(Re)staging Kenyan Spoken Word Poetry in New Media

Abstract

The emergence of the new media as an alternative space for performing arts is slowly transforming the traditionally held view that a performance can only take place where the actor and the audience are physically present to each other in real time. The new media performances started off as simulations of the traditional theatrical performances, but over time they have acquired their own distinct features which set them apart. This study is an exploration of the new dynamics in the field of performance studies through the lens of spoken word poetry in new media spaces. A detailed description of the four forms in which spoken word poetry is adapted for performance in new media spaces is conducted. The features in each form have been extensively explored to establish their uniqueness. An analysis of the use of audio-visual images in spoken work poetry in new media is conducted, with a focus on how the virtual audience interacts with these images to create meaning in the poem. The research further examines how new media performances redefine the concept of a live audience, as well as promote collaborative poetry using components of the audience engagement theory. The research is an extension of the body of knowledge that exists in the performance theory, the post-modern theories of hyperreality and ecocriticism, and the audience engagement theory. The research is an exploration of how liveness is achieved in new media performances and how the virtual audience are part of the content creation. The concept of liveness in new media performances forms the backbone of this study as we explore how the hybridization of the live and mediatized enhance the post-modern tenets of populism and formlessness in new media performances of spoken word poetry in Kenya.