| Author | Message | ||
| Judy Thompson
Advanced Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 1613 Registered: 11-2007 |
In going through some of my stuff i found this-- 1. Show up early so that you can get an early slot on the sign up sheet. You'll engage them more easily in the first 15 minutes. That is, unless it's a judged competition. In that case, you'll want to have something so good that it will knock them to their senses at the end. 2. Avoid introductory explanations. Start off with a poem that will stand on its own. A poet will sometimes ramble about how the poem was written after getting dumped or while grieving over a death. If there is a good story connected with the poem, tell it afterwards and tell it well, making a point of using good story-telling techniques. Practice telling the story. 3. If you really want to make an impression and set yourself apart from 99 percent of the other poets, memorize your poem and look at the audience. Even a so-so poem can become performance art. 4. Avoid holding the paper in one hand and making a kind of rhythmic fruit-picking gesture with the other. 5. Male poets will do well to read confessional poem about a relationship. 6. Female poets do well to read something other than a confessional poem about a relationship. Afraid of the Dark | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 6202 Registered: 05-2006 |
To me, the number-one fault of people either featuring or reading in an open-mic is that they speak too fast. Fred YOUR FOOTNOTE ADVERTISEMENT HERE. Call 1-555-555-5555 and ask for Fred. 10% discount if you mention Wild Poetry Forum. | ||
| Lazarus
Senior Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 4997 Registered: 10-2005 |
I can add something from my recent experience. Trust the words. Trust the punctuation. Read it like you wrote it but don't think about the words. You are giving the lines to the room to absorb, so be free with them and don't lose focus by trying to understand what you are saying. Trust that it will fly on its own to them. -Laz | ||
| Emusing
Senior Member Username: emusing Post Number: 7634 Registered: 08-2003 |
Practice reading your poems to a mirror. Do this several times before reading. You can also record yourself reading with your camera and play it back on your computer. It will pick up flaws in your performance but especially in the poem. They seem to jump right out. Shorter presentations are definitely preferable to long ones. The audience attention span is rather short and if you go on too long unless the long poem is the only one you will read and it is an excellent work that lends itself well to being performed I might think twice. (This is for open mic, for a feature, the rules are different.) Always "intend" your words to the audience. Don't mumble or drop off at the end of your sentence. Speak the words as if they were important. This is a great thread Judy. Word Walker Press; Moonday Poetry; Kyoto Journal | ||
| Judy Thompson
Advanced Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 1614 Registered: 11-2007 |
i didnt write those, but they make perfect sense, dont they. And this aspect gets addressed too rarely, I think. it's always good to read for a friend who will tell you how it comes across. I have seen two performances that were totally at opposite ends of the spectrum. One was a sight read of a poem that someone else had written, and by the time it was done I wanted the man to marry me and read all my poems aloud. He made what was a very bad poem into something quite remarkable. Even the man who wrote the piece was surprised, and said, "I didn't know it was that good"... (Frost, by the way, and Yeats, were not good readers. it's no indication of quality, only of how well you can read aloud) The second was a remarkable poem, free verse, and the reader came to a full pause at the end of every line. since many of the lines were enjambed, what was a good poem became painful to listen to. And try not to sway. you are not a metronome. Afraid of the Dark | ||
| M
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 34361 Registered: 11-1998 |
Lots of excellent suggestions here, everyone. Thanks, Judy, for starting the thread. To the list, I'd like to add, don't be afraid to break some of these rules. I've broken many of them (avoid introductory explanations, don't read long poems, don't read poems with foreign words, don't gesture, don't walk around while you deliver, etc.), and still been successful. What I have found to be very important is that you must assess your audience. And not just at the beginning, but during every second of the performance. They'll give you unconscious clues all through the reading (facial expressions, body alignment, eye contact, gestures, etc.) that will tell you when you need to step it up, when you need to bring it down. And every audience is different. You have to think on your feet and respond to them as individuals. Oh, and practice, practice, practice. Practice until you're sick of it, but perform it every time with the same enthusiasm you'd bring to the very first performance. Speak at least five times louder and slower than you think you need to. Read/perform narratives, not lyric pieces. Everyone loves a good story. Don't read your best poems, read your best stories. Work with a narrative thread is always much easier for an audience to follow and relate to in an oral venue. Oh, and don't be afraid to break any of the rules I just mentioned.  Love, M | ||
| Andrew Dufresne
Senior Member Username: beachdreamer Post Number: 2526 Registered: 01-2006 |
Turn your back on the audience. Get too drunk to read your work. Abuse the other writers loudly and in French. Make passes at the baby-dykes (a phrase borrowed from Laurie Dingler, professional lesbian). You decide what not and what. ad | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 28313 Registered: 07-2001 |
read in your underware with drums and flutes in the background Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm | ||
| Richard M
Intermediate Member Username: youngjed Post Number: 706 Registered: 12-2008 |
Only one thing to add, but very important: SMILE. It relaxes you and it relaxes them.... R http://whatssoonly.blogspot.com/ | ||
| Judy Thompson
Advanced Member Username: judyt54 Post Number: 1616 Registered: 11-2007 |
gary, the visual you presented is probably forever etched in my memory, mostly because I am seeing Gary Blankenship with the drums and flutes in the background... When I was in a public speaking class years ago, the instructor told us, don't look at the audience as an AUDIENCE, it will scare you; look at one person here, one person there, and speak to the people in the last row. Afraid of the Dark | ||
| M
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 34372 Registered: 11-1998 |
Lordy, Mr. B. How am I supposed to get that picture out of my head? Are you trying to give me nightmares or what? *LMAO* Take a picture next time you do this at a reading. I'll pay good money for it. I couldn't even get you to put a purple pannie party hat on your head!  Love, M | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 28330 Registered: 07-2001 |
M, it would clash with my unmentionables. Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 28331 Registered: 07-2001 |
M, it would clash with my lime unmentionables. Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm |
