How  to  Write  a  Group  Piece,  By  Adam  Gottleib  

  Or  perhaps  we  should  ask  first:  why  write  a  group  piece?  The  collaborative  spoken  word  poem  or  "group  piece"  is  its  own  unique  form,  with  as  many  different  approaches  as  are  available  for  any  other  given  form  of  poetry.  Defining  the  form  is  simple:  it  is  a  performance  poem  that  is  presented  by  more  than  one  person.    A  group  piece  can  involve  any  number  of  poets  but  is  usually  limited  to  four  for  the  purposes  of  poetry  slams,  or  poetry  competitions.  As  artists,  we  write  group  pieces  because  we  enjoy  the  challenge  of  the  form  –  the  challenge  to  create  music  and  conversation,  to  portray  a  collective  experience.  

There  are  two  different  ways  that  group  pieces  are  born.  Sometimes  they  start  from  existing  poems  that  one  team  member  brings  to  the  table.  These  are  easier  to  write  because  the  text  has  already  been  produced,  leaving  only  the  group-­‐centered  jobs  –  arranging,  staging,  and  rehearsing  –  to  be  completed.  Other  times  they  are  written  organically  by  a  group,  from  scratch.    This  second  kind  is  more  difficult  because  actual  group  writing  is  much  less  efficient.  Its  main  advantage  is  this:  by  being  democratic,  it  avoids  the  potentially  harmful  leader-­‐follower  relationships  that  arise  when  one  person’s  work  dominates  the  process.  Choosing  a  "leader,"  "captain,"  or  "head  writer"  of  a  group  can  often  make  things  move  faster,  but  can  just  as  easily  lead  to  team  rankings  –  spoken  or  unspoken  –  which  cause  negative  team  energy.    In  order  to  create  a  collaborative  poem  in  an  organic  and  leaderless  way  that  is  equally  representative  of  all  members,  these  sevens  steps  are  useful.  

1. Hang  out  –  If  this  has  not  happened  already  throughout  the  course  of  practices,  it  is  imperative  that  the  exact  combination  of  poets  in  the  group  piece  have  some  time  outside  of  rehearsal  to  go  out  and  eat,  chill,  play  Ultimate  Frisbee,  swim  the  English  Channel,  etc.  Just  do  something  that  is  not  related  to  work  or  –  even  worse  –  poetry.  Poets  working  together  must  trust  each  other  on  stage.  Spending  time  without  doing  work  is  perhaps  the  best  way  to  build  that  trust.      

2. Brainstorm  and  agree  on  a  theme  –  Find  someone's  basement,  porch,  living  room  or  other  quiet  and  comfortable  area.  My  former  slam  coach  Barry  McRaith  would  often  stress  the  importance  of  having  a  “sacred  space”  when  working  creatively.    Allow  everyone  to  put  an  idea  on  the  table.  First  make  sure  to  collect  all  brainstorming  ideas  without  saying  no  to  anyone.  Then  open  it  up  for  discussion.  Allow  each  member  the  power  of  veto.  Voice  your  opinions,  all  of  them,  no  matter  how  long  it  takes.  Eventually  you  will  find  that  a  theme  exists  on  which  everyone  would  like  to  write.  Hopefully  it  will  be  something  a  

 

little  more  complex  than  "Love,"  but  anything  is  acceptable.  In  the  end  this  theme  will  end  up  changing  and  evolving,  perhaps  to  an  unrecognizable  state.  Whatever  the  group  decides,  write  it  down  (that  makes  it  official!)  and  make  sure  that  the  vote  is  unanimous.  

3. Do  preliminary  writing  –  Now  is  your  time  to  split  up  and  write  whatever  you  want,  using  your  theme  from  step  two  as  a  prompt.    You  can  write  one  poem  or  twenty  poems.  You  can  arrange  it  for  four  voices  or  have  no  linear  structure  whatsoever.  Likewise,  this  step  can  be  done  with  fifteen  minutes  of  quiet  productive  writing  in  the  same  room,  or  it  can  be  done  as  a  week's  worth  of  homework.  Allow  this  step  to  follow  the  time  constraints  of  your  particular  project.  The  most  important  thing  is  that  each  member  uses  this  time  as  a  way  to  navigate  the  broad  theme  into  something  that  is  particularly  important  to  him  or  her.    Don't  waste  any  time  writing  something  you  are  not  excited  about  writing.  Make  the  poem  your  own.  Become  psyched  about  the  project.  

4. Make  an  outline  –  This  is  the  most  important  step.  It  is  now  time  to  reconvene,  look  over  the  preliminary  writings  and  discuss  what  the  poem  is  really  about.  Combine  your  ideas,  write  a  thesis  statement  and  divide  the  poem  into  whatever  different  sections  it  demands,  for  example,  intro,  funny  section,  transition,  serious  ending.    Make  sure  that  all  ideas  are  fully  developed,  explained,  and  introduced  –  this  now  includes  defining  each  group  member’s  role  or  character  in  the  piece.  While  your  primary  focus  should  be  the  writing,  you  should  now  begin  to  discuss  performance  devices  such  as  blocking/staging  ideas,  pacing,  volume,  etc.  Finally,  divide  the  writing  responsibilities.  Once  you  have  a  first  draft,  all  ownership  of  text  disappears  and  each  member  can  edit  any  area.    For  now  though,  assign  each  member  a  different  piece  of  your  overall  outline  for  the  poem.  

5. Do  real  writing  –  This  must  be  done  by  each  member  privately,  in  whatever  way  they  are  most  comfortable  writing.    Give  yourselves  a  good  amount  of  time  to  create  quality  work,  and  stick  to  your  deadlines.    I  have  always  found  it  easier  to  write  group  pieces  in  dialogue  form  with  stage  directions,  as  if  it  were  a  play.  Each  team  does  this  part  differently,  and  no  one  way  will  work  for  everyone.  

6. Make  a  first  draft  –  This  should  be  rather  easy.  Start  by  placing  everyone's  work  side  by  side  and  looking  at  the  poem  from  beginning  to  end.  Smooth  out  the  inevitable  transitions  between  writers  and  concentrate  on  producing  a  cohesive  work  with  a  solid  arc.  Read  it  out  loud  and  do  the  same  thing  again.  Add  performance  effects  where  necessary  to  make  the  poem  interesting  and  ready  for  a  trusted  audience  or  coach.    

 

7. Revise  –  This  may  be  the  last  step,  but  it  only  marks  the  halfway  point  of  the  process.  Keep  performing  the  poem  over  and  over  again  in  a  workshop  setting  until  you  identify  as  many  central  issues  as  possible.  Continually  write  and  rewrite.  Experiment  with  different  ending  or  opening  lines.  MEMORIZE!  

Above  all,  remember  that  perfecting  a  group  piece  means  creating  something  that  could  not  have  had  an  equal  effect  if  performed  by  an  individual.  Push  barriers.    Allow  your  piece  to  take  on  an  unexpected  shape,  even  if  it  means  throwing  away  the  ideas  and  lines  that  you  have  been  most  attached  to.  The  quality  of  your  poem  will  be  determined  by  the  communication  between  group  members.  If  each  person's  voice  is  an  essential  part  of  the  poem's  message,  you  will  have  achieved  something  grand  indeed.  Or  at  least  you  will  avoid  being  wack.