Arts Greenhouse Workshop Announcement
Poetry 2 Performance:
From writing to rocking
What makes a poetry performance different than a poetry reading? How can a poet’s delivery dramatically affect their audience’s reaction? On Thursday, March 25th between 4-6pm, the Arts Greenhouse invites teens from across the city to participate in a workshop that addresses these questions and more. Hosted at the 3 Rivers Computer Clubhouse in East Liberty (also known as, Phase 4 Learning Center, 5854 Baum Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15206), professional poets will lead a hands-on workshop for teens on how to transform their written words from sitting on the page to living on the stage! All levels of experience are welcome to this free workshop.
If you—or a teen you know—would like to join the student performers from 3 Rivers Computer Clubhouse and Peabody High School, contact Amos Levy Amos Levy at amoslevy@cmu.edu, or call (412) 268-5269.
In the past 25 years, poetry slams have led a revolution in performance of poetry. For centuries the public presentation of poetry has centered on reading. Authors would stand fairly still, eyes cast down into their text, and carefully read their work. In the 1980s, this style was challenged by poetry slams, which popularized throwing out the text, freeing authors to gesture, jump, spin, whisper, shout, and sigh. The performance poet memorized their material and used all the powers of delivery they could muster to create a powerful experience for their audience.
The techniques of performance poetry will be the focus of the workshop on March 25th. Participants will discuss (and get a chance to practice!) essential elements of poetry performance: posture, body language, tone of voice, and how to inject emotion into the delivery of words. These skills can take a lifetime to master, but the workshop leaders will set participants down the right path.
Three accomplished poets and performers will be leading the workshop, including Yona Harvey, Teena Custer and Luqman Abdus-salaam. The workshop on the 25th will lead off with an introduction to performance poetry practice and technique presented by Abdus-salaam. Then we will invite local teens to the stage to present their original poetry. Afterwards, everyone will get their minds and mouths moving with 60 minutes of hands-on poetry creation and performance activities with Harvey and Custer.
This is a workshop for all levels of experience (or inexperience)—we all started with shaky knees or butterfly bellies—whether you think you can bring your audience to tears or have never shared your poetry in public before, this workshop offers a supportive environment for all levels of poetic performance!
The host organizations work to empower youth by providing them with tools to help them create and perform their own creative & artistic works. By creating a safe space in which teens can receive instruction and feedback from experts in their community, teens are encouraged to push their artistic abilities towards new horizons. For more information on the 3 Rivers Computer Clubhouse visit, http://www.3rcc.org.
Yona Harvey is a swish caught in a net of teeth. She rises in the light of blue curtains & sleeps with one ear open. Maybe she is the water from which she pulls her baby son. Slippery Fish, she once called him. Slippery Fish, her daughter echoed back across the water. Maybe she is the woman closest to the blackboard. Maybe she is the woman wading at the edge of the room. Maybe she has been reading too much Tomaz Salamun. Maybe she is one small word in a noisy sea. Maybe she should speak more of credentials,
academic scholarships. But she is afraid you’ve heard all the best stories. (Hard work, high marks, determination). She should keep better track of her volunteering—carpooling, book sharing, telling the stories of Martin Luther King, Jr. Next year, she’ll probably go swimming in Tokyo. Or in Pittsburgh—people wear black & gold there. The rivers take hold & don’t let go. The children say: Look! This is Yona Harvey. She buys green lentils from East End Food Coop. She prepares dinner, drinks, and works in
the city.
Teena Custer, aka B-girl Teena Marie, teaches dance at Slippery Rock Univeristy. B-girl Teena Marie has been competing internationally since 2002, winning b-girl battles such as Underground Movement 5 in Cleveland, and Enter the Cypha. In addition to being a part of hip hop culture, Teena has an extensive background in contemporary dance. She has performed with companies and choreographers around the nation, including: Attack Theater, Dance Alloy, Ursula Payne, Erika Randall, and Shelter Repertory Dance Theater.
Luqman Abdus-salaam leads the Arts Greenhouse Workshop Series as organizer, community liaison and primary lecturer. Abdus-salaam brings 15 years of experience as a hip-hop performance poet. He spent a period signed to Island Music Group, and currently works part time as a talent consultant for Philadelphia based independent record label, Ovum Recordings. As an educator, Abdus-salaam has taught creative expression workshops at Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Temple University and Penn State University.
