Can You Hear Me Now?Alberta School Poetry Slam

Information Bulletin 2015

www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com

ContentsPages Section Title2 I. Overview – What is Can You Hear Me Now?3 - 5 II. How do I start a poetry club or team?6 - 7 III. Links and resources8 IV. How do I register a team?9 - 11 V. How will the competition work?12 – 16 VI. But wait, there’s more?

i. Design competitionii. Anthologyiii. Trailer competitioniv. Admission fee (Food Donation)

16 VII. What do I do next?

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I. Overview: What is Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now? is a spoken-word poetry competition for students representing their schools from public, separate, and private school divisions. One purpose of the event is to build relationships and connections between students from different schools and different cultural experiences; another purpose of the event is to give students a forum to voice their concerns for their world, describe their experiences in the world, and express their hopes for their world; and yet another purpose is to celebrate the writing and performance skills of the students who are being educated by our schools and teachers.

The poetry slam will have students perform poems for judges and an audience. They will perform individually as well as a team, being given a mark from 0.0 to 10.0 by judges selected from the community and audience. Scores are tallied for each team to determine a winner for the slam. The slam is a friendly competition characterized by mutual respect, encouragement, and inspiration. As the mantra for poetry slams across the world states: “The point is not the points. The point is the poetry.” A final purpose of the slam, then, is to share amazing, unique, surprising, touching, inspirational, and profound pieces of poetry and performance with peers, family members, and the community. It is about letting people hear the voices and ideas of our students, and celebrating the artistry, effort, and eloquence of those students.

This event will benefit our students and our schools by creating a stronger sense of community across all high schools, helping students to further develop writing and speaking skills, inspiring and encouraging students to work towards better schools and communities, engaging students in dialogue about significant social issues, and fostering in students school pride and team camaraderie.

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II. How do I start a poetry club or team?

One strategy for starting a team would be to make an announcement requesting any students interested in poetry, spoken word poetry, performance poetry, or slam poetry to attend a meeting. See if there’s interest in starting a team or a club and go from there.

Another good strategy to start any team would be to organize a slam, open mic, or other poetry performance in your school. You could also host a performance by experienced performance poets to introduce the concept, and have them talk about poetry slams to pique interest. At the end of the show, have interested students sign up for a performance poetry club or team.

Finally, you could do some work with performance poetry in your English classes and use that as a way to gauge the interest of your students. Once this is done, talking with some of the most passionate and gifted poets about the possibility of starting a performance poetry team or club would be a natural way to progress.

Once you have enough interest in a club or team, there are three levels of increasing commitment you can employ to start a high school poetry slam team.

LEVEL 1 – Low Commitment a.k.a “Quirky”

For this level it is important that everyone know the realistic commitment they are making - the bare minimum is that students write a total of 5 performance poems (4 solo poems and 1 two to four-person group poem) 3 minutes or less in length, and they attend at least one bout (on the day of the competition). Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor/coach; a minimum of 4-6 youth poets; $250 registration fee; weekly or bi-weekly meeting spaceTimeline: December through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: up to 1 hour per weekMoney: $250 registration feeMaterials: what you can find online

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LEVEL 2 – Medium Commitment a.k.a. “Strange”

This level approaches the Can You Hear Me Now? poetry slam like a regular sports or debate season with the finals in May being the climatic event at the end of the season. At this level, you may want to organize one or two informal slams or open-mic events at your school or with other schools to practice your poems and build community. You may also want to invite some poets or organizations in to your school to hold workshops to help your students refine their writing and performance skills. Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor/coach who teaches English, Speech, or Theatre; 6-8 youth poets; $250 registration fee; a weekly meeting spaceTimeline: September through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: 1 to 3 hours per week (max)Money: $250 registration fee; approximately $50 in teaching materials (DVD’s, books, CD’s)Materials: what you can find online; books about performance poetry (see below); DVD’s of performances (see below)

LEVEL 3 – High Commitment a.k.a. “Insane”

A high level of commitment means the group you’re organizing is relatively large and committed to the spoken word community. Often a poetry slam at these schools will need to be employed in order to determine the final team members, or another method will be needed for try-outs. Teams with “insane” commitment proactively organize their own special events and are highly invested in the future of spoken word poetry in schools and the larger community, and may have student poets regularly participating in local events throughout the year. Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor; a coach who teaches English and/or poetry writing; a spoken word poetry club of 10+ students; a weekly meeting space; participation and organization of special showcases, workshops and slams throughout the yearTimeline: September through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: 3+ hours per weekMoney: $250 registration fee; $100 in teaching materials; $? to pay people for workshops; $? to take students to writing workshops; $? for professional development of coachMaterials: what you can find online; books about performance poetry (see below); DVD’s of performances (see below); CD’s or downloads of spoken word performances; whatever the secret pacts you make in the dark can generate

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Definitions of key terms:

Sponsor: A teacher who communicates with CYHMN? organizers to familiarize the team with all rules and expectations, including what to prepare for competition and when to be where.

