How do poets spread the gospel of the spoken word performance?
For Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye, performing their poems around the world through their group Project Voice is the best way to reach out to an audience.
But when they arrived in the Philippines, they did not expect such a warm welcome. Hours before the gates opened at the Project Voice Manila show, a long queue at the sidewalk of the iAcademy building in the middle of Makati on a Sunday made some passersby curious.
Asked what they were lining up for, one lady said it was difficult to easily describe spoken word. She did not realize the “novelty” of the show until she answered the intrigued stranger that she was there “to watch poets on stage.”
It was neither a concert nor a movie premiere, much less a theater musical.
Rather, it was poetry being spoken by its authors who were widely received like rock stars.
Sold out
Spoken word isn’t a crowd-drawer, but the tickets that day sold out quickly, a welcome surprise for the organizers, Words Anonymous. What was supposed to be a one-night show for 450 people turned into a series of two performances plus two workshop sessions.
The second show was moved to Ateneo de Manila University’s Henry Lee Irwin Theater to accommodate thrice the size of iAcademy’s auditorium. There were still more requests when tickets were wiped out within a week, but the spoken word duet could no longer extend their stay as they were already set for the next leg of their tour in Singapore.
Kaye and Kay even took to Instagram to show the overwhelming response from their Filipino fans in a video clip that included the audience erupting to applause and shrieks.
“Thank you, Philippines! Last night, you packed the house all the way to balcony (all 1,130 of you!). You made us feel like rock stars, even if just for a day,” Kaye wrote on his caption.
Even the people behind the project, Abby Orbeta and Roch Lazarte of Words Anonymous, were happily surprised of the reception.
They are fans of the duo and were glad to be the first to bring that many people together for poetry.
Anecdotes
The fans got to finally read the duo’s books, “No Matter the Wreckage” and “Light Bulb Symphony,” which are currently not available in any bookstore.
“This book is a product of 10 years’ worth of writing and discovery,” said Kay.
While she has memorized her lines, she performed a piece from her book by reading out loud what she knows by heart.
Kaye related that much of his work in his book “A Light Bulb Symphony” was rooted in anecdotes and stories, especially from his grandparents. Some of his pieces, “Surplus” and “Teeth,” contained references to WorldWar II.
Unfortunately, some of the books Kay brought for selling were held at the Bureau of Customs.
The fans, however, were promised to have their books delivered instead.
Workshops
Some fans took a step further in getting to know spoken word by attending the poetry tandem’s workshops held in One Central, Makati City.
“Fifty participants, aged 14 to late 20s, were divided according to age groups but they had the same curriculum, just a difference in approach,” said Orbeta.
Within one and a half hours, they learned about writing poetry, how to perform their pieces, how to overcome stage fright, and even how to do a collaboration without losing one’s voice or style.
“Everybody was excited and eager to learn, to listen, and to ask questions. The atmosphere of learning was truly felt,” Orbeta said.
Learning spoken word mostly relies on the person doing it.
Unlike other art forms, such as music that requires instruments, or painting that needs canvas, paint and brushes, spoken word needs only self-expression and a willing audience to listen.
The mic can be handy once the audience hears the verses and relate to them.
“It’s theater and poetry, and I love them both. So I found it to be the perfect medium for me,” said Words Anonymous poet Juan Miguel Severo.
were sold at the venue.
“You can write about anything under the sun and share it with your audience, but the difference is that poetry on the page has a difference in tone and language compared to poetry onstage,” he added, echoing the workshop’smain points.
In the Philippines, appreciation of spoken word took time. But if the inspiring response toward Kay and Kaye recently was any indication of the appeal of the medium, the poets from Words Anonymous are mighty proud to be involved in promoting it.
Other groups such as White Wall Poetry and For Word and By Word led by Kooky Tuason are upbeat about gaining a wider audience for spoken word.
Words Anonymous holds spoken word events at Sev’s Café in Malate and Satinka Naturals Bistro and Café in Makati. Some groups have also been holding their own shows at The Warrior Poet Café in Cubao X and Café Diem in Quezon City.
One particular group holds poetry nights only during full moon at Moonleaf Tea Shop in Quezon City.
Words Anonymous’ poets include Orbeta, Severo, Roch Lazarte, Michelle Manese, Trevor Viloria, Louise Meets, Zuee Herrera, Jihad Mambuay, Nona Dumlao, Sharee Narciso and Angel Cruz.