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Hi Dorothee,
I think a daily run-through, during which time you practice using singing brain would be great. The idea being, to practice your mental skills daily in the context of what you’ll have to do at the audition. To make this more realistic, I’d also encourage you to make sure the daily run-through is the first thing you do (after warming up for a bit of course, and then waiting around for a while to simulate having to wait at the audition).
With centering, I think if you can practice getting centered every time you start an excerpt or piece, this won’t add too much additional time to your prep, and hopefully help you make it more of a habit too. And it needn’t be the whole process, but really just the breathing, scan/release tension, and auditory/kinesthetic cues (hearing what you want, and then remembering the general physical feel of playing it the way you want).
The main thing is to feel like you have a specific mental script to use when the day comes. Where you know exactly what to think about when waiting backstage, as you walk out, in the 20 seconds before you play the first excerpt, in the transitions between excerpts, and throughout the time you’re playing each excerpt. So if you can practice these moments, using centering and singing brain, to the point that you don’t have the mental space to worry about or think about your nerves, you’ll have successfully accomplished your mission.
As far as visualization goes, for a few minutes in the morning and as needed throughout the day whenever you have a mini freakout-type moment, it might also help to use the highlight reel exercise (60 seconds of re-experiencing your past performance highlights, 60 seconds projecting these into your upcoming audition and imagining it going like these moments from the past)
Does that help to clarify a plan for the next week? Keep it simple, focus on these main things, and don’t try to do everything. =)
Noa