Coach: Can also be the advisor, though this person should be able to knowingly guide youth through their writing process, performance techniques, and slam strategy. This person may be on school faculty, but also may be a teaching artist with slam and spoken word pedagogical experience.

Poet: For the purposes of the competition, competitors need to be in 10th to 12th grade.

Slam Marshall: The person who emcees and runs the bouts, as well as determines whether poets are deserving or suspension for breaking rules.

The Law: The Law will independently administer penalties for time violations and the use of profanity, and will notify The Scorekeeper of any penalties. The Law will also monitor the time for each performance independently from The Timekeeper in case of any appeals or concerns. This is the person who monitors and enforces the rules, sometimes in consultation with the Slam Marshall and the Site Organizer.

The Scorekeeper: The scorekeeper will record and calculate all scores, including any penalties for time or rule violations, in consultation with The Law and the The Timekeeper.

The Timekeeper: The person who independently monitors the time limits for each performance.

Site Organizer: The person who is tasked with ensuring the event runs smoothly.

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III. Links and Resources

Workshops and Open-Mic EventIf you are in the Calgary-area, you can take advantage of a number of writers’ workshops and an open-mic event that is being organized by Can You Hear Me Now? along with the cooperation of several Calgary high schools. Below is the schedule, with dates, times, and locations for each of the events being held this year.

Writers’ Workshops will focus on the writing and revision of poems, with an emphasis placed on choosing effective and powerful language, as well as working within the three minute time limit required at poetry slams.

The open-mic event will provide an opportunity for student poets to perform the poems they have been working on for a crowd, and to see how a crowd responds to their writing and performance.

Writers' Workshop 1 – Tuesday, October 28 – 4:30 to 6:30Lord Beaverbrook High School (9019 Fairmount Dr. SE)

Writers' Workshop 2 – Saturday, November 29 - 1 to 5Bishop Grandin High School (111 Haddon Rd SW)

CYHMN? Open Mic – Thursday, December 4 – 6:30 – 9:30Father Lacombe High School (3615 Radcliffe Dr. SE)

Writers' Workshop 3 – Saturday, February 28 –1 to 5Lord Beaverbrook High School (9019 Fairmount Dr. SE)

Writers' Workshop 4 – Tuesday, March 10 – 4:30 – 6:30Robert Thirsk High School (8777 Nose Hill Dr. NW)

CYHMN? 2015 Poetry Slam – Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 Lord Beaverbrook High School (9019 Fairmount Dr. SE) andRobert Thirsk High School (8777 Nose Hill Dr. NW)

www.canyouhearmenowyychs.comOn the Can You Hear Me Now? website we’ve posted writing lessons you can use with your club to generate poems that lend themselves to performance. A number of us have used these lessons with our classes and clubs, and they can help students to generate some great poetry. (Most of these lessons have been adapted from materials created by the Young Chicago Authors.) Go to the “For the Clubs” tab on the website to find them. You will also find videos of the performances from

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CYHMN? 2014 if you go to the “Can I Hear Who Now?” tab and then click on the “Videos” pull-down tab.

www.YoungChicagoAuthors.org and www.LouderThanABomb.orgThere are also lessons on the LTAB (used to generate the lessons we’ve posted on our website) that you can use with your clubs/teams. Most of the resources we’re providing are, in whole or in part, based on the resources they have created.

Wilson, Sheri-D (Ed.). (2011). The Spoken Word Workbook. Calgary, AB: Calgary Spoken Word Society.

Stafford, Tim & Meacham, Molly (Eds.). (2010). Learn Then Burn. Long Beach, CA: Write Bloody Publishing.

Eleveld, Mark (Ed.). (2003). The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion.

Eleveld, Mark (Ed.). (2007). The Spoken Word Revolution: Redux. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion.

Jacobs, Greg & Siskel, John (Producers & Directors). (2012). Louder Than a Bomb.

Wess Mongo Jolley. (2006-present). IndieFeed Performance Poetry Channel. You can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes and it features many recognizable names in the spoken word community from around the world. This podcast is a wonderful source of inspiration for anyone interested in spoken word poetry.

