- Psychology of Performance in the Arts

Catalog description

Whether in a business meeting, competing in a sporting event, or in a test-taking situation, performance is often a crucial aspect of success in a variety of domains. Because the careers of performing artists (musicians, dancers, actors, etc.) hinge on successful performance, those artists spend a great deal of energy learning how to harness their own capacities. Not only do performing artists spend practice time training muscles, but they also practice mental strategies that allow for optimal performance under pressure. The purpose of this course is to look at effective mental strategies used by performing artists with the tools afforded to us by research in social psychology. In doing so, we will take the psychological strategies of artists and link them with performance situations in other domains. Work in this class will include readings from relevant psychology research, performing artist narratives, and hands-on, participatory practice techniques.