What’s in Your Glinda Bubble? Finding Peace in Performing is June Huang’s way of helping students overcome performance anxiety. Performance anxiety is not only confined to the stage, but also within our classrooms. Students can have shy moments and it is up to us as educators to alleviate the stress/tension in the room. Huang suggest asking students, “What’s in Your Glinda Bubble?” Glinda is the good witch character from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s film “The Wizard of Oz.” Glinda is portrayed as calm, confident, and ready to save the day. Huang’s question prompts students to think, “What can you [students] put in your magical sphere that helps you feel secure and safe?” (2021, p.39).

Thinking of our happy place is an oversimplification of Huang’s question because there are routines that can bring our mind and body through the performance experience prior to the performance. Huang proposes a pre-performance routine. Whether you need 20 or 40 minutes to warm-up prior to a performance, carry out your warm-up routine before running your program. The next step is to practice performing. Students should practice performing with the mindset that they are in a concert venue. While practice performing might seem like any other practice session, there are expectations in a performance setting (i.e., not stopping if a mistake happens or making split second decisions on the fly). Students can practice not stopping and/or making decisions on the fly – perhaps inadvertently changing fingerings during a passage.

Huang continues to offer ways to help students shift their thinking. “Nerves = Energy” (p.40) encourages us to think of nerves as energy that comes and goes. Imagining ourselves as windows that lets nervousness drift in and out. When we come across difficult musical passages or passages that have a special feature, it is a good idea to spend time thinking of the musical intention and possibilities that can happen during that moment. This brings extra practice and awareness to the passage. And finally, playing with purpose. The purpose of performance is not a test of right and wrong, but to enjoy the musical experience and presentation. The Glinda Bubble is a concept for students to find a safe space, filled with routines, imagery, and practice tools to bring more peace and confidence into performance.

Feeling safe and secure is always an important state to be in. When it comes to performing, feeling comfortable now is more important than ever since our COVID lock-downs. Students and educators might feel out of place coming into a live event and showing themselves to a large audience. People might fear for their health and safety, however, the strategies Huang presented might lend themselves to overcoming the fear of being in large crowds as well as stage fright.