This was an event that gave people the chance to express their favorite poem in whatever manner they felt like. It was hosted by Kit Steinkellner at the Hayworth theater in downtown LA. We had video mixed with live performance, we had beautiful voices playing around with beautiful words, and we had a lot of other ideas that were executed perfectly. The artists had the option of using any poem that had ever been created ever in the existence of the world. But thats a huge resource, so we also offered an online database of poems by established poets to help narrow down people's selection process. In order to breathe some fire into the night we made the event a competition, choosing a winner based on audience votes.
1st Place: Paige White
After every five to seven performances, we had a member from the audience come up and do their own spontaneous performance. The goal of this was to highlight anyone who was feeling inspired in the moment, and to give them a platform to have fun. Another reason why we encouraged viewers to come up was to remove the distance typical in a performer/spectator relationship. The effect was the crowd became more relaxed and engaged with the evening. We had a poetry book available for audience members to pick a poem from, or you could do something you had in your brain already. As was the case with one particular audience member, who went up and recited some old Russian poems his grandfather used to tell him. He had been working on translating them into English, and did a good job. They were morbid.
2nd Place: Leigh Zeichick
A common reaction to the night was “now I have a new favorite poem.” It was really nice to see one persons love for a particular piece transfer to another persons love for the same piece. We learned this night that passion can be a very convincing tactic if you are trying to get someone to like what you are doing. Whether it be a love for the particular subject, style or poet, if there was a love, there was an effect. It made a community out of the college students, businessmen, and artists who showed up that night. It created a dialogue between them. It was an cARTel success.
3rd Place: Brian Pugach
Here's the list of performers and their works:
1.) Cartoon Physics Part 1 by Nick Flynn, read by Matt Chester
2.) Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye, read by Jeff Newman
3.) Jabberwocky by Lewis Caroll, read by Emmalinda MacLean
4.) Time Does Not Bring Relief; You All Have Lied by Edna St. Vincent Millay, read by Lauren Parsons
5.) To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick, read by Ms. Red Snapper
6.) Marriage by Greg Corso, read by Leigh Zeichick
7.) Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, read by Negin Singh
8.) I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, read by Sean Lewellyn
9.) Sonnet 75 by William Shakespeare, read by Rhiannon Fernandez
10.) i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) by e.e.cummings, read by Amanda Glaze
11.) Kissing With the Lights On by Daphne Gottlieb, read by Paige White
12.) Isla Del Fuego by Ruel S. De Vera, read by Wes Gabrillo
13.) I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Emily Dickinson, read by Colin O'Brien-Lux
14.) If I Told Him by Gertrude Stein, read by Jeff Eberly
15.) Beat! Beat! Drums! by Walt Whitman, read by Matt Soson
16.) P.O.W. by Alicia Keys, read by Olivia Emma Jane Harris
17.) Death of Allegory by Billy Collins, read by Corwin Evans
18.) Hate Poem by Julie Sheehan, read by Cayla Clark
19.) Jealousy of the Dawn by Kenji Miyazawa, read by Yasu Ishida
20.) Emptying Town by Nick Flynn, read by Kevin Pease
21.) Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath, read by Laura Hartley
22.) Gate C22 by Ellen Bass, read by Marie Jach
23.) Song for the Last Act by Louise Bogan, read by Katie Boeck
24.) Untitled by e.e.cummings, read by Jack DeSena
25.) Spring and Fall to a Young Child by Gerard Manley Hopkins, read by Steven Mason
26.) I Should Have Loved You Presently by Edna St. Vincent Millay, read by Ferin Petrelli
27.) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, read by Brian Pugach
28.) Snow Day by Billy Collins, read by Chris Smith
29.) Why I am Not a Painter by Frank O'Hara, read by Emily Parsons