even if you mess up, the audience will easily forgive you because they have a sixth sense that knows whether you’re practiced up or not. They can tell when you’ve worked hard on something and that they probably couldn’t do it themselves anyway, so they will appreciate you. Believe me, audiences are a lot nicer than we as performers usually think they will be.
Look out at the audience before your performance – This may not be the right ritual for everyone, but it helps me. If possible, peek through the curtain to see who you’re about to perform for. Or at least get as good a look as you can at people as they come into the event. The more I see who I’m playing to and the more I gaze into their eyes and expressions, the more at ease I become because I realize that these are normal human beings who just want to enjoy a performance. They’re not out to get me. They’re not out to boo the performer off the stage. They’re on my side. And that helps me tremendously.
Transfer the nervousness into energy – This is easier said than done. But it really it a mental exercise. Tell yourself that the nervous jitters are going to help you do great because you can go out there with excitement and anticipation for a great show.
Pray – I am a person of faith who prays. I am part of a larger community of faith that supports me and prays for what I do. I can say from experience that prayer does amazing things – especially when it comes to stage fright and gearing up for presentations. Knowing that God made me and has called me to this vocation helps me focus my thoughts and energy on Him rather than myself. I believe that life is not about me anyway – it’s about bringing glory to God. If you have any inkling in you that there is a God (or even if you don’t believe in God), give prayer a chance and see what happens….

Having fun up close with my audience at the New Year’s Eve masquerade in Williamsburg, VA.

The Interrobang as a Metaphor for the Hypostatic Union

If you have no idea what that title means, that’s OK. It is actually fairly simple to explain those weird words, which I will attempt to do. The “hypostatic union” is an important theological concept to understand about the person and work of Jesus Christ. It basically says that Jesus Christ is one person, two natures (divine and human). The interrobang is a punctuation symbol that I believe is a helpful metaphor to understand the hypostatic union.

The interrobang is a lesser known punctuation mark. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a punctuation mark ‽ designed for use especially at the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question” (“Interrobang,” Merriam-Webster). This means that it unites both the symbol and function of the exclamation point and the question mark into one character. For example, instead of “You lost the dog?!” it is also acceptable (and more economical) to write, “You lost the dog‽” In fact, you can still see the shape of both the exclamation point and the question mark in the interrobang as the two characters are superimposed on one another. Here is a larger look at how they merge:

! + ? = ‽

This is a visual metaphor for the hypostatic union. This is the theological doctrine that Jesus Christ is simultaneously fully God and fully man. In Christ, the two natures (divine and human) are united into one person (hypostasis) (McGrath, 1998, 56; Oden, 1992/2001, 165). This can be a potentially difficult point to explain to children (and adults as well). But when a simple visual metaphor such as the interrobang is used, the ability to grasp the concept is increased. Not only that, but it also helps learners experience and understand what for them may be a new spiritual reality in their hearts and minds, which ideally helps them draw closer to God. This is the generative nature of metaphors in spiritual formation.

Note that in the interrobang neither the exclamation point nor the question mark are absorbed or lost into the other. The reader can still clearly make out the fullness of each punctuation mark – and they are artfully merged to co-exist in one typographical character. So also is the character/person of Jesus Christ. He is one person who embodies the union of total divine nature and total human nature. Just as you can make out the entire exclamation point and entire question mark in the interrobang at the same time, so also does Jesus have the entirety of divinity and the entirety of human nature at the same time (John 1:14; Phil 2:6-11; Col 2:9, 3:15-20). The author of Hebrews adds that though he was like us in every way (human nature), he had no sin (Heb 4:15). That is because he was also fully God and it is impossible for God to sin (James 1:13; Heb 6:18; Psalm 92:15).

Why is the hypostatic union such an important concept? It has to do with the very foundations of Christianity – salvation by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. If Jesus was merely a man and not God, then he would be less than perfect and his sacrifice would not be sufficient to atone for sins against a perfect and holy God. If Jesus was God and not also human, then he would not be able to offer himself on behalf of humans (human sin against God demands that the atonement must also come from a human – see Anselm’s argument at The Christian History Institute).

What do you think about the interrobang‽ Is it a helpful metaphor? What are some other metaphors that may help us better understand the hypostatic union?

Works Cited:

“Interrobang.” Merriam-Webster. online article. http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interrobang (accessed December 17, 2015).

McGrath, Alister E. Historical theology: An introduction to the history of Christian thought. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.

