One Last Look...

The death of bin Laden and Gaddafi

The tsunami in Japan

The rise of the Arab Spring

The U.S. economy

The Occupy Wall Street (and #everywhere else) movements

...2011 was some crazy year, huh?

Imagine trying to turn the year's top headlines into poetry. That is what The Spoken Word Almanac Project (S.W.A.P.) is all about. This group of New York City-based poets sets out each year to come up with their own insightful observations about the stories everyone is talking about. The group then selects the best of these poems to perform in front of a live audience, with visual support from yours' truly.

For the last couple years I have been working as S.W.A.P.'s official media designer. It is my job to create visuals to accompany each poet's words, so in a sense I am interpreting their interpretation. Ironically, I worked in TV news for several years as a cameraman and editor... but this is a whole new ball game. I like to think of S.W.A.P. as the news on acid... or antacid!

Starting in January, I listen to and read each poets' submissions, and then start brainstorming on a possible visual concept. Then, I start searching for existing still photos and video footage. Let me say that Google Images has become my new best friend-- it is sometimes amazing (and ridiculous) what you will find just by searching for a word like "gun rights." Depending on the tone and pacing of the poem, I might choose to use very literal images to match the words... sometimes I find myself steering visuals into a more abstract realm. Other times, I head out to film my own video, or take my own photos. It has been a fun and challenging exercise for me, and I certainly don't look at these news stories in the same way (hopefully, neither does the audience).

We just performed three high-energy and well-attended shows at New York's Nuyorican Poetry Club last month. I saw "we" because I was right there working alongside the poets-- not literally on the stage, but from behind-the-scenes, running the visuals in time with each poet's performance. What fun to be back working in live theater... a little different this time, since I am used to being the one performing. I do think there is some element of performance in running the visuals though-- like a musician, I try to respond to the rhythm of each piece... like an actor, I try to hit my marks and respond to the lines. Over the course of several performances, I might decide to run the visuals at different times, or switch things up completely... that is part of the fun of learning how to interact with what is unfolding.

S.W.A.P. is presenting an encore performance of its year-end show this Friday, January 6, at Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street, New York City, starting at 9 p.m. The show is being presented as part of Poetic License, a larger festival promoting social justice through spoken word, hip hop, and slam poetry. If you are in the area, I encourage you to come check us out-- including all the topics listed at the top of this blog posting (and more), this year's show is funny, sometimes dramatic, and always entertaining. Please stop by and say hello... and let me know what you think!

Learn more about S.W.A.P. on the group's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/swappoetry

Purchase tickets to S.W.A.P., and other shows featured in this year's Poetic Theater Festival at www.poetictheater.com

Here's a video of S.W.A.P. founder Darian Dauchan performing "She's Just Not That Into You" at the July 2010 show. Visuals courtesy of yours truly (with thanks to Pete Souza and the other talented White House photographers!).