Performance Anxiety: Difference between revisions

''He got caught in the spotlight

''But when we get to the end

 

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.

* 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.

 

* A childrens' book about a boy getting the lead role in the school performance of [[Robin Hood]] brings this up. "The more mistakes I made, the more nervous I got. The more nervous I got, the more mistakes I made." It gets so bad that he ends up mixing up words; when the script reads "Listen to the [[wikipedia:Minstrels (chocolate)|minstrel]]", he comes onstage and announces "Listen to the [[wikipedia:Smarties|Smartie]]!"

 

* ''[[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.

* Played with in ''[[Married... with Children|Married...With Children]]''. Marcy is anxious about having to deliver bad news at a presentation to her bank executives. She sees a psychotherapist who conditions her to associate public speaking with sex. This not only relieves her performance anxiety, but causes her to have an orgasm during the presentation. She's soon [[Fetish Fuel|in demand]] throughout Chicago as a speaker delivering bad news.

* Simon in ''[[Misfits]]'' has difficulty when trying to [[How Do I Shot Web?|get the hang of his power]]—he can't ''turn'' invisible while people are watching.

 

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