5x3: Tonight's the night to rap

[scottwoods]

Reading Guy's post about this today compelled me to write up something on it from the perspective of someone who voted for it, but is still queasy about it

Comments

[stefan11]

We are going with 4 poets. In the prelim bouts, the winner of our slamoff has a right to use (or donate) two poem-slots, 2nd - ditto, 3rd and 4th poets will read one poem each.

We decided it before the slamoff.

[bajatierra]

See, that's what's part of what's fucked up here -- Stefan, you're totally trying to do the right thing, but you're having to couch things in terms of who has the right to read more, rather than letting everyone have their turn on stage. It's impossible, if you don't want to break your implicit promises to the community and send a four-person team, to give everyone their turn on stage, because the structure doesn't support it. Fuckaroo.

[stefan11]

Yes, this is a drawback. But i do not perceive this a a disaster.

The upside is that sixteen more communities will be sending teams and for all I know, we may be one of thoise sixteen. So, one of the alternatives for us was that none of our poets would read . This would be big time fucaroo, so far as I am concerned.

[bajatierra]

Right -- and I bet the contigent of slammasters worried that they hadn't registered in time helped vote it in. Where's the limit, though? Are we going to have a 100-team Nationals down the road? 120? You laugh, but look at this:

2004, 80 teams (27 percent increase over 2003)
2003, 63 teams (12.5 percent increase over 2002)
2000, 56 teams (16.6 percent increase over 1999)
1998, 45 teams (36 percent increase over 1997)
1997, 33 teams (22 percent increase over 1996)

At what point do we get serious about a winnowing method that allows flexibility and fairness while fixing our tournament at a manageable number?

[bleurant]

Team poems do not develop the individual poet in my opinion. Usually a bad poet gets affirmation for a bad poem with a good group performance or a good poet gets a good poem hijacked. The individual voice must be front and center. I rarely wish to see 5 people on stage performing a poem. Besides, really, name the stages in the last three national competitions which would have been totally inadequate to feature five poets wildly gesticulating. So you go to nationals with your big ass group poem and get stuck in an Irish pub with a postage stamp for a stage and no lights on it. Then what? Well, the crowd either gets to see your team give yourselves an enema on stage or you hope to god the next night you get a better venue.

But what do I know? See ya in two weeks Mr. Woods. The party should be grand!

[scottwoods]

lol

reason 18 it's awful

[bajatierra]

For the first time in NPS history, not every poet on a team will be represented in every bout. It's staggering to me that we're going to have to make these decisions as coaches and Slammasters. Some are making that determination now based on how poets did at the slamoff, some are going to play it as it lays in actual NPS bouts. Those teams that try for a sense of fairness are probably going to lose out to those who just send three divas, or those who make it clear at the outset that their three divas are going up on stage while the other poet or two poets on the team will just have to be happy to be there. I would expect a major backlash at the Slam Family meeting. I think the rage, at that point, will be Mouth Almighty-esque.

Re: reason 18 it's awful

[scottwoods]

I don't know if the backlash will be QUITE that bad, but I reiterate what I said to Greg's post (in part