Performance Poetry, a proposal
An essay about performance poetry10 total reviews
Comment from LisaMay
I applaud your experimental bent. The tapestry idea of interweaving phrases would be really interesting to listen to... a bit like Rounds in its simplest sense, or Gregorian chants, but probably a lot more like Jazz, with discordant notes as well as harmonies.
Personally, I found reading your example to require too much concentration to see where each line was broken in 2. Could you put a triple gap between the 2 parts to make it more obvious?
I live alone, so will not have anyone else around to read it with me, but I can hear in my "mind's ear" how effective your idea could become, where a listener could have the overall sound effect as a unit, or choose to listen to one voice's lyrics, then another's... weaving in and out of language and sound and meaning. I think a bit of aural punctuation could add a dramatic point from time to time also, like clapping a background beat, or tapping something to a rhythm, or a bell to mark a break after an extended passage.
I'm interested to see where you go with this.
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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I applaud your experimental bent. The tapestry idea of interweaving phrases would be really interesting to listen to... a bit like Rounds in its simplest sense, or Gregorian chants, but probably a lot more like Jazz, with discordant notes as well as harmonies.
Personally, I found reading your example to require too much concentration to see where each line was broken in 2. Could you put a triple gap between the 2 parts to make it more obvious?
I live alone, so will not have anyone else around to read it with me, but I can hear in my "mind's ear" how effective your idea could become, where a listener could have the overall sound effect as a unit, or choose to listen to one voice's lyrics, then another's... weaving in and out of language and sound and meaning. I think a bit of aural punctuation could add a dramatic point from time to time also, like clapping a background beat, or tapping something to a rhythm, or a bell to mark a break after an extended passage.
I'm interested to see where you go with this.
Comment Written 04-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks for the encouragement, and all the interesting ideas. I will keep them in mind. It will be very important to make this as readable as possible. Differentiating the voice parts I will have to work out as well as possible. I think there are all kinds of possibilities with this; but initially I will keep them as simple as possible. the first piece will be for two voices. estory
Comment from Brenda Henderson
Interesting performance art concept. Having done some theater in my youth and having played in bands and orchestras and having sang in various choirs I think I can visualize how this could work.
Some of the speaking parts could be done in rounds; such as the way "Row, row, row your boat is traditionally sung.
Some parts can be done in spotlight with fade in and out as different voices speak. In this instance much like the way stage actors violate the third wall and while staying in character speak directly to the audience.
Finally some of the dialogue could be spoke in concert in unity much like the refrain or chorus of a song lyric.
You could go so far as creating several individual pieces to perform that utilize only one form listed above and then for your finale you could integrate all the forms into one piece or bookend the presentation with such pieces at the beginning and the end.
These are just a few suggestions. Whatever you do even if you want to portray violence, chaos or political unrest or any sort of activism or protest even the disorder must have some order of sorts and revert to harmony to show contrast and produce a more powerful statement or else it may become too distracting and cumbersome for people to follow and grasp the message.
You might also integrate some instrumental with no vocals and dance selections like riverdance or tap so that the sound of the feet is showcased separate from any music.
In this way you could showcase each form: voice, music and dance as an individual and separate component and then bring them all together in concert with one another.
I guess this would be "I Sing the Body Electric" on steroids.
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Interesting performance art concept. Having done some theater in my youth and having played in bands and orchestras and having sang in various choirs I think I can visualize how this could work.
Some of the speaking parts could be done in rounds; such as the way "Row, row, row your boat is traditionally sung.
Some parts can be done in spotlight with fade in and out as different voices speak. In this instance much like the way stage actors violate the third wall and while staying in character speak directly to the audience.
Finally some of the dialogue could be spoke in concert in unity much like the refrain or chorus of a song lyric.
You could go so far as creating several individual pieces to perform that utilize only one form listed above and then for your finale you could integrate all the forms into one piece or bookend the presentation with such pieces at the beginning and the end.
These are just a few suggestions. Whatever you do even if you want to portray violence, chaos or political unrest or any sort of activism or protest even the disorder must have some order of sorts and revert to harmony to show contrast and produce a more powerful statement or else it may become too distracting and cumbersome for people to follow and grasp the message.
You might also integrate some instrumental with no vocals and dance selections like riverdance or tap so that the sound of the feet is showcased separate from any music.
In this way you could showcase each form: voice, music and dance as an individual and separate component and then bring them all together in concert with one another.
I guess this would be "I Sing the Body Electric" on steroids.
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks for all the support and advice. I will bear it all in mind. I think you understand pretty much where I want to go with this, but initially I want to keep it as simple as possible. the first piece will be for two voices. The idea of rounds is very interesting for me. I want to do something like that, with repetitions and offset repetitions to create musical echoing effects. I wish RG Star could read one of the parts. He has such a great voice. estory
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You're welcome! Good luck!
Comment from rama devi
Wow! What a concept. Like musical chords. Awesome. I look forward to reading it. This genius level inventiveness, my friend.
However, I think you need spaces between the columns or it might be very confusing. Using caps is good but one needs the spaces to understand there are two columns, in my opinion, Example:
Exit after exit Entrances invite
Delivers us Us into places
Into spaces In their abundance,
Expanding around us Earth, water, air,
Without end or beginning In endless partitions
And carrying us away Closing us in
This reminds me of a cleave poem.
Anyway, I look forward to reading your innovative work.
Warmly,
rd
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Wow! What a concept. Like musical chords. Awesome. I look forward to reading it. This genius level inventiveness, my friend.
However, I think you need spaces between the columns or it might be very confusing. Using caps is good but one needs the spaces to understand there are two columns, in my opinion, Example:
Exit after exit Entrances invite
Delivers us Us into places
Into spaces In their abundance,
Expanding around us Earth, water, air,
Without end or beginning In endless partitions
And carrying us away Closing us in
This reminds me of a cleave poem.
