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Overthinking on Stage ? That ’ s What the Pre-Show Ritual is For
By Luther Mallory
Most artists warm up on stage . Most artists do a minimal , unfocused , scale-or-two warm-up in the club bathroom , get on stage , and finish the rest of their warm-up live in front of the audience .
Here ’ s a line I hear a lot : “ It takes me two or three songs to warm up on stage and then I ’ m good .” This approach is insane . You want to spend seven hours on a show day loading up , driving , loading in , sound checking , trying not to talk , finding a decent public bathroom for nervouspooping , only to show the audience half of your ability because you ’ re not warmed up ?
We all know the benefits of a pre-show ritual , but we ’ re often just too complacent and undisciplined to commit to it . I would say complacency is the killer of most budding artist careers .
Let ’ s look at complacency — follow me on this : There is no tangible result when you play a show . No measurable outcome . You get off stage and think , “ Okay , well that happened . Am I more successful now ? Less successful ? Is anything different ?”
This is why I ’ m jealous of athletes with their stupid tangible results . They know exactly what outcome they are after . If a boxer knocks someone out in the ring , no one is confused about what just happened . Somebody won and somebody lost . That ’ s a tangible result .
Then there ’ s us . We don ’ t “ win ” shows . We aren ’ t advancing towards any one certain thing . If sports are statistics-based and totally measurable , art is expression-based and immeasurable . And because the athlete can measure a desired tangible result , she can anticipate a warm-up that will prepare her to achieve that result . For artists , it ’ s difficult to commit to a proper warmup if there ’ s nothing to measure and we don ’ t really know what we ’ ve accomplished when we get off stage . Therefore , any warm-up , including no warm-up , will still get the job done .
But ! Imagine if you got complacent and lazy with your technique or trapped in thought during a performance and it meant that someone would come on stage and kick you in the chest . That would be one way to attach a tangible result to your mistakes . You ’ d get good fast , or change jobs .
Or imagine an NFL receiver had a complacent attitude and spent the first 10 minutes of the game jogging out and nonchalantly missing a few passes . And at the press conference he ’ s like , “ it takes me two or three plays to warm up and then I ’ m good .” He ’ s fired .
It ’ s our lack of a measurable , tangible result that breeds this undisciplined complacency in artists .
Now , let ’ s consider the audience . Think of the speed of judgment when you are in the audience at some other artist ’ s show . It takes you five milliseconds to start making decisions in your mind about the performer ’ s skill level , confidence , movement , everything . Because the job of the performer is to share , and the job of the audience is to judge what is being shared . You will not find a member of any audience that is able to suspend judgment for two or three songs because they ’ re anticipating the artist might need that time to warm up on stage .
This brings us back to the pre-show ritual , which is the warm-up process before a performance that helps the performer get to song one , note one , fully present and not trapped in thought .
So , if “ fully present ” is something to aim for , something we could use as a tangible result , what does it mean ? A better question might be , “ What typically inhibits our presence on stage ?”
In my experience as a performance coach , the presence killer is over-thinking and obsessive judgment . The mind is racing and the artist is trapped in thought .
Ever had a conversation with someone half listening to you because they are trapped in thought ? You can ’ t be present with that person . They are prioritizing their own thoughts , not your interaction . Now , transplant that dynamic to the stage . When the artist is trapped in thought , the audience experiences a distracted artist prioritizing their thoughts instead of being present and the audience judges the behavior as detached .
Now , let ’ s bring it all together .
At the beginning of the show , the artist is trapped in thought because they are forced to spend two to three songs figuring out if their voice is working properly , getting used to movement , and a whole list of tasks that prioritize thinking — not presence .
The pre-show ritual is the warming up process of doing all of that thinking before you get on stage so when you get to song one , note one , you are ready to switch from prioritizing thinking , to prioritizing presence and interaction with the people at the foot of your stage .
Have you gotten complacent about your commitment to bringing energy to your shows ? For your next performance , ask yourself this : How do I get to song one , note one , fully present and not trapped in thought ? And then build yourself a 20-minute pre-show ritual .
Luther Mallory is an artist and performance coach specializing in stage psychology . He works with the Juno Masterclass and CMI ’ s Artist Entrepreneur Program to help artists learn to let go of overthinking and obsessive judgment in performance . Learn more at LutherMallory . com or DM him @ luthermallory on Instagram .
30 CANADIAN MUSICIAN