‘Disarming’ Performance Anxiety: Re-engaging the joy of performing by becoming more resilient in our innate vulnerability
Tuesday 29th October 2024, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (London Time)
Dr Mark Seton's overview:
Performance anxiety is a complex and potentially confusing label often used to give meaning to a diverse range of bodily experiences and cognitive beliefs that inhibit our capacity to perform in an optimal manner. However, through my research and coaching on vulnerability and actor wellbeing, I have found that we can reduce the effects of performance anxiety when we choose to move consciously towards greater competency in technique, deeper connection with the audience and vulnerable pleasure in our craft.
In this workshop, I will offer practical, playful and holistic strategies to ‘dis-arm’ three factors of being human that can impact our capacity to perform: doubt, shame and trauma. Firstly, through an awareness of body data, body knowledge and body wisdom, we’ll identify energetic preferences in performers that may undermine performance potential. Secondly, we’ll explore playful ways to allow the body to give ‘voice’ to how it may hold tension and need to find release. Thirdly, we’ll invite both storytelling and playfulness to process moments of past shaming that still disempower us. Overall, I will guide us through three resilient vulnerability phases I have identified – presence, perception and play – that can give us all agency AND connection for optimal performing that brings us joy.
Dr Mark Seton
Dr Mark Seton is an Honorary Research Associate (Department of Performance Studies) at the University of Sydney. He lectures in screen performance and drama at Excelsia College.

Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.

Tuesday 22nd April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday 23rd April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday 24th April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday 25th April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Monday 28th April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 29th April 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
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This six-day course is designed to provide an introduction to the neuroscience of vocalization. It aims to provide a foundation for those who are looking to fuse science with art and understand that the voice is so much more than an instrument.


Thursday 24th April 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Friday 25th April 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
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Dr Patricia Izbicki
Unlock the transformative power of music with our two-part lecture series that delves deep into the fascinating intersection of neuroscience, music education, and music therapy. This course aims to achieve three distinct objectives: to demonstrate the multifaceted benefits of music training and therapy, to equip you with a neuroscience-informed perspective for teaching, practice, and research, and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the science of singing across all stages of life. Join Dr Patricia Izbicki on this captivating journey and unlock the secrets of music's impact on the brain and human development!

Monday 28th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday 29th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 30th April 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Thursday 1st May 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Mental Health and Musicians Certificate with Dr George Musgrave
Join Dr George Musgrave – co-author of Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition (2020) – for a deep dive into the social and psychological experiences of musical career creation and development, as well as the effects of the music industry and its practices on mental health. Dr Musgrave will present an overview of current research on career musicianship and mental health before exploring an array of specific themes, including success (and the management thereof); career sustainability; and cultural, social and symbolic capital. A comprehensive look at the ethics and morality of the industry provides the finale to this course!