July 30, 2013, the Steiny Road Poet went to
The Fridge for an evening of spoken word sponsored by the Beltway Slam Team. This year’s team includes: Clint Smith, Natalie Illum, Pages Matam, Adele
Hampton and Robalu Gibson. Sarah Lawson is their slam master. The evening was
unique not only for the Steiny Poet who had not been to a slam in long time but
also to the audience because it was a No Rules Night, a first for the Beltway
Slam Team at The Fridge.
Typically the core spoken word rules are:
• Each poet performs his or
her own work.
• No props.
• No costumes.
• No musical accompaniment or
musical instruments.
• Time limit is three minutes.
• Judges must not know the contestants
and may not compete.
For
the No Rules event, there were performances with live musical accompaniment, a
little singing, a little dance/movement, a bit of costuming, some
improvisation. And a couple of the judges participated in the slam and clearly
knew and reacted to their favorite slammers.
All
of the performers provided interesting content though not everyone was in the
competitive mode. There were several slammers who read from their computer or
smart phone screens without making much eye contact with the audience. The
bottom line was there were no performances that would put an audience member to
sleep and nothing that was a throw away. People were speaking about issues that
concerned them deeply without going over the edge.
Among
the Steiny Poet’s favorite pieces was a piece from an award-winning English
performer about bees. The number included musical accompaniment and some
sprechtstimmer. Adele Hampton did a heart-tugging piece about her mother who was beaten by her
father (one assumes her mom and dad).
Pages Matam, Adele Hampton, and Clint Smith performed a clever piece that dealt
with side effects. Pages Matam and Robalu Gibson
did a several-part piece about racism that was partly set back in Josephine
Baker’s time in Paris that was riveting.
Even
the Steiny Poet got up on stage to participate and could feel and experience an
intense engagement from the audience. People in the audience snapped their
fingers to say we are supporting you. They responded in unison as a reaction to
certain facts. Take this exchange: Slam Master: It only costs one dollar! Audience: Only one dollar? They clapped thunderously. It’s very much like an
AA session where the vulnerable are intensely supported by the community of
addicts. In any case, the Steiny Poet was put back in touch with a 1975 poetry
performance she did with a belly dancer and sitar player in a small shopping
mall where the audience engagement was 100 percent.
Should
the Steiny Poet say that 98% of audience members were under the age of 30 and
you know, Dear Reader, that the Steiny Poet is une femme d’un certain âge. And there were 50 people
at least for a beautiful July night and everyone paid $5 entrance fee, which
goes for renting The Fridge and helping the Slam Team get to national
competitions. More about them on their Facebook page. Now this is a poetry community worthy of knowing and supporting.
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