Tiffany Joy Poetry Readings

Poetry Readings

I, Tiffany Joy, have started a new YouTube project. You must all be absolutely shocked! I do always feel like I’m starting new projects. This one is part of my efforts to promote what I’ve already written, by recording readings of my work. I’ve started by recording my poetry readings.

Most of the poems are from my book Growing Poems. I am starting to mix in my newer poetry that I published here.

I figured that I would share my favorites with those who either have stumbled on my site or frequent it more that Youtube. I’ll also be sharing this on my social media accounts, so I guess the post will just be spreading the word more.

Now onto the Poetry Readings

The first is one of my newer poems, but the first reading. It is called, “To Those Who Struggle.” For personal reasons, I needed to share this first. After all I always meant to have it as a reading.

Poems and Memories is a poem I wrote right after I realized what I was going to be calling my first poetry book. It reflects the idea of poems growing and being part of me.

Lady Isabella is again from my poetry book and is about my dog. I wrote it as her life was ending and it has always been a hard one for me to read. However, I do love it.

The last poem is Power. It is also from my poetry book. It is a 3 stanza poem that I wrote in college about a relationship.

There is a complete playlist of all my poetry readings, including older ones, on YouTube.

Note: This is the entire playlist.

I hope you enjoyed my poetry readings, as much as I enjoyed making them. Feel free to give me any feedback you have. All is welcomed.

Can't Hold Me Down. (a poem)

poetry

You can’t hold me down.
No you can’t control this feeling.
My energy is rising up
and it is a glorious feeling.
I can conquer my fears
and maybe even the world.
I can fly to new heights
and bring you along.
See how I soar
because I’m lighter than air.
See how I shine
it’s like day
when it is night.
No, you can’t hold me down
my energy is rising up.
It rises and rises
filling my lungs with air
filling my heart with life.

Today is going to be a wonderful day.

Words about this past Stated Song video

I realized the other day that I have not mentioned anything about my videos with the exception that I am still doing them.

This past weekend I did another Stated Song, instead of a traditional monologue. Stated Songs are the least viewed videos on my channel and I basically do them for myself. I will be doing more monologues next week. However, I felt like I needed to do it, partly because I already had it Queued up in my mind to do it and partly because it is exactly where I am right now.

The song that I turned into a monologue was “I Want To Be Something,” by Weezer. I really like Weezer’s music, which you can by the fact that this is my second video using their songs as a monologue. The first one being “The Other Way”

I hope you like it and please let me know what you think.

Also, The song  “I Want To Be Something” was written and performed by Weezer. It appears on the band’s album Hurley which was released in 2010. Although there is no music video there is a recording of this song on YouTube here :http://youtu.be/a_m4SlbUujA and the band’s channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/WeezerVEVO . The band’s website is http://www.weezer.com/.

Poetry Reading (Limerick)

This past Saturday I did a few readings of my creative writing. I said that I would do one of these every week, but then I moved so had to start them about a week late. That being said I recorded three, since two posts were tied for the first week. The third one was from this pass week.

The original poem can be found at this link.

Here is the first poetry reading I have posted this week.

 

I hope you enjoyed this and please let me know what you think. Also, like I mentioned in the video if you have a poem, monologue, or story you want to be read, let me know. I always like reading, learning, and helping other artists.

Connecting with a Character

I just recorded a video that talks about connecting with a character. I had written everything out, but I did not memorize what I wrote so the video is a bit different. I wanted to make sure I shared both though, because I believe they both have value.

First here is what I wrote. The video is below the write up.

The steps towards my goals I want to talk about is connecting with a character. It is something that I believe an actor has to do to portray a character justly. Something needs to snap in place and you the actor has to feel right with the character you have to fully get the character you are portraying.

I have struggled with this as you can see in my precious videos or at least I can see it in the stated songs and poetry readings I’ve done. Something just wasn’t clicking, the character I was trying be were just words. They had no life to them.

Well this week at my improv group a character clicked with me. I really feel like I did the character justice even if it was a silly improv game. I still made that connection, which has been a while since I could say that.

Thinking about it I wonder if I just haven’t realized it at improv before or if it’s growth. Either way it is a boost of confidence for me and reassurance that I can act. I just need to find the character in the words and figure out how to bring the scripted ones to life.

 

Info On My YouTube Intro

Yesterday in between serving at my church I recorded an introduction video for YouTube. I realize that I will need to record this video again, but it is something at least.

