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Lyrical Performance Forum Combines Poetry, Experiential Art and Community
Antioch University Midwest (AUM) is hosting its first Antioch Midwest Zest Poetry Slam & Showcase at 6 pm on Saturday, November 22 in the PNC Auditorium at 900 Dayton Street in Yellow Springs. The event will include featured performances by the current World Poetry Slam Champion (and Dayton native) Ed Mabrey; World Poetry Slam Co-Champion Chancelier “Xero” Skidmore; and San Francisco Slam Master Mona Webb, who is the event’s host. Antioch Midwest Zest
Poetry Slam & Showcase is open to the public, and poets are encouraged to arrive by 5:45 pm to secure a spot in the lineup.
A poetry slam is a competition where poets perform artistic, lyrical and impassioned renditions of their poems. Slight variations of the general guidelines set by Poetry Slam, Inc. are not unusual, however, a key rule that is required for any slam event is that judges are selected from the audience, and those scores are used to determine who advances.
At AUM’s event, five members of the audience will be selected to serve as judges. They will evaluate each performance on a scale of one to ten; performers’ high and low scores will be dropped, and the final score will be comprised of the average of the remaining scores.
The evening’s featured poets will perform, but will not participate in the formal contest. They represent some of the most elite performers and practitioners of the art form, and will lend their expertise and skill to AUM’s inaugural event.
Ed Mabrey, the current Individual World Poetry Slam Co-Champion, has won the title twice, and is the first person of color to win the title. Recognized as a trailblazer in the art form, he can be seen on Verses and Flow on TV ONE (season three). Ed is an internationally-recognized slam poet, Emmy-nominated actor, life coach, motivational speaker, and is driven by an incredible passion to create experiences with each performance – often through his poetry show production company Black Pearl Productions, LLC.
Chancelier “Xero” Skidmore is also the current Individual World Poetry Slam Co-Champion, and a nationally-recognized poet, educator, and organizer from Baton Rouge, LA who was enchanted with language at a young age. His largely self-taught writing and performance skills launched a career in teaching, coaching, slam poetry, music, and artistic nonprofit organization management. He is the executive director of Forward Arts, Inc. and lead teaching artist/program manager for its Wordplay Teen Writing Project.
Ramona “Mona” Webb is an award-winning performance artist, poetry slam coach, and the artistic director of Project ABLE and Lyrical Minded415, an art-based “learning for equity” seasonal public school course in San Francisco. She is the executive director of the Eden LGBTQ Youth Foundation in the Greater Bay Area, and slammaster and host of The City’s Poetry Slam. Mona has a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater, is a conservatory-trained performance artist and is currently working on her Masters of Education degree.
To learn more about poetry slams, visit poetryslam.com. To learn more about the Antioch Midwest Zest Poetry Slam & Showcase, email [email protected].
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