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Cautionary Tales - more performance poetry

Post Christmas lunch.. full to the brim with turkey and Chritmas spirit, what could be better than to amuse the family with a cautionary tale? These poems/monologues were a strange beastie, incredibly popular in the late nineteeth/early twenties century. The master is Hilaire Belloc whose Cautionary Tales are full of examples of people whose actions bring them to a (normally abrupt) end. Although the subject matter is macarbre, these poems make wonderful performance pieces. The lyrical language lends itself to reading outloud and you can use pauses to increase anticipation before revealing the climax. At Brandon Learning Centre, we have poetry reading shows twice a year and I have noticed that the audiences will lean forward as performers pause before the high point of their poems. My father, who is a born performer, used to read "Albert and the Lion" in which the combination of a small boy, a walking stick and a lion leads to a predictable result. The monologue was originall

Impress family this Christmas with poetry!

The Irish have always had a love of performance and I grew up surrounded by powerful speakers and singers. Family parties would always end up with people reciting, singing ballads and dancing (usually me but there was money involved!) We all had "party pieces" which would be trundled out in front of a crowd of relatives who had heard them a hundred times before. As a child, performing in front of a non-critical, family audience is a perfect start to a public speaking career. Memorising poetry at an early age helps to develop an appreciation for language and stretches the vocabulary. The love and encouragement that you receive from the family will stay with you forever. So this Christmas, instead of loafing in front of the television, try some of the sites below and start performing. Wonderful Radio 4 poetry programme with readings of contemporary and classic poetry A treasure trove of poetry Use the quote search function to identify half remembered poems My father's party

Here endeth the lesson - the art of Bible reading

Bible reading is an art form unto itself. Firstly, you have to struggle with language, then come to terms with the concept of reading the word of God. Once you have mastered those two points, you have to deliver the message in a way that doesn't make you sound like a hysteric. Simple eh? The Language: If you are lucky, you will be reading from the King James version. Why lucky? Because the language you are about to encounter stands with Shakespeare in the ranks of richness. Elegant phrasing, resonant sounds that roll off the tongue. Compare Ruth 1:16 "where you go I will go" (New International Version) with "wither thou goest;I will go" (King James Version) The meaning: read the second site suggested below which displays all versions of the text togetther with commentaries. Instant comprehension will follow! The delivery: Bible reading is not drama. The key is that the reader fades into the background, allowing the listener to focus on the words. This means work

Treat your voice with respect!

Think about it; if you are playing a violin, or a flute, or even the kettle drums, you warm up your instrument before a concert. Maybe you'll play a couple of practice notes or run through a couple of scales? And yet, when speaking in public, the majority of people walk on to the platform and expect their voice to be in full working order. Wrong.. wrong.. wrong. So what do you do to warm up? 1: Go somewhere quiet and (if you are self conscious as most of us are) somewhere private. 2: Shake out your legs, your arms, your shoulders and finally your head. Don't hold back! Get rid of all the tension. 3: Take a few deep breaths making sure that you are breathing from the diaphragm (hold your hand on your tummy to ensure that this is happening) 4: Release your breath slowly whilst running through the vowels. Open your mouth as widely as possibly and really stretch out your face. Repeat this a few times. 5: Read the first few lines of your speech or poem. Over exagerate. You are all s