STAGE FRIGHT, Nitra Gallery, Athens, 2024.
Stage fright or performance anxiety, is a state of fear which occurs when an individual is faced with the requirement of performing in front of an audience. Stage fright symptoms can occur at different levels: Physiological: sweating, altered heart rate, headache, upset stomach, nausea. Cognitive: mental confusion, fear of failure and ridicule. Behavioural: urge to escape, stuttering, frequent or long silences. Often, stage fright is associated with social phobia, which is characterised by the following cognitive characteristics: Underestimation of one's own capabilities, overestimation of the opinion of others, overestimation of the idea of rejection.
Source: Βrainly.ph
The installation consists of three elements that have been placed along an axis that sits diagonally in a rectangular space: 1) A collection of props, that have been used in actual theatre productions, packed within a plastic container, 2) A wooden structure that reffers to the backstage condition of theater, where panels and walls are held up by such forms. The wooden structure is on wheels - a common place for stage sets – which serve for quick movements and changes. At the front of the structure, there is a translucent 'theatre' curtain. Between the backstage and the curtain, the stage has dissapered, 3) A scaled model (1:50) of a stand with spectators (placed at the end of the diagonal axis). The spectators are a homogenous, gray mass, gazing towards the non-existent stage. This is the recollection of a moment, when one is at the center of attention, blinded by the 'spotlight', overwhelmed and exposed to an 'audience' that is watching closely.
Photographs by Vangelis Dimopoulos.