Book Review: Facing the Fear – an actor’s guide to overcoming stage fright  

By Bella Merlin
published by Nick Hern Books

Insightful, empowering and reassuring, Facing the Fear is a book for any actor – for those who are experiencing or have previously suffered from stage fright, as well as for those who want to be fully prepared just in case that day ever comes!

If you have ever suffered from stage fright – you are not alone! Famous sufferers include Laurence Olivier, Stephen Fry, Bill Nighy and Sheila Hancock – it can affect any actor at any time, but it is a challenge that can be met.

In Facing the Fear performer, author and teacher Bella Merlin draws on her own and other actors’ personal experiences, plus the latest neurological research, to examine the root causes of stage fright and how it manifests itself and how the relationship between the actor and audience contributes. The book also looks at the cognitive processes of learning, storing and retrieving lines, with practical strategies to help, plus the techniques actors can employ to develop their own practices.

Facing the Fear provides the tools actors at any level need to understand, confront and ultimately overcome stage fright and its effects.