Spoken Word Poetry CAS #1

Our first session today was quite unexpected, for me. Some juniors turned up without emailing me, so I had to improvise another session on the spot. I went through the ground rules and expectations of the group like:

Member Expectations

•        Perform for one of the upcoming Lit Nights (CAS outcome for Year 5s)
•        Bring a notebook/ have a folder on your Mac solely dedicated to the group. (Quite flexible with this one, just make sure it’s accessible and that you have a platform to write when we must)
•        Be open & honest in sharings.
•        Provide constructive feedback and criticism: substantiate feelings if any i.e. if a piece didn’t strike you, provide why. If it did, say why.
•        It’s okay to not be good at Spoken Word when you first try it, ultimately we’re all here to learn with each other 

We covered basic expectations of the group and the fact that members will be expected to perform for the upcoming Lit Night. We also covered our writing styles and what we write poetry about. I gave them some homework to work on the performing aspect of Spoken Word, they'll be performing a mini piece during our next session.

I think the first session went fine though, they were quite responsive to the prompts I gave them and quite open to sharing about their work after. After working as a leader for OSL and GPS Cebu, I found it in myself to work more effectively and think on my feet faster. I was able to come up with pretty decent prompts in less than a minute, so I'm quite proud of myself. Also after the session when I asked for honest feedback, they told me they learnt quite a bit about Spoken Word and a little more about the people they were going to be journeying with. I also made an effort to apologise to them if they felt if they wasted their time. Because as much as I can say I didn't know the number of people I was planning the session for, I am accountable to making sure they learn something and they aren't wasting their time. As a leader, I think I should put more effort into planning a better session for them next week and not reply on spontaneous planning to make my sessions work. I also got their contact numbers and emails so meeting timings and information will be disseminated faster. 

I tried to emphasis the fact that we are here to learn together most of all because I didn't want a very competitive and un-conducive atmosphere for them to write in. Especially because, I didn't want to foster that kind of environment to permeate when we people come together to write. I am very adverse to the whole idea of making the whole club have a competitive atmosphere because I think that stops a person's creativity from flowing because they feel like they're being judged.

As a Spoken Word Performance Poet, I think that this session has really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone. Because I am too, not very comfortable with public speaking. The announcement to call members was especially nerve-wracking for me because of my fear of public speaking. Personally, I think that even the other members, like Almira, Gwen, Diego, Alina, Rachel Chew and Sophie are better speakers than I am. I also find it quite ironic because they're looking to me for advice but sometimes I feel like I'm not the best person to give them advice because I'm not that good at Performance Poetry, but I am very interested in it? As a Performance Poet, I think I should learn how to be comfortable in my own skin and comfortable under public scrutiny when I perform. I know that I have a lot of space to grow into, with big shoes to fill and a lot more to learn, but I am confident that we can do it as a group.

At this point I'm kind of doubting my ability as a leader and a performance poet because I feel very intimidated by the people around me who are infinitely better speakers than I am, but I think I should try and learn to be more comfortable with myself.