Anyway, I look forward to reading your innovative work.
Warmly,
rd
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks so much for the encouragement and your ideas, I will keep them in mind. I think it will very important to make this as readable as possible, and delineating the parts will be a big part of it. The first piece will be for two voices. I want to keep it simple at first. But I think this has lots of interesting possibilities if we can get some people to read the parts and record it. I think that will be the hardest part of all. estory
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I'd love to hear that!
:-)))
Comment from DonandVicki
I like performance poetry, especially "Slam Poetry" and your idea of bringing several poets on stage at once is very original, in my humble opinion. Well done.
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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I like performance poetry, especially "Slam Poetry" and your idea of bringing several poets on stage at once is very original, in my humble opinion. Well done.
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks for the vote of confidence in the idea and we'll see how it turns out. estory
Comment from susand3022
Hi Estory!!! This sounds like an amazing endeavor! I do have one more suggestion, though it will probably be a pain in the ass, it may make for easier reading if you put each voice in a different color. That way you could write it like sheet music, each word coming in precisely where you want it.
This sounds so truly AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see how it works out. I'm Not sure I'd be able to do anything that intricate. ð???ð???ð???
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Hi Estory!!! This sounds like an amazing endeavor! I do have one more suggestion, though it will probably be a pain in the ass, it may make for easier reading if you put each voice in a different color. That way you could write it like sheet music, each word coming in precisely where you want it.
This sounds so truly AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see how it works out. I'm Not sure I'd be able to do anything that intricate. ð???ð???ð???
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks so much for the encouragement and support for this idea, and the interesting suggestions. I'm not sure if I could pull off doing the voices in different colors, but I will try to differentiate them as much as possible. For the multi voice pieces it might be hard to do in this Fanstory space here. We'll see. estory
Comment from Mystic Angel 7777
You are very brave, my friend. Most folks here barely understand the mechanics of a simple sonnet and you are expecting them to follow poetry essentially written as two scripts spoken simultaneously? You have more confidence in mankind than the good Lord himself LOL. I applaud what you are trying to do, I'm just a bit worried for you as to how it will ultimately be received. Well done and thank you very much for sharing it.
The "6" is for extreme bravery and to get you up on the Welcome Page as speedily as possible.
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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You are very brave, my friend. Most folks here barely understand the mechanics of a simple sonnet and you are expecting them to follow poetry essentially written as two scripts spoken simultaneously? You have more confidence in mankind than the good Lord himself LOL. I applaud what you are trying to do, I'm just a bit worried for you as to how it will ultimately be received. Well done and thank you very much for sharing it.
The "6" is for extreme bravery and to get you up on the Welcome Page as speedily as possible.
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks again so much for the encouragement and support and interesting perspective on it. estory
Comment from Gloria ....
I like this idea, e. Of course the introduction of the other voices, determined by assonance, consonance or rhythm would weave together a tapestry of sound, which really is the essence of poetry. The biggest challenge in the written format would be understanding, when and at what tempo the other voices would enter. A challenge for sure.
Cool idea and I look forward to seeing where you go with it. :)
Gloria
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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I like this idea, e. Of course the introduction of the other voices, determined by assonance, consonance or rhythm would weave together a tapestry of sound, which really is the essence of poetry. The biggest challenge in the written format would be understanding, when and at what tempo the other voices would enter. A challenge for sure.
Cool idea and I look forward to seeing where you go with it. :)
Gloria
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks for the support for this idea. And for the perspective on how to keep the tempos in mind. I think I will use spaces and breaks and punctuation to indicate pauses and spaces musically in the pieces. estory
Comment from Sugarray77
Wow, this is very unique. You are very clever to think this up and have a practical way of implementing it. It would be good if this was picked up poetry groups and readings and a recording made so that you could hear the performance. Great.
Melissa
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Wow, this is very unique. You are very clever to think this up and have a practical way of implementing it. It would be good if this was picked up poetry groups and readings and a recording made so that you could hear the performance. Great.
Melissa
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks so much for the encouraging remarks and support for my idea. It would be great if people could read it in a chat room or something. I would like RG Star to read one of the voices. He has such a great voice. estroy
Comment from Alcreator Litt Dear
This is a good essay giving a proposal for how to write and pronounce and read a performance poem; well said, well done. Liked and enjoyed the read. Keep Writing, Inspiring, Changing
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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This is a good essay giving a proposal for how to write and pronounce and read a performance poem; well said, well done. Liked and enjoyed the read. Keep Writing, Inspiring, Changing
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Thanks so much for all the support for this idea. estory
Comment from Ulla
Hi estory, I'm probably not the person you would like to hear from first as I'm not a poet. I think I do understand what you're trying to do and it's a fascinating concept. To me, this is like Hopper but in sound. Now, I'm on my own and I can't read out in two voices simultaneously, so it difficult to get the proper sound effect of the poem. It's a great idea though. A poem in the abstract. All best. Ulla:))
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Hi estory, I'm probably not the person you would like to hear from first as I'm not a poet. I think I do understand what you're trying to do and it's a fascinating concept. To me, this is like Hopper but in sound. Now, I'm on my own and I can't read out in two voices simultaneously, so it difficult to get the proper sound effect of the poem. It's a great idea though. A poem in the abstract. All best. Ulla:))
Comment Written 03-Aug-2019
reply by the author on 05-Aug-2019
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Yes, like Hopper with sound. Actually I'm thinking of something all the lines of Phillip Glass or Steve Reich or Robert Fripp. I like the idea of repeating rounds, and offset rounds, maybe, to create some of the music, and interwoven spaces and breaks and exchanges of rhythm, contrasting tempos and phase densities of sound. estory