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IV. How do I register a team?

Download the forms from the website prior to the deadlines listed below and mail them, along with applicable fees, to:

Richard Wagner c/o Lord Beaverbrook High School9019 Fairmount Drive SE Calgary AB T2H 0Z4

Please make cheques payable to Lord Beaverbrook High School.

Alternately, you can complete the forms online (on the website) and mail only the cheque to the address listed above.

Please ensure that you have mailed the cheque and/or forms early enough for them to arrive at Lord Beaverbrook before the deadline.

Deadline Form and Cost Purpose

December 8, Intent to Compete To provide organizers with the2014 $50 number of schools planning to compete so that a schedule can be created, events can be planned,

and volunteers can be organized.

* The first 16 teams to complete the Intent to Compete form and pay the fee will be included in CYHMN? 2015. After those first 16 teams have signed up, all other teams will be added to a waiting list and will be considered if one of the 16 drop out; otherwise, they will be included for 2016. If teams are not accepted into the 2015 competition, their Intent to Compete fee will be refunded.

February 20, Registration To confirm the number of teams2015 $200 that will be competing and be able to finalize plans.

March 6, 2015 Final Team Lists To finalize the team members whowill be participating, to order

shirts, submit poems for publication.

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V. How will the competition work?

Format:

16 teams - Preliminary 1 (April 17)- 4 preliminary bouts with 4 teams competing in each bout- 5 rounds: 3 or 4 individual performances and 1 or 2 team performances

16 teams - Preliminary 2 (April 18)- 4 preliminary bouts with 4 teams competing in each bout- 5 rounds: 3 or 4 individual performances and 1 or 2 team performances

Teams in each preliminary bout will earn points based on their placement relative to each other.1st place highest combined score for 5 performances in bout 10 points2nd place second highest combined score for 5 performances in bout 6 points3rd place third highest combined score for 5 performances in bout 4 points4th place fourth highest combined score for 5 performances in bout 2 points

Top 4 teams based on the combined points earned during Preliminary 1 and 2 will advance to finals.

4 teams – Finals (April 18 - Lord Beaverbrook High School)- 5 rounds: 3 or 4 individual performances and 1 or 2 team performances

* It is expected that, as much as possible, all poets and teams will stay to support the other poets and teams during subsequent bouts.

Rules:

Preparation: Schools are responsible for completing off-site activity approval forms and for

arranging transportation of their teams to and from the event(s). Maximum of six members per team (+ 2 alternates – optional) Participants must be enrolled in a high school for the year of the competition and

must be in good academic standing (not on suspension or subject to other disciplinary action).

Teams must be sponsored by a school and have a teacher sponsor present at the event in order to participate.

If you register and find out later that you will not be able to attend, please notify organizers ASAP so that an alternate team may have the chance to participate in the slam.

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Teacher-sponsors must attend the information session held prior to the slam. Non-attendance may result in disqualification. Notify organizers as soon as possible about an absence.

Participants must be physically present and checked in at least 30 minutes before their bouts begin. Arriving after the scheduled bout time will result in disqualification for the team.

Performance: All members of the team performing a group piece must contribute to the writing

of the poem being performed. Each poem must be under 3 minutes in length. Scores will be penalized for going

over the time limit. Penalties will begin at 3:10, with a 0.5 point deduction for every ten seconds overtime. Poets will be asked to leave the stage if they reach 4:10.

Participants must perform pieces of their own original writing. Participants who plagiarize may be disqualified and given a mark of 0.0. Incidents of plagiarism will be discussed and penalties will be decided by team coaches, The Law, and the Slam Marshals. Quoting other works and using literary allusions are not considered plagiarism.

Props, costumes, and/or musical accompaniment may not be used in the slam. Singing or beatboxing may be used to enhance the piece, but should not be the primary focus of the piece. This is neither a singing nor a beatboxing competition.

It is the responsibility of the teacher-sponsor to ensure that all poems and performances are appropriate for the event. Teams not following the guidelines for appropriate language and content will be sanctioned according the following policies:

o Discriminatory or derogatory language intended to humiliate, degrade, or otherwise inflict harm on people is prohibited. Violations will result in disqualification of the team the performer is representing.

o Content matter may not exceed a PG-13 rating. Poets are cautioned about using violent references as well as sexually explicit content and/or language – use them carefully and purposefully. Failure to heed the PG-13 rating will result in a 0.5 deduction from the poet’s score for each infraction or the disqualification of the poet or team (depending upon severity and in consultation with coaches from all participating teams).

o Profanity is prohibited. Violations will result in a 0.5 penalty for every infraction.

o The Slam Marshal may choose to stop a performance if the expectations regarding appropriate language and/or content are repeatedly ignored. The decision to penalize and/or stop performances is at the discretion of the Slam Marshal. Disqualification of a poet or team will be done in consultation with the coaches of the participating teams.

o Determining content infractions is the responsibility of The Law.

