Spoken word and performance workshop at Newcastle University

Over the past couple of days I have been facilitating a Spoken Word and Performance workshop with students at Newcastle University who have an interest in transforming written text based work into spoken word performance. The workshop will continue next Friday and will result in a small group exhibition of work made by the students during the 3-day workshop. 

I developed the workshop having returned from the Spoken Word Residency at Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada last year, and use the workshop as an opportunity to share some of the techniques, skills and tips learned while on the residency.


Following the success of the workshop last year and the demand from students, Newcastle University invited me back to work with a different group of students.


During the session yesterday I showed the group some examples of artists that use spoken word / text / performance. As I was compiling the list to share with them I thought it would be useful to share it more widely, so here are the links to some works that I mentioned. Please be aware that this list is only mean to be a taster and in no way does it cover all artists working in these ways. It is simply a starting point!


ZENSHIP - Mundo Gumbo - Tanya Evanson


This is an example of how a live band can be used in spoken word performance.


https://youtu.be/r3bnV2vG5Rk



Afua Cooper at VERSEfest


This demonstrates that a convincing performance can be given even if the performer is using written notes.


https://youtu.be/pgo-nedZnwM



Martin Creed - Words and Music


This is an example of the combination of words, music, visuals (on the screen behind) and how the means of delivery can echo the content of the work.


https://youtu.be/WKFM1nl7_Y0




Blonk performs Ursonate with real-time typography


This is an example of how subtitles can add to a work.




https://youtu.be/rs0yapSIRmM




Samuel Beckett - Not I

This is an example of how spoken word can exist in a video and how cropping of an image alters the reading of the work.

https://youtu.be/l8C4HL2LyWU

Introducing Dr Afua Cooper

A poet, performer, scholar, historian, and social and cultural commentator, Dr. Afua Cooper’s expertise in and contributions to the arts, history, and education were recognised when she was presented in 2015 with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Award from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

A celebrated poet she is the author of five books of poetry, including the critically acclaimed Copper Woman and Other Poems. She has also recorded two poetry CD’s. Her poetry has a strong sense of memory, history, place, and spirituality. Further, Afua has published two historical novels, which have garnered Canadian and American awards. Her work in the creative arts has been recognised with the Premier of Ontario Award for Excellence in the Arts, a Governor General’s Award nomination, and internationally with the Beacon of Freedom Award (recently awarded for her book My Name is Phillis Wheatley). A founder of the Canadian Dub poetry movement, Afua Cooper was instrumental in organising three international dub poetry festivals between 2004 and 2009.

Banff Spoken Word Residency - Day 5

Friday, April 21

10:00 am - 11:00 am - Recording Info Session  
11:00 am - Group Photo - Shaw Amphitheatre
4:30 pm - Faculty Show Tech Check
8:00 pm - RE:QUEST Faculty Show 

Recording Info Session  

We began with an introduction to the sound technicians and the sound room that we would be using for our recording session, and were able to ask questions about these sessions.

Group photo

Elk Adventure!

Audrey Lane, David and I took a walk to Bow River to do some sound recording. We were fortunate enough to witness a couple of elk affectionately playing with each other, rubbing their antlers together and making an incredible sound. After watching them for a long time, we crossed over the river to explore the ice and then saw a larger group of elk being herded away from the bridge and across the river towards us. They walked elegantly in pairs through the water and acknowledged us as they walked past. It was incredible!









RE:QUEST Faculty Show 

The four Spoken Word Faculty Members performed in the RE:QUEST Faculty Show 

Afua Cooper



Janet Rogers



Buddy Wakefield



Tanya Evanson



This was my first experience of a Spoken Word event and I was amazed at the variety of performances given by the four artists. Janet's use of a soundtrack and props opened my eyes to how I could integrate more of my visual art background into my performances, as did Tanya's use of props. I particularly enjoyed Tanya's text about her Dad's gumbo! I was given confidence by Afua Coopers reading of some of her texts because I saw it was still possible to make a meaningful connection with the audience when reading from notes. It did not take away from her performance. Buddy was accompanied by a piano, and it was very interesting to see how this simple addition of a beat added to the words that he was saying. It was a truly inspiring evening.

Banff Spoken Word Residency - day 4

Thursday, April 20

10:00 am - 1:00 pm - Workshop 4, Led by Tanya Evanson

Afternoon - Faculty Studios, Individual Meeting - Afua Cooper

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab - Panel and Discussion 

Workshop 4, Led by Tanya Evanson

WRITING UNDER THE INFLUENCE - From meditation to spontaneous acts of literature and performance. 

In the initial part of the workshop we did a sufi exercise - a visualisation involving a cube, a horse, a set of ladders, a storm and some flowers. Tanya led us through the meanings behind each part of the visualisation and some fascinating things were revealed!

We then did a group exercise starting with a single sentence that was written on the whiteboard. One by one we suggested a follow-on sentence from the line previously written on the board. We were then asked to write a text starting with a sentence on the whiteboard. Following this we were split into small groups and were asked to choose some sentences from the texts that we had each written and further develop another text which we were then to perform as a group to the rest of the group. This exercise demonstrated how multiple works can be developed from a single starting point.

This workshop ended with an introduction to Sema, the dance of the Mevlevi Whirling Dervishes, whose inspiration comes from Persian philosopher and poet Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi. 