Oden, Thomas C. The word of life: systematic theology: volume two. Peabody, MA: Prince, 2001.

Five Ways to Redeem Halloween

As a Christian who grew up in the church and in a Christian family, I have seen many various ways that Christians respond to the cultural phenomenon that has become Halloween.

Like many things in life, there are extreme ways to celebrate (or not celebrate) something. Some Christians avoid Halloween and anything having to do with it altogether. Others celebrate the not-so-holy “holi”day by jumping in with the rest of culture like it’s no big deal.

Instead of saying that I fall somewhere in the middle, I would rather like to view Halloween from the larger Christian perspective of redemption – and say that there are ways to redeem (which literally means “to buy back”) Halloween.

First of all, Halloween is like Mardi Gras – it celebrates the day before a Christian holiday and tends to diametrically oppose the Christian holiday in some way shape or form. Mardi Gras (“fat tuesday”) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. Since Lent is a season that many Christians fast from something, Mardi Gras has turned into a celebration of the excesses of worldly pleasure before taking time to fast from something.

With Halloween, it sits the day before All Saints Day (November 1st). In fact, Halloween literally means “All Hallows (Saints) Eve,” which gives us “Hallow-een.” While All Saints Day celebrates the great cloud of Godly witnesses who have gone before us, Halloween has become a celebration of the opposite – the evil dead, the spirits of the wicked, and all sorts of other accompanying themes like demons and witches.

I find it interesting that both celebrations (Mardi Gras and Halloween) are secular responses to an original Christian holiday, not the other way around. Both are only there because the Christian holiday was there first. So as Christians, I feel that we can approach both of these celebrations in a redemptive way – knowing that Halloween simply means that we are about to approach All Saints Day and Mardi Gras means that Lent is right around the corner.

I also believe that we as Christians can participate in many of the cultural traditions of both celebrations without selling out our faith. In fact, I think both are opportunities to “buy back” the days and engage our communities with the redemptive love and message of Jesus Christ.

So do I think it’s wrong for your child to dress up and ask for candy – of course not. I think the general consensus (including among Christians today) is that playing dress-up and asking others for candy is harmless (except for the whole sugar-overload thing). But I do believe there is a line that we as Christians should draw in terms of not exposing our children (or ourselves) to images, costumes, and activities that celebrate evil, wickedness, and horror.

So here are some practical suggestions as to how we as Christians can “buy back” Halloween in such a way that I believe points to Jesus instead of evil:

Reverse Trick-or-Treat – I heard of this idea years ago from the Cincinnati Vineyard Church. They would encourage their congregation to use Halloween night as a great chance to meet neighbors door-to-door and give something away (like bottles of water or even candy) at each house along with a neighborly greeting. They would encourage people to simply say something like, “Here’s a bottle of water. I just wanted to show you God’s love in a practical way.” No pushy sales talk. Just loving your neighbors (isn’t that what Jesus told us to do?).
Historical Figure Dress Up – I just heard of this from a Christian school near my house called Veritas School. They had the students dress up as their favorite characters from history – whether Biblical or otherwise. They had everything from Jonah to Thomas Jefferson. What a great way to let your kids have fun and learn the stories of fascinating figures from history.
Trunk-or-Treat – You have probably heard of this. A church or other organization will have a big tailgate party in their parking lot and each car gets decked out in decorations and candy. The kids can then go from car to car and get their spoils. This is a great idea for community outreach since it is safe and open to the wider community. Some of these events also include ways for people in the community to learn more about the church and the message of God’s love for them in various ways.
Fall Festival – This is also very common. It is a great way to throw a big end-of-October party without calling it “Halloween”! Kids don’t care and won’t feel like they’re missing out on anything because they still get to dress up (sometimes with a “no scary costumes” caveat, which is fine), ride hay rides, bob for apples, and walk the cake walk. Celebrate the season of God’s provision of the harvest!
Just-Hang-Out-On-Your-Front-Porch – I made this title up. But it is the idea of being present with your neighbors in a culture when most people just drive into their garages and never even wave at their neighbors. Halloween is a great opportunity to do something revolutionary like meet your neighbor. You can’t love your neighbor unless you first meet them. Chances are that they will drop by for a moment while their kids ask for candy. Take the opportunity to greet them and love them with the love of Christ. Chill on the porch and enjoy the opportunity to build a bridge with people that you usually otherwise may never meet. I would recommend having substantial gifts and treats that represent generosity!