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{{trope}}
{{quote|''See the man with the stage fright
''Just standin' up there to give it all his might
''He got caught in the spotlight
''But when we get to the end
''He wants to start all over again''
|'''[[The Band]]'''|"Stage Fright"}}
A character has an ability that they cannot show off to or use in front of others because of nerves. When under pressure, the character can't perform as well, making others doubt that character's ability.
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The trope name is a more technical term for Stage Fright (see Real Life examples below).
If all we ever see is the character cracking under pressure, then it starts to edge into [[Informed Ability]] territory. Compare [[
For the radio equivalent, see [[Dead Air]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Hitohira]]'': Mugi Asai. The plot revolves around her being convinced to join her school's drama club, and she has a tendency to get so nervous in front of people that sometimes she faints.
* Akiyama Mio from ''[[K-On!]]''.
==
* One story in [[Archie Comics]] involved Reggie getting stage fright during his first attempt at stand-up comedy, leading to Jughead heckling him, which got Reggie mad enough to reply and then go into the rest of his routine.
== [[Film]] ==
* Referenced in ''[[
{{quote|
* One of the superheroes in ''[[Mystery Men]]'' has the power to become
* In ''[[My Favorite Year]]'', Alan Swann is a beloved [[Swashbuckler|swashbuckling]] film star. When he learns he has to perform in front of an audience (and on ''live television'') for his latest gig, [[I Need a Freaking Drink|well]]...
* Todd in ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'' is actually quite a good poet, but has a bit of a problem with reading/speaking in front of people, which leads to him taking notes at Dead Poets meetings rather than doing any of the actual reading. At first his aversion to public speaking is so strong that he refuses to join the society at all.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Ron Weasley has this problem in ''[[Harry Potter and
* Happens to Petra in ''
* The Great And Powerful Turtle in ''[[Wild Cards]]'' suffers from this when using his telekinetic powers. This gets in the way of his desire to be a superhero until he gets access to some military surplus battleship armour and a scrap Volkswagen Beetle.
* In ''[[Lonely Werewolf Girl]]'' one of the biggest problems Dominil has acting as manager for werewolf punk-rockers Beauty and Delicious is preventing them getting completely drunk due to their stage fright. Yep, werewolves with stage fright.
* In ''[[
* A
== [[Live
* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'': "You Can't Win Them All," from the fourth season, was about Cindy earning a spot on a ''Quiz Bowl''-type show for elementary students ("Quiz the Kids," with Chris Knight's father, Edward, playing the quizmaster). Cindy's huge ego (the central focus of the episode) underlied the fact that she studied hard for the program ... only for it to come crashing down when the cameras started rolling and the live TV broadcast began. Cindy fails to so much as mutter a syllable the entire time – all she can do is stare blankly at the camera throughout the show – and Mike reassures his disconsolate, humiliated youngest daughter afterward, "It can happen to anyone."
* ''[[Family Ties]]'': The first season episode, aptly titled "Stage Fright," had a ''High School Bowl''-type program in its plot, where the highly intelligent Alex, captain of his school's quiz bowl team, is forced to turn to his dunce of a sister Mallory when a teammate falls ill. Alex is well prepared for the show and victory for his school is assured just by his mere presence ... only for him to unexpectedly come down with stage fright. Alex is unable to answer one question or spit out a coherent statement, while Mallory (the underachiever) is relaxed, despite only answering a few of the questions right.
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** At least one champion from ''The $100,000 Name That Tune'' recounted his experiences from the $100,000 tournament in Jefferson Graham's "The Game Show Book"; in an elimination round, he knew the titles to three songs ("Yesterday," "America" (from "[[West Side Story]]") and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree") but was either unable to answer before being buzzed or press his lock-out buzzer fast enough, and he owed his lack of success to extreme nerves (particularly since he knew a large prize was up for grabs). At least one other book – pitching advice to prospective game show contestants – included its author's own disastrous experience on the Jim Perry version of ''[[Card Sharks]]''; she wrote that, despite being relaxed beforehand, she became completely unnerved when told she was going on air to play the game, and those nerves – plus a lack of support from others in the contestant pool, whom she had thought were her friends – contributed to a pair of quick losses to a dominant champion.
* ''[[Chuck]]'''s ability to "flash".
* Played with in ''[[
* Simon in ''[[Misfits]]'' has difficulty when trying to [[How Do I Shot Web?|get the hang of his power]]
* ''[[Starsky and
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
* [[Truth in Television]] for many people. When referring to people specifically performing something (like a play or a music recital), it's colloquially called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_fright Stage Fright]▼
* Everywhere in amateur/high school productions of plays or musicals. It can merge into [[Bad Bad Acting]] eventually if the performer does not try to keep it under wraps. The way to spot it is a refusal to put down their arms, frequent gesturing to emphasise words and/or legs placed firmly on the stage, complete with bobbing in some performers.▼
* ''[[Barbra Streisand]]'' has admitted to having terrible stage fright before every performance.▼
== [[Web Animation]] ==
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* A mild version is called the "[[Let's Play]] Curse", where Let's Players will make stupid mistakes while recording that they never make when they're playing the game off-camera.
** Another feature is that the game sometimes decides to take it [[Up to Eleven]] and kick the dignity out of the Let's Player.
** And then [[Throw It In|never edit them out.]]
** The curse can be (and has been) intensified if the Let's Player does live commentary
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In an episode of ''[[Birdz]]'', Eddie's friend Gregory is shown to have a fine singing voice, but is afraid to perform onstage. {{spoiler|At first, he has Eddie lip-sync to him, but then feels guilty over pushing Eddie into the spotlight this way and runs off. Eddie finally fakes a sore throat, forcing Gregory to step in as his understudy and overcome his stage fright.}}
* In ''[[My Little Pony
** Happens again with Rainbow Dash in "Sonic Rainboom".
** Happens again to Fluttershy in "Hurricane Fluttershy".
* Libby in ''[[The Ghost and Molly McGee]]''; she's only willing to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGsJ4apSUjo do a "Theme Song Takeover"] because [[Medium Awareness|it's non-canon.]]
▲== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* [[Truth in Television]] for many people. When referring to people specifically performing something (like a play or a music recital), it's colloquially called [
▲* Everywhere in amateur/high school productions of plays or musicals. It can merge into [[Bad Bad Acting]] eventually if the performer does not try to keep it under wraps. The way to spot it is a refusal to put down their arms, frequent gesturing to emphasise words and/or legs placed firmly on the stage, complete with bobbing in some performers.
▲* ''[[Barbra Streisand]]'' has admitted to having terrible stage fright before every performance.
* During their performance at [[Woodstock]], Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash admitted to the audience that it was only the second time that the group had ever performed in front of other people, and they were, quote, "scared shitless".
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fear Tropes]]
[[Category:Bad Acting Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trope]]
|