Social anxiety

I’m going to a summer intensive for drama but I get really nervous in social situations (ironic ik). I went to this program last year but I had a lot of trouble making friends. The entire time I felt so nervous and uncomfortable and I only became close with two girls. I’m doing this again because I love theater and I don’t want my social anxiety to get in the way of that although it is something I’ve struggled with for a long time and continue to struggle with. I want this year to be different and I want to make connections with a lot of people and have fun instead of constantly being nervous. Do you have any advice on how I can make friends? i’ve heard the same advice regurgitated over and over again. People always say to make eye contact and ask good questions but I’m gonna need a little bit more help than that. People really tried to become friends with me last year and I push them all away just because I was too scared to talk to them. I know it’s important to challenge myself and that’s the only reason I’m coming back but to be honest I’m dreading it. Does anyone have advice for how to calm my nerves in these situations and get out of my head and truly allow myself to become friends with people instead of holding back?