I almost did not do it, then I almost did not get a chance to edit it. I had a million excuses not to, but then a quiet nudge reminded me that if I did not record this video it would be the first week (with the exception of my vacation week) that I would miss a recording since I started that goal. I was tired from waking up early, did not have anything really prepared, then my camera died before I was really finish.

Still I edited it together the best I could and uploaded it to YouTube. I watched it again to make sure that I was comfortable in publishing it and you know what it’s not as bad as I thought. However, I want to know what you think. Is it entertaining or informational? Does it make you want to know more or at least pay a bit of attention to my channel?

Here is the video, let me know what you think.

Sated Song: Storybook

This week’s Stated Song is Storybook which is from the musical Scarlet Pimpernel. When I was younger I was in voice lessons to learn how to sing and this was a song I remember very fondly  doing. I really like the dreamer’s voice and attitude. Some days I feel this same way. Some days I feel like I am just a dreamer with no real love. However, I am lucky, because I do have real love. I have a wonderful family and friends who love me. Yet, since I don’t have a ‘lover’ I do feel like I am missing what is real love, which is what this song is about.

You can listen to the actual song on youtube. It is sung by Rachel York. The musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel  is a 1997 Broadway musical composed by Frank Wildhorn and written by Nan Knighton, the production starred Douglas Sills as Sir Percy Blakeney, Christine Andreas as Marguerite Blakeney, and Terrence Mann as Citizen Chauvelin. ( I simply copied and pasted all this information from The Scarlet Pimpernel’s Wikiepedia page.)

 

The lyrics that I used for this Stated song are:

Listen to me, I have beautiful dreams I can spin you
Dreams to linger within you
Close your eyes and we’ll ride my carousel
I’ll tell you stories of lovers whose love used to fill me
And the lovers who will be
For, you see, love is one thing I do well
Come, let’s believe love can be just as sweet as it seems
Let’s live on dreams!

In my dreams such beautiful lovers have found me
Storybook lovers surround me
Nothing is real, but I’m flying, sighing
Where is my storybook ending?
Why does my golden pretending
Leave me with nothing to hold but my dreams?

Oh, is it only in dreams that we find our ideal love?
Are there lovers with real love?
If you know how to feel love, show me now
but my prince, if you can’t be as sweet as you seem
I’d rather dream

Come and wake me!
Come be the love I can hold now
Storybook love leaves me cold now
Show me the way to stop dreaming
There is only one perfect storybook ending
That is the end of pretending
That is the moment I say, love me now!

Heart On Fire (Painting)

I normally do not like posting twice in one day, but I just finished an abstract painting that I’m calling “Heart On Fire.” It is very different from the other post so thought I would share it with you.

This painting started with a vague idea in my mind, but I was not sure how it would come out. It was my first attempt at painting a heart on fire. I do like how it came out. The purpose of this painting is to display the passion that is in at least my heart that shines even when the surroundings are dark.

The video is the recording of me painting it and the pictures are of the finish product (in case you could not tell).

Heart on Fire 003
Heart on Fire 004
Heart on Fire 005

Please know it has been purchased.

Want More?

On YouTube, I do have a playlist dedicated to sped up paintings. I also have a section on this site where I share my visual arts portfolio along with my painting portfolio.

Stated Song: Cockeyed Optimist

This week’s acting video is a Stated Song called Cockeyed Optimist. Cockeyed Optimist was composed byRichard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and is found in the musical South Pacific. The wikipedia page for the musical can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(musical). For a video of the actual song please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0DusO6ipLw.

The lyrics are:

When the sky is a bright canary yellow
I forget every cloud I’ve ever seen,
So they called me a cockeyed optimist
Immature and incurably green.

I have heard people rant and rave and bellow
That we’re done and we might as well be dead,
But I’m only a cockeyed optimist
And I can’t get it into my head.

I hear the human race
Is fallin’ on its face
And hasn’t very far to go,
But every whippoorwill
Is sellin’ me a bill,
And tellin’ me it just ain’t so.

I could say life is just a bowl of Jello
And appear more intelligent and smart,
But I’m stuck like a dope
With a thing called hope,
And I can’t get it out of my heart!
Not this heart…

I really had a fun time doing this monologue/ stated song. I enjoyed making this one the most, so far. Please let me know what you think.