Do you ever just completely lose confidence?

I don't know why this happens to me. One minute I am really confident and the next minute I could sink into the floor.

I am directing a 10 minute play that plays tomorrow in the village.

We had one rehearsal and it's only a ten meinute play so I decided we needed to make some big choices.

For one example, the play is about 2 old friends who meet in a bar because one friend owes the other friend who is a loan shark money. Then the one guy's wife comes and it turns out she was once with the loan shark and she later admits that she would have amrried the loan shark had he not been married. In the end, he tells her he's divorced and wants to marry her. What I added that's not in the script was having him get down on one knee when he talks about marriage and having them kiss in the end. I also am playing a cheesy classic love song at the end. You'd have to see the play. but what happens is so slimy, so I thought ti would be really interesting to put it in a really pretty guise.

but tonight was the first time other people saw it, and they actually cracked up laughing (which was my intention), but I suddenly felt like they were laughing at my choices, thinking they were ridiculous. SOme of them had read the sciprt before and when they saw the kiss, they said "hey, that wasn't in the script!" And when some of the more surprising choices happenned people looked at me, which was appropraite because I amde them..but it just made me feel like they were suddnely bad choices..and I did show that insecurity to my cast, which was a bad thing to do. I just don't want to make THEM look ridiculous.

Does this happen to anyone else? you're doing fine and then the bottom just drops out?

I guess it's just the nature of the arts. You put yourself out there. If I had done something very generic I would not have accomplished anything and would not be memorable as a director who did something or said something with a piece.


ETA: When people looked at me it wasn't in a bad way, and I actually have no material reason to think anyone thought it was bad. They laughed a lot, which was my intention.

Message edited 3/21/2007 11:53:38 PM.

Re: Do you ever just completely lose confidence?

Yes, it has happened to me with ballet many times. Find your inner fortitude and trust yourself!