PHOTO: COTEY POPE
VOCALS
Cayley Thomas is a multidisciplinary artist best known for her work in music, theatre, and songwriting. Cayley’s most recent offering, an
EP entitled How Else Can I Tell You?, explores themes of self-forgiveness and is available now on all streaming platform. She has a BFA in
Acting from the University of Alberta. www.cayleythomas.com.
By Cayley Thomas
Hit the Stage in the
Right Headspace
F
or the first 21 years of my life, I was predominately a musical
theatre performer. I began singing around age five, joined my
first choir at age eight, started competing in singing competi-
tions around the same time, and was in my first professional
musical by age 12. Albeit hilarious to look back on some of
those early performances, I am simultaneously struck by the level of
professionalism that was embedded in those environments. I had a call
time, a dressing room, space to do a warmup and mentally prepare for
what was to come… It was all rather sophisticated.
Nowadays, I work predominantly as a singer/songwriter performing in
clubs and bars. It is my job to write the material, hire the band, book the
performance, invite the audience, load in, sound check (which is often a
line check), personally greet people, perform, head straight to the merch
table, converse with fans, sort out finances, pay everyone, rinse, repeat.
If it sounds like I’m complaining, I assure you I am not; this is simply
how you cut your teeth in the music industry and I signed up for it. But
there’s nothing worse than putting all of that work into something … and
then finding yourself on stage feeling totally anxious and overwhelmed.
And so, without further ado, here are a few tools that I like to use
whenever I find myself in such a circumstance:
Check in with Yourself
Whether it be a quick meditation, mentally rehearsing what I am about
to do, or even setting a simple intention before I walk on stage, it is
important for me to take a minute to check in with myself prior to
beginning a performance – especially in a club where I am surrounded
by my audience ahead of the set.
Note: You will have to clearly communicate to those around you if
you hope to carve out this space. This may seem like a no-brainer, but
it can actually be really hard to do sometimes. If I am performing in a
venue without a greenroom or if we are sharing the space with multiple
other bands, I will often duck out to sit in the van for a second or even
slip into a bathroom stall. If you get caught in a conversation, it can be
as simple as saying, “Hey, I just need a minute to prepare here; I would
love to continue this conversation after!” To me, there is no worse feeling
than stepping on stage when I am feeling out of sorts.
32 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Rewire Your Thoughts
That said, if you do find yourself up on stage in a frenzied state for
whatever reason, you need to practice rewiring your thoughts. Thoughts
like “this isn’t going well” or “they don’t like it” will not serve you in the
middle of a performance, I assure you. When my brain starts to bully
me in this way, I find it helpful to try and redirect my mind. I practice a
thought like: “Is there someone out there who is going to benefit from
this music that I have to share? Yes? Okay, good. Onwards!’ It is a practiced
skill to be present within your own performance without judgement.
I think everyone, in every job, desires validation to some degree. Most
of us are approval addicts. When you’re singing, however, there is very
little to hide behind. For this reason, I think it is especially important to
understand that your worth as a person is separate from the services you
offer. Your “whats” are the services and things that you give to the world
and they change over a lifetime – singing, performing, storytelling, etc. Yes,
you are a singer. Yes, singing may be a key component of your identity. But
your existence is not defined by your products or services. This concept
is very important if you hope to increase your resiliency as a performer.
Ditch the Doubt
Lastly, I want to talk about loss aversion – the idea that people are often
more fearful about failing than they are excited about gaining something
equivalent, or often greater. You are going to play some gigs where
the sound isn’t great, your vocals aren’t mixed well, and the audience
response is lukewarm. As I get older, I realize that success really comes
down to the ability to tolerate this discomfort and not make it mean
anything. There are so many variables (good sound, audience turn out,
etc.) that dictate whether a performance will be successful. When you are
starting out, it can be difficult to control all of those. Practice, be prepared,
and set yourself up for success, but don’t quit just because you cannot
tolerate the discomfort of something going wrong. Being willing to be
uncomfortable and still stick with it is the key to a long, fulfilling career
as far as I’m concerned.
Ok, that’s it for now! I hope you find these ideas helpful. When in doubt,
be gentle with yourself and I guarantee you will be of better service to
the world around you.
Sending love!