On Sunday, Richie and I went down to Dutton Theatre on the 2nd floor of Central Library to check out this Story Slam Competition. There was a $5 admission fee, and it was actually something completely new to me and worth the money. There were 5 competitors and they each had five minutes with a one minute grace period to tell a true story in the form of spoken word (and for those that don’t know, spoken word poetry is basically speaking in prose or verse and sometimes consists of a meter). Once that time was up, Regie Cabico, the MC for the Story Slam Competition, would come up behind you and squeeze you into a hug. Legit rules 🙂
Before Sunday, I had never been to any spoken word or poetry festivals before. That’s because anything that involves speaking in front of crowds of people usually ends up being the last thing I want to do… in life. Oh hey, and on a slightly not-so-related note, I went to a Debate Camp in Ontario one summer and it was the scariest thing I had ever tried. These kids were national champs and I was a thumb-twiddler. I got an A PLUS FOR EFFORT. On a slightly more related note, I found out that debate was not my thing because it involves thinking and speaking on the spot. Thinking itself is already difficult, so when you combine speaker presentation with cognitive activity, it’s a no-go. However, I discovered that speech was more suitable for me. It was free-style, creative and allowed for originality through personal expression. I found greater success reciting poetry, monologues, and prose, which I will now cleverly tie back to my original topic about the Snap Judgment – Story Slam Competition.
On the topic of poetry, I found it amazing how despite the performances being impromptu, these people could recite unbroken lines of words with no pauses or stuttering. Some could develop a rhyme or meter on the spot and others just told profound stories. By the way, I love artsy people. I do. They’re expressive and they have a great sense of style. What makes it even better is when it shows through their words.
I remember this one girl, Jilliane (left), she had the spunkiest outfit and was so vivid with her words and expressions when she told us about her crazy childhood. She was talking about the furnace monster stealing children’s fingernails, and clothes coming alive at night; just the stuff that would get you admitted into an asylum. She was funny and she also happened to be the winner of the Story Slam that day. She went home with a jackpot of 25 solid bucks.
I seriously suggest you go check out any spoken word event so you can witness the comedic and poetic talent of these people. But wait, this blog isn’t complete without a picture of Regie Cabico (bottom left), the guy that traveled the distance from Washinton D.C. to come MC in Calgary for us. D’aweee, so sweet of him. He’s quite the accomplished spoken word artist with his National Poetry Slam wins in 1993, 1994, and 1997. Oh man, I love him. He told us a story about his life in spoken word. I’m not sure how to quote spoken word properly, so just read this with a poettic tone. I think. Anyways, here’s a bit from Regie~
“My sister’s were named Charity and Faith… I was named Regie. There was no hope in this family”
Regie was into acting and decided to try out for the part of a serial killer in America’s Most Wanted (the T.V. show), so his mom led the Catholic Church in a prayer for him “Dear lord, please have the kindness to make my son into a serial killer, Amen.” HAHAHA. So good.
Also, it just happened so that one of the five competitors was my friend Sebastian Wen. He’s amazing at life and anything literature related, so he told me a few things about these poetry competitions.
1. Apparently there are monthly SLAM competitions at the Central Library. 2:00pm every 2nd Saturday.
2. You get used to being on stage, and the talking comes easily to you.
3. The piercing in his ear did not hurt that much.