Having confidence in the theatre can be hard. It always seems that there are better actors, better musicians, more creative stage designers, or parts of the crew that have everything figured out quicker than you do. In the theatre, if you make a mistake it is more likely to affect everyone rather than only yourself. If you do make a mistake it is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes. I know I did when I first started out, and still do. The important part to remember is to learn from the mistake, and move on. If you keep dwelling on it, then you are more likely to make even bigger ones the next time. It will also eat away at your confidence.
In order to have confidence in the theatre, you must be open to learning new things. Never overestimate your abilities because there is always more you could be learning to improve your skills. I have been acting for four years now, and I still love it when the upperclassmen share their comments and ideas on how I could improve my performance.
Another way to gain confidence is to believe in your abilities. I used to have a bad habit of needing someone else to say that I had done a good job in order for me to believe that I had, in fact done a good job. It was not until this year that I realized that I did not need anyone else to validate my performance for me to feel that I had put on the best show I could have. Yet it is always nice to have someone compliment you on a job well done.
It does not matter whether you are on stage every night or a part of the crew, a theatre person has to have confidence. If you go to a performance of any kind please be careful of your criticisms. Those of you involved with the performance believe in your talents and abilities to put on a magnificent show.
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