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o All complaints regarding possible rule infractions must be lodged with the Site Organizer before the end of the day on which the possible infraction occurred. The Slam Marshal, The Law, and the Site Organizer will review the complaint with the rest of the coaches before making a decision regarding potential consequences. The decision will be presented to the affected individuals as soon as possible.

Judging: A panel of artists, educators, youth and/or audience members will judge each

bout. Judges will be in no way be affiliated with the teams competing. Teams may challenge the choice of judge with the Site Organizer if unfairness is anticipated or perceived.

Teams: Each team must be accompanied to events by a teacher sponsor, having

completed all appropriate paperwork including an off-site activity approval form and a registration form.

Teams are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from events. Only one team per school is allowed to compete. Each team must have a minimum of four and a maximum of six poets, with up to

two additional alternates. Teams must send the same poets (alternates included) whose names are on the

form submitted on March 6, 2015, unless the organizers are otherwise notified before the first bout, after which only registered team members may compete. If a registered team member cannot compete after the competition has started, only a registered alternate may serve as a replacement.

There are five rounds in each team bout. Individual and group pieces can performed in any order during the rounds that a coach desires, but at least one and no more than two performances must be a group piece.

Teams cannot repeat poems in subsequent rounds. Therefore, each team must prepare a minimum of 4 individual performances and 1 team performance, up to a maximum of 6 to 8 individual and 2 to 4 team performances.

Each poet can only perform one individual piece in each bout. While the entire team may contribute to the writing of a group piece, all group

piece performers must have been involved in the writing of that piece and all group pieces must be performed by at least 2 poets.

Prizes: Can You Hear Me Now? Champions – decided by judges and awarded to the

team that wins the completion

Best Group Performance – decided by judges and coaches, and awarded to the best single group poem performed during the competition

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Best Solo Performance – decided by judges and coaches, awarded to the best solo performer from the competition

Poet’s Choice Award –awarded to the best individual poet as decided by his or her peers (fellow poets)

Spirit of the Slam Award – chosen by coaches and awarded to the poet demonstrating the best sportsmanship, community spirit, and attitude throughout the competition

VI. But wait, there’s more?

i. Design Competition

Can You Hear Me Now? will also be holding an annual logo and poster design competition. The winning design submission (pairing of logo and poster from the same group/artist) will be used for the subsequent year, and will be placed on, and used for, all official Can You Hear Me Now? materials, including registration packages and advertising posters, as well as any other items used to promote the competition.

The rules for the logo and poster design competition are as follows:

Submissions: Schools must submit the same artist or group of artists for the logo and

poster design competition 1 submission per school (each school determines their own selection

process to determine the best paired logo and poster designs)o A consent to publish form must be completed and attached to all

submitted designs

Designs:

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All design submissions must be completed using Adobe Illustrator (not Photoshop) with the minimum resolution set to 300ppi for each submission

Logo and poster designs must incorporate either the entire “Can You Hear Me Now?” name, or use the initials (the question mark must be included) as well as the year in which the event will be held

Logo and poster designs must be gender neutral or gender balanced. Logo competition submissions must use only black and white Poster designs must be completed in black & white as well as any three

other colours (but one of these three colours must be the colour of the poster paper)

The logo and poster designs should be complimentary All parts of the image must be completely original designs, owned and/or

created by the artist(s) submitting the design (no copyrighted material is allowed)

Competition: All competing designs will be displayed and voted for in-person at the “Can

You Hear Me Now?” final slam on April 18, 2015 at Lord Beaverbrook High School

Voting will be limited to audience members that are present when voting begins

The winning designs will be featured on “Can You Hear Me Now?” promotional material for the following year (t-shirts, posters, book cover, and other event materials)

The winning designer will also be given a copy of each of the promotional materials for the following year

ii. Annual Anthology

Can You Hear Me Now? also publishes an anthology of all poems being performed at all rounds of the competition. Each participating school will have a section of the book devoted to those poems that were performed in the competition. Each school will be asked to submit a cover design for their section of the book that will include the school’s name and logo (must be in black and white, 300 ppi), as well as to submit a picture of all members and coaches/sponsors of the team.

