ABSTRACT
Actors with stage fright look to causes to help them eradicate this painful and limiting condition. Some actors point to early childhood experiences of being criticized, past performance failures, insecurity, lack of preparation, fear of criticism, and negative self-judgments, to name a few. Many actors feel a sense of futility when addressing stage fright. Stage fright is thought to be caused by exhibitionism (i.e., the need to “show off”) and the actor’s fear of retaliation by the audience in the form of being attacked for their infantile nature. Stage fright has been called the “actor’s neurosis,” which is thought to be caused by an exhibitionist’s unconscious fear of castration and shame, which are remnants of developmental arrest that are activated in the acting situation. Nagel states that stage fright is caused by “the unconscious conflicts associated with attachment, rejection, competition, envy, loss, and the affects and fantasies they engender”.
