Written by Ami Mattison
Developing and rehearsing a poem for spoken word performance can be as rewarding as performing it in front of live audiences. For me, the development of a performance is an ever-evolving process through which I come to understand and appreciate my poetry better. Performance is a kind of bonding experience with a poem—with the experiences and sentiments it expresses. This bonding is a creative process for me, in which I lift the words from the page and nurture them into life with my body and breath.
Plus, developing a poem for performance is fun. It gives you an opportunity to experiment with your body and your voice, to find new meanings in your poetry, and to express yourself in new, creative ways.
If you’re just starting out, it’ll take time, patience, and lots of rehearsal to learn to develop your poetry for confident and successful performances on a consistent basis. These tips, however, will give you a head start on some simple practices that work for me.
- Find a rehearsal space. A physical space in which to develop and rehearse your poem, alone and uninterrupted, is ideal. This should be a place where you are free to be yourself and to experiment with your voice and your body movements without worrying about disturbing others or being overheard. However, finding such a space can be challenging, especially if you live with others. If that’s the case, then let them know what you’re doing, ask them not to disturb you, and try to tune them out.
- Memorize your poem. Certainly, you can develop a great performance while reading your poem from a book or the page, but dropping the paper and memorizing your poem frees up your hands for gestures, allows you to make good eye-contact, and creates a “barrier-free” zone between you and your audience. In other words, memorization provides a foundation for developing an intimate interaction with your audience. If you have trouble memorizing, then don’t worry. Instead, check out this article on memorization.