Consent to publish forms must be completed by all poets, artists, and photographers, prior to poems, cover designs, and pictures being submitted.

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The poems, cover design, and pictures will have to be submitted by February 28, 2015 so that they can be included in the book.

Each school will be provided with one copy of the book per team. Additional copies will be available for purchase on the night of the finals for a nominal fee.

iii. Trailer Competition

Requirements:1. trailers should focus on promoting the event and encouraging students and

schools to get involved and enter a team2. trailers must be between 90 seconds and 150 seconds long3. trailers must include:

a. Can You Hear Me Now? 2015 (name of the event; should be used prominently in the video)

b. April 17 and 18 in Calgary, Alberta (dates of the event, should be clearly identified in the video)

c. CYHMN? logo (used prominently in the video)d. www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com (instructions to check out our

website for more information and/or resources)4. must be in a file format and size that can be uploaded to YouTube5. must run in 720p6. cannot include any copyrighted material not owned by the creator of the

video (including music, video clips, slogans, images, or graphics)

Deadline: All trailers must be received by December 1, 2014. They should be mailed no later than November 24, 2014.

Submission: Mail a CD with a YouTube compatible digital video file (copy the file onto the disc but do not format the CD to work in a media player) to:

Richard Wagner c/o Lord Beaverbrook High School9019 Fairmount Drive SE Calgary AB T2H 0Z4

Competition:Videos will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from Can You Hear Me Now? to determine a winner. Videos will be evaluated based on:

a. clarity and effectiveness of messaging (what CYHMN? is)b. effectiveness of the video at capturing attention and interestc. technical proficiency (effective editing, as well as video and sound

production)

The director of the winning video will receive a Can You Hear Me Now? 2015 t-shirt and bag. The winning video will be prominently featured on the Can You Hear Me

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Now? website, at CYHMN? events, and before the preliminary and final rounds of the poetry slam in April. The video will also be shared with various media outlets to promote the event.

Additional Information:If you have any questions, please email me (Richard Wagner) at rgwagner@cbe.ab.ca

You may use the following details as background information to guide you as you create the trailer. You can include some of the following information in the video if you like.

Can You Hear Me Now? started in 2014 as a poetry slam for high school students in Calgary. It started with 7 Calgary high schools from the CBE and the CSSD. In 2015, it has been expanded so that’s it’s open to any school in Alberta.

For 2015, 16 schools will enter teams of 4 to 8 student poets. These poets compete against students from 3 other schools in preliminary bouts.

There are two types of performances in the competition: solo and group. Solo performances are a single performer on stage. A group performance is two or more performers on/off stage. Teams must perform 5 poems during each bout, one or two of which need to be group poems. The scores from all of a team’s performances are combined to determine the team that wins each bout.

Each performance must be no longer than 3 minutes long and is scored by a panel of 5 judges with scores ranging from 0.0 to 10.0. The top 4 teams after the preliminary rounds make it into the finals, to determine the Alberta Schools’ Provincial Poetry Champions.

Poems can be written about any topic a poet chooses, but must be the poet’s own, original writing. No props or costumes are allowed. Singing or beat-boxing is permitted, but the performance must be focused on the poetry.

Videos of some of the performances from last year’s competition can be found on the Can You Hear Me Now? YouTube channel or by going to the “Can I Hear Who Now?” tab on the CYHMN? website:www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com

You can also find even more information about the competition, including full contest rules, on the website.

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iv. Admission Fees

All spectators at Can You Hear Me Now? events will be asked to bring and donate a food item to charity in lieu of paying an admission fee. In this way, it is hoped that the events can contribute back to our community, not only by providing a showcase for talented students and poets and a venue for powerful and inspiring poetry, but also in a very concrete and tangible way by supporting local charities at a time of year when donations are routinely less than what is necessary to meet the needs of the community.

VII. What do I do next?

There are nearly an infinite number of options confronting you in relation to your next action, but checking out the CYHMN? website, and checking back regularly, would be a good place to start as we’ll be constantly updating and adding information to it. If you forgot the URL, it’s www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com

If you have questions about Can You Hear Me Now?, or about anything (related to the poetry slam), please contact Richard Wagner (rgwagner@cbe.ab.ca), Anders Alm (acalm@cbe.ab.ca), or Nancy Krar (nancy.krar@cssd.ab.ca).

If you’d like to volunteer to help out, please check out the “Volunteers” section of the website for the roles we will need filled at each event. When you find one you’d like to do, please email any of the people above to let us know and we’ll ensure that your generosity is put to good use.

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