Here's something different. Last night I went to my first Daverse Lounge and the opening show of their 4th year at the Dallas Theater Center. Some of you blog readers might remember Will Richey from UD. He is a good friend of ours, and about 6 or so years ago, Will started slamming. We used to regularly attend the slam competitions and the first year he competed, he made the Dallas Slam Team. Since that time, Will has turned his love of spoken work poetry into a career and the past few years he has been putting on workshops with kids and young adults to help them find their voice.
What started as Will calling the 12 kids he knew who liked poetry has turned into not enough time in two hours for everyone to present their pieces. Last night the performers ranged in age from 6th grade through sophomores in college (it is a free under-21 open mic). The topics covered everything from first loves to teen pregnancy to the Holocaust with poets hailing from Oak Cliff to Highland Park. Poets presented poems they had taken weeks to write, and poems they had written that evening as they were inspired by other poets. As if the performers themselves weren't impressive enough, Will has put together a jazz fusion band....they listen to the first lines of each piece, and then begin to freestyle the "mood". It is definitely something to see. So, if you are in the Dallas area, I would highly recommend checking this out (and if the talent doesn't impress you, maybe the free Starbucks will!). The next show is Fri., November 14th. Hope to see you there!
Will starting things off...
These two did a "duet" poem, and if you're a fan of Outkast, the kid in the blue shirt sounds pretty much exactly like Andre 3000. It's a bit bizarre.
Featured poet Alejandro Perez...
No comments:
Post a Comment