Shaking in the wings: Creating a drama-based curriculum derived from actor education to address music performance anxiety
Date
2025
Authors
Flanagan, Kara
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Abstract
This study examines the ways post-secondary curriculum in British Columbia (BC) supports, or fails to support, musicians in managing performance anxiety, and investigates how curriculum derived from actor education can be effective in educating musicians to successfully manage music performance anxiety and enhance music performance delivery. The purpose of this study was to create curriculum based on actor education as an educational intervention for managing music performance anxiety, and to investigate the impacts of this curriculum from the perspectives of participants from a variety of musical backgrounds. The curriculum was workshopped in a twelve-hour weekend course at the University of Victoria in 2023. The curriculum and course assessments were based on exit interviews, consisting of a collective case study of 14 BC-based musicians with music performance anxiety. Most participants found that the acting-based curriculum and course were effective for them in managing music performance anxiety and enhancing their performance delivery.
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Keywords
music education, drama education, curriculum development, music performance anxiety, Canadian actor education, Canadian acting curriculum, Canadian curriculum, acting education, acting training