If you want to shine -- really shine -- on whatever "stage" exists for your work, this is a premise you must come to terms with:
Plan on 100 hours of rehearsal for every hour of show.
What you do in the shows is not what separates you from the crowd. Your show performance makes it known, because that's when everyone is watching. What allows the show to happen, though, is the rehearsal. The more you rehearse, the easier the shows get. When your shows start outweighing your rehearsals, your performance will slip. The reverse is true also: if your performance is slipping, it's because your rehearsals aren't keeping up with your shows. It will catch up to you.

The rehearsals of your field could be gym time, book reading, or conversations with knowledgeable people... All of the endless, tedious work you have to do to stay sharp (that most people will start to pass on doing as the miles -- mental/physical/emotional) piles up.
People spend their hard-earned resources (time, money, attention) to come to your show. Give them their money's worth.