Individual Meeting - Afua Cooper

Afua and I discussed some of the texts within my publication 'A lot can happen in fifteen minutes'. She spoke about using the words in the sentence to visualise the words on the page, and suggested some poets to research:

Walt Whitman

Pablo Nervuda

Kamau Brathwaite

Afua was really encouraging about my texts and described poems as being stories in a shortened form.

I was advised to submit my work to poetry journals and festivals, and was told about Peterloo Poetry Festival in the UK.

Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab - Panel and Discussion 

A structured discussion about language, storytelling and collaboration. This panel explored why the language we use matters and how can we be more purposeful and aware of language, how we speak and listen, especially when seeking to better understand different ecosystems. 

Organised by leaders and artists, who are curious about how they can help create space where people feel safe, comfortable, and able to demonstrate vulnerability in service of creating more intimacy, understanding and collaborative opportunities.

This discussion followed a format called The Long Table.

The Long Table is a dinner party structured by etiquette, where conversation is the only course. The project ingeniously combines theatricality and models for public engagement. It is at once a stylised appropriation and an open-ended, non-hierarchical format for participation. Both of these elements – theatrical craft and political commitment – are mutually supporting in this widely and internationally toured work. The (often-feminised) domestic realm here becomes a stage for public thought.

The components are simple: the long table; chairs; a paper tablecloth; pens with which to make comments, to draw, or to scribble ideas. The final, and necessary, component is an etiquette sheet. This list of rules for engagement lays the groundwork for talk that is structured in its participatory aspect without being limited in content or access. The rules, or perhaps helpful hints, include items like ‘There can be silence’, ‘There might be awkwardness’ and ‘There can always be laughter’. The Long Table acknowledges the sometimes uncomfortable side of both private exchange and public engagement, while celebrating the potential for new forms of knowledge-making and -sharing.

The Long Table is inspired by Marleen Gorris’s film Antonia’s Line, in which the protagonist continually extends her dinner table to accommodate a growing community of outsiders and eccentrics until, finally, the table must be moved out of doors. The Long Table, then, brings what might often be seen as ‘outside’ in – to a realm of conviviality – while showing how everyday, domestic things which might usually remain hidden can be brought out – into a realm of public ideas and discourse.

The etiquette is as follows

This is a performance of a dinner party conversation 

Anyone seated at the table is a guest performer 

Anything is on the menu 

Talk is the only course 

No hostess will assist you 

It is a democracy 

To participate simply take an empty seat at the table 

If the table is full you can request a seat 

If you leave the table you can come back again and again 

Feel free to write your comments on the tablecloth 

There can be silence 

There might be awkwardness 

There could always be laughter 

There is an end but no conclusion

For more information visit 

http://publicaddresssystems.org/projects/long-table/

Banff Spoken Word Residency - Day 2

Day 2

Schedule

Workshop 1, Led by Buddy Wakefield

Workshop 2, Led by Afua Cooper

Banff Centre Programming - Meet & Greet


IN LOVING MEMORY OF EVERYTHING
Led by Buddy Wakefield

In this workshop we explored an exciting creative memory technique called Memory Pegging. To begin with Buddy said that he was going to go shopping and bring us back 20 items that we had requested. We each gave Buddy the name of an item that we would like him to buy for us. Using coloured pens, each item was written on a white board behind Buddy. Once we had selected our 20 items, Buddy's memory was tested. Buddy was able to remember each item and its position on the list. He then revealed the Memory Pegging technique he uses in order to do so, and we tried the method.

We then did an exercise called 'Putting things on the line'. We were asked to stand single file on a straight line of tape on the floor, leaving enough room between us to allow us to move. On one side of the line there was a 'Strongly agree' sign and on the other side was a 'Strongly disagree'. Buddy read a statement and we were asked to answer it by moving to the side of the line that answered the question.

Examples of the kind of statements used include:

I am a considerate person

I am good at surviving

I am good at living

I know why I am here and I have a plan

This was a very insightful exercise. Standing in line I was very conscious of my position in relation to the other people around me. In some ways it was comforting because I felt that I would merge into group and was not going to be the only person that Buddy was watching (and potentially judging). However, I was worried about how the other participants would view my answers, and was conscious that I may well stand out from the others if I answer differently to them. This would make me more isolated.

Buddy shared some words of wisdom:

"Always play to your highest excitement with zero expectations of outcome"

"Say something of substance, not what will impress"


THOSE WHO LEFT WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE 

Led by Dr Afua Cooper

This was a mytho-archaeological literary journey that used poetry and storytelling to narrate a story of one woman’s engagement with the Middle Passage and Slavery that ripped millions of Africans from their mother’s bosom to the killing fields of the Americas. Afua Cooper's workshop used music, poetry, prose, videos, audio recordings, newspaper advertisements, dance, fabric, paintings, and interviews to excavate a buried story.

Afua showed us some exercises to get oxygen flowing around the body and help us be creative. These included

tapping
drawing a figure 8 with your arms and body
touching the knee using the opposite hand so as to cross the body
swinging arms from side to side

We discussed 
sound
rhythm
postures
gestures

Where is the sound coming from in your body?

The room had been set up with lots of Afua's collection of books, images, objects, music, and we were invited to select one prop and write about it.



Each of the Spoken Word artists have been allocated a hut to use throughout the duration of our stay. I located my hut and settled in. 

In the evening I attended the meet and greet with the participants and faculty of the two other Banff Centre programs onsite this week: the Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab (Leadership Programming) and Playwrights Colony (Arts Programming). It was an opportunity to meet and connect with artists, curators, production personnel and administrators working within arts and culture sectors.