Giving 110%

Got a great question from a performer a while back, and I'd like to share my reply with everyone.  If you have a question, I'll be happy to do the same for you!  Anyway here we go:

One of your posts suggest that people try NOT to give it that extra 10% on stage because you might make it worse. It you want to give 110% give it first in practice then duplicate that on stage; don't surprise the rest of the quartet with something they haven't heard before. We went on stage with that goal; to bring our best on stage, no more, no less. In spite of that the energy of performing did something positive. This is obviously one of those Zen issues with contradictory goals. There is clearly a right and a wrong way to use performance energy and tension. Used wrong it can lead to over singing or breaking the unity of the group. Used right it can be great, but what does that mean?

To quote my favorite little green Jedi, "Do or do not - there is no try!"  If there's something deficient about your performances, "trying harder" is not the magic solution you're looking for!  That's just the fly banging against the closed window - it doesn't much matter how hard the fly tries.  The fly needs to find an open window.

For most people, the open window is to base your performance around human truth rather than technique.  I've written about that a bazillion times so I'll spare everyone the repeat lecture.  :)

To put it another way, it's not about your effort level.  The audience doesn't care about your effort level - they only care about their experience.  When I see a performer putting in a lot of effort, it just makes me nervous.  It makes me think about the performer instead of the piece!  A performer who is "in the moment" will not be aware of their own effort level.  That's part of the "flow" or "in the zone" experience -- one is concentrating on the task, not on the self. 

Now you might be thinking, "hey wait a minute, it does take energy!"  And of course you are right.  It takes energy to perform with commitment.  But there's no point in doing the wrong thing only harder.  The energy you're looking for comes from having a clear story for your piece, and choosing to step into that story with your whole being.  If you do that,  you are committed.  You'll do the right thing, because there is no "wrong" thing when you are in the story.  Authenticity is beyond